Significant people
Thomas Unett Brocklehurst (1824-1886)
Thomas was one of the Macclesfield gentry and a rich silk manufacturer. He live at Henbury Hall in Henbury Park, Cheshire.
He is thought to have been the first to introduce the grey squirrel from America (in 1876) to his stately home. Others followed his lead.
In introducing the grey squirrel he unwittingly caused the near extinction of the red squirrel in England and its decrease in Scotland because the grey squirrel carries the squirrel pox virus which does not affect it but soon kills red squirrels.
Grey squirrel populations exist as close as Dunkeld and the occasional grey squirrel has appeared in Pitlochry. It seems that the expansion in the number of pine martens is helping keep the grey squirrel at bay since pine martens can catch them more easily than they can catch red squirrels.
Thomas Telford (1757-1834)
He was born in Eskdale, Dumfriesshire. His father who was a shepherd died shortly after Thomas was born and he was raised in poverty by his mother, Janet.
His wide variety of work included Shrewsbury Castle and Somerset House as well as 40 bridges in Shropshire.
He worked on many canals and famously the Pontcysyllte aqueduct near Llangollen where he pioneered the use of a mixture of molten molasses and lead to seal iron troughs. This is now a UNESCO world heritage site.
His master plan to improve communications in the Highlands included the building of the Caledonian and the Crinan canals as well as numerous harbour improvements and 32 churches.
He was responsible for numerous roads in the lowlands, in England and in Wales including the famous Menai Straits Bridge.
The list of his engineering achievements is huge and closer to home includes the bridge at Dunkeld. The bridge cost £40,000 and although it was built to carry just horses and carts it can carry a 40 ton lorry with a safety factor of over x2.
Before 1977 it took all the A9 traffic.
Dunkeld Bridge is Gothic in style. Construction began in 1804 or 1805. A site was chosen where the width and shallowness of the river allowed the bridge to be erected in two halves. Each half was built in a dry channel, with the river diverted to the other side. Sandstone for the dressed masonry was quarried at Gellyburn, about 10km south east of Dunkeld.
The bridge was completed in 1808.
For his massive road making achievements Telford was known as the Colossus of Roads. Amazingly he was also a poet.