BRIDGES OVER RIVERS AND CENTURIES

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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