At first, Telford's work as county surveyor lay mostly in somewhatsmall things indeed--mere repairs of sidepaths or bridges, whichgave him little opportunity to develop his full talents as a bornengineer. But in time, being found faithful in tiny things, hisemployers, the county magistrates, began to consult him more andmore on matters of comparative importance. First, it was a bridgeto be built across the Severn; then a church to be planned atShrewsbury, and next, a second church in Coalbrookdale. If he wasthus to be made suddenly into an architect, Telford thought, almostwithout being consulted in the matter, he must certainly set out tostudy architecture. So, with characteristic vigour, he went towork to visit London, Worcester, Gloucester, Bath, and 0xford, ateach place taking care to learn whatever was to be learned in thepractice of his quite new art. Fortunately, however, for Telford and forEngland, it was not architecture in the strict sense that he wasfinally to practise as a real profession. Another accident, asthoughtless people might call it, led him to adopt engineering inthe end as the path in life he elected to follow. In 1793, he wasappointed engineer to the projected Ellesmere Canal.