Here I am taking you on a journey over bridges, spanning over two centuries in the Scottish Borders - from the 18th century to the present day. What
struck me in writing this post is the length of time - i.e. 200 years -
that many of these old bridges have served their community, before
replacement structures were built - progress sometimes seems very
slow!
Craigsford
Bridge over the Leader Water at Earlston was
built around 1737. Until the building of the new toll road at the end
of the century, it was the main route to Edinburgh. It was sometimes
referred to as the Mill Brig, being close to the Simpson &
Fairbairn Mill that produced textiles until its closure in 1969.
The graceful late 18th century Carolside Bridge spanning the Leader Water at Earlston links the neighbouring estates of Carolside and Leadervale. *
"The Statistical Account of Scotland" of 1834 gives us a beautiful description of Carolside
"Poised on a green plateau beside the River Leader and sheltered by
surrounding slopes of its own extensive woodlands, as a sweet and
secure asylum from the toils and troubles of the world'."
Two views of the bridge in more recent times:
A view of the Leader valley, looking down on the little Carolside Bridge on the left of the photograph.
The Three Leaderfoot Bridges, near Melrose in the Scottish Borders. built 1776, 1865, and 1974.
An
unusual view of the three bridges * - the middle lower road bridge was built 1776-80. It
replaced a ferry crossing over the River Tweed, on the route
that is now the main road north to Edinburgh. Its narrow structure, more
used to horses and carts, remained in use for 200 years (controlled by traffic lights) until a new
road bridge spanned the river in 1974.
The famous Leaderfoot Viaduct built in 1865 was the major engineering feat of the Berwickshire Railway
Line from the east. The statistics are impressive - the
viaduct stands 126 feet (38 m) from the floor of the river valley, and
its 19 arches, each has a 43 feet span.
The Berwickshire Railway was badly affected by
severe flooding in 1948 and services were restricted to good only. The last train ran over the viaduct in 1965. It is now under the care of Historic Environment Scotland.
The Viaduct
remains a popular spot for photographers today - the view taken
from the old road bridge which is now only open to walkers and
cyclists.
Lowood Bridge is a narrow sandstone arch bridge, built some 250 years ago. It spans the River Tweed and is a vital transport link for the surrounding area, carrying around 5k vehicles per day, controlled by traffic lights. It has recently underdone major repairs.
Coldstream Bridge over the River Tweed was opened in 1767 and marks the boundary between Scotland and England - and is still the main route south today.
Coldstream
Bridge Tollhouse at the north end of the bridge, was more than just the
location for collecting taxes. For it was akin to Gretna Green towards
the west as the location for a Scottish "Irregular
Marriage". This was in
the form of a verbal declaration by the couple
giving their consent before
witnesses and did not require a clergyman, but anyone who took on the role for
a fee. No notice, such as banns, was required, no parental consent and no residency requirement. Such marriages were valid in Scotland but
were increasingly frowned upon and became less
and less acceptable.
In
the meantime, however, many English couples in particular, eloped
to places just across the Border, to
escape the stricter English marriage laws and obtain a quick, easy and cheaper
marriage.
It was on the bridge that Scottish bard Robert Burns had his
first glimpse of England, as marked by a plaque.
The Rennie Bridge over the River Tweed at Kelso was built in 1893 to replace one washed away in
floods of 1797. Designed by John Rennie, it was an earlier and smaller
scale version of his Waterloo Bridge in London.
The
Toll House, where the payment had to be made, was the scene of a riot in
1854, when local people objected to continuing to pay the tolls
when the building costs had been long cleared. It still took three
years for tolls to be withdrawn. For nearly 200 years, this narrow bridge remained the only
bridge across the Tweed at Kelso, causing many a bottleneck, until the building of a new one in
1998 to the east of the town.
The Chain Bridge at Melrose beneath the Eildon Hills crosses the famous salmon river of the Tweed. It
was opened in 1826 as a footbridge.
Conditions were imposed on its use including the
restraint that no more than eight people should be on it at any one time
and "no loitering, climbing or intentional swinging" permitted. Contravention of the rules was punishable by a £2 fine (£135 in today's money) - or imprisonment. (Currency Converter)
Since
payment had to be made to cross the bridge, a ford downstream for horse
drawn vehicles continued to be used by pedestrians for some time, with a box of stilts at each end of the ford for people to use for a safer journey,
Mertoun Bridge, near St. Boswells was built c.1840, replacing an earlier partly wooden construction. It was later replaced in 1886 with he 5 arch sandstone bridge we see today.
* With thanks to the Auld Earlston Group for the use of these two photographs.
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