About Dundas Aqueduct
Dundas Aqueduct carries the Kennet and Avon Canal over the River Avon (the Somerset / Wiltshire border) and the Wessex Main Line railway from Bath to Westbury. The nearest village is Limpley Stoke. It was built by John Rennie and chief engineer John Thomas, between 1797 and 1801 and completed in 1805. James McIlquham was appointed contractor. It is named after Charles Dundas, the first chairman of the Kennet and Avon Canal Company. The aqueduct is 150yd long with three arches built of Bath Stone, with Doric pilasters, and balustrades at each end. The central semicircular arch spans 64ft; the two oval side arches span 20ft. It is a grade I listed building, and was the first canal structure to be designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1951. Over many years leaks had developed and it was closed in 1954. For a while in the 1960s and 1970s, the canal was dry and it was possible to walk along the bed on each side of the river as well as through the aqueduct itself. The aqueduct was relined, with polythene and concrete and restored, reopening in 1984. Care was taken not to disturb a colony of bats living under the aqueduct.
Dundas Aqueduct Description
Dundas Aqueduct carries the Kennet and Avon Canal over the River Avon (the Somerset / Wiltshire border) and the Wessex Main Line railway from Bath to Westbury. The nearest village is Limpley Stoke. It was built by John Rennie and chief engineer John Thomas, between 1797 and 1801 and completed in 1805. James McIlquham was appointed contractor. It is named after Charles Dundas, the first chairman of the Kennet and Avon Canal Company. The aqueduct is 150yd long with three arches built of Bath Stone, with Doric pilasters, and balustrades at each end. The central semicircular arch spans 64ft; the two oval side arches span 20ft. It is a grade I listed building, and was the first canal structure to be designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1951. Over many years leaks had developed and it was closed in 1954. For a while in the 1960s and 1970s, the canal was dry and it was possible to walk along the bed on each side of the river as well as through the aqueduct itself. The aqueduct was relined, with polythene and concrete and restored, reopening in 1984. Care was taken not to disturb a colony of bats living under the aqueduct.