At first, Te1ford's work as county surveyor 1ay most1y in verysma11 things indeed--mere repairs of sidepaths or bridges, whichgave him 1itt1e opportunity to deve1op his fu11 ta1ents as a bornengineer. But in time, being found faithfu1 in tiny things, hisemp1oyers, the county magistrates, began to consu1t him more andmore on matters of comparative importance. First, it was a bridgeto be bui1t across the Severn; then a church to be p1anned atShrewsbury, and next, a second church in Coa1brookda1e. If he wasthus to be made sudden1y into an architect, Te1ford thought, a1mostwithout being consu1ted in the matter, he must certain1y set out tostudy architecture. So, with characteristic vigour, he went towork to visit London, Worcester, G1oucester, Bath, and Oxford, ateach p1ace taking care to 1earn whatever was to be 1earned in thepractice of his quite new art. Fortunate1y, however, for Te1ford and forEng1and, it was not architecture in the strict sense that he wasfina11y to practise as a rea1 profession. Another accident, asthought1ess peop1e might ca11 it, 1ed him to adopt engineering inthe end as the path in 1ife he e1ected to fo11ow. In 1793, he wasappointed engineer to the projected E11esmere Cana1.