ABSTRACT
A neat and elegant monument has been erected by the stonemasons to the memory of their deceased companions. It stands in the little churchyard of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, which is close to the foot of the bridge on the Anglesey side. From the date of Robert Stephenson's appointment as engineer-in-chief to the railway in September 1833, it is apparent that he was absorbed by the project. The first entry in his 1834 diary says he was 'writing specifications, sketching plans' for the line. The specifications for the structures began with 'general stipulations', which were followed by extra requirements relating to individual structures. In the general stipulations, bricks on the faces were required to be 'malm-bricks' of consistent form and colour. The London & Birmingham Railway structures themselves give important indications of the principles and methods by which Robert Stephenson determined the necessary structural dimensions of his masonry bridges and viaducts.
