Telford: Father of Modern Engineering is part of the UK-wide celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Telford (1757-1834).

The son of a Dumfriesshire shepherd, Telford, through his own efforts and determination, became the leading civil engineer in the world. He gained an international reputation for works such as the Menai Suspension Bridge, the longest span bridge in the world at the time, and the Caledonian Canal. He opened up the Highlands with a network of roads, bridges, harbours, churches and canal schemes, ‘advancing the country at least a century’.

A joint project with the National Library of Scotland, the exhibition includes loans from the Institution of Civil Engineers and features paintings, drawings, photographs, manuscripts, models and scientific instruments. Telford’s life and works will be explored alongside the definition of civil engineering, illustrating how he endeavoured to display the necessary requirements of the profession, shaping it into today’s vision of ‘a great art, on which the wealth and well-being of the whole of society depends.’

A major component of the exhibition will be a commission by contemporary German photographer, Michael Reisch, providing a creative engagement with Telford’s legacy.