Brig o' Doon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coordinates | 55°25′33″N4°38′12″W / 55.425961°N 4.636683°W |
| Crosses | River Doon |
| Heritage status | Category A |
| Characteristics | |
| Longest span | 72 feet (22 m) |
| No. of spans | Single |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | Pedestrian |
| Location | |
 | |
The Brig o' Doon, sometimes called the Auld Brig or Old Bridge of Doon, is a late medieval bridge in Ayrshire, Scotland, and a Category A structure. [1]
The word brig is Scots for "bridge", hence the Brig o' Doon is the "Bridge of Doon". [2]
The bridge is thought to have been built in the early fifteenth century. According to John R. Hume, the bridge was built by James Kennedy, who died in 1465, but the first recorded mention was in 1512. [3] The bridge was described as "ruinous" in 1593. [4]
The bridge features on the 2007 and 2016 series of £5 notes issued by the Bank of Scotland, alongside the statue to Robert Burns, that is located in Dumfries. [5] [6]
The bridge is located near Alloway and crosses the River Doon. It is a single arched bridge, with a steeply humped span of 72 ft (22 m) and a rise of 26 ft (7.9 m). [7] It has been repaired many times, most recently in 1978, and many parts of the stonework do not match. [4]
| Bridge of Doon Act 1811 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Citation | 51 Geo. 3. c. xxxviii |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 6 May 1811 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Ayr Turnpike Roads Act 1827 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The B7024 public road is carried over the River Doon by the New Bridge of Doon, a single-arch stone bridge built downstream of the old one in 1816 to cope with increasing traffic. [4] [8] The old bridge was sold to the builders of the new bridge as a quarry for material, but money was raised to purchase the old bridge back, and the trustees of the new bridge decided to quarry somewhere else. [9]
The line of the cobbles in the roadway is cranked, due to the belief that this pattern would stop witches from crossing. [7]
It is used as the setting for the final verse of the Robert Burns's poem Tam o' Shanter . In this scene Tam is on horseback and is being chased by Nannie the witch. He is just able to escape her by crossing the bridge (over a running stream), narrowly avoiding her attack as she is only able to grab the horse's tail which comes away in her hands:
The Broadway musical Brigadoon also takes its name from this site, though the musical's location is fictional. [10]
Ayrshire is a historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety of the historic county as well as the island of Arran, formerly part of the historic county of Buteshire. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire to the north-east, Dumfriesshire to the south-east, and Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire to the south. Like many other counties of Scotland, it currently has no administrative function, instead being sub-divided into the council areas of East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire. It has a population of approximately 366,800.
Ayr is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population of 46,982, Ayr is the 15th largest settlement in Scotland and second largest town in Ayrshire by population. The town is contiguous with the smaller town of Prestwick to the north. Ayr submitted unsuccessful bids for city status in 2000 and 2002, and as part of the wider South Ayrshire area in 2022.
Alloway is a suburb of Ayr, and former village, in South Ayrshire, Scotland, located on the River Doon. It is best known as the birthplace of Robert Burns and the setting for his poem "Tam o' Shanter". Tobias Bachope, the mason responsible for the construction of Hopetoun House, Craigiehall, and Kinross House, also hailed from Alloway. Some historic parts of the village make up a conservation area.
Kyle and Carrick was one of nineteen local government districts in the Strathclyde region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996.
Stair is a village in Ayrshire, Scotland. It lies at the bottom of a glen beside the River Ayr at the north-west border of the 5,376 acre (22 km2) Parish of Stair where the River Ayr is joined by the Glenstang Burn.
Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the 2005 general election from parts of the old Ayr and Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituencies. It has been represented since 2024 by Elaine Stewart of Scottish Labour.
The Alloway Auld Kirk, which dates back to the 16th century, is a ruin in Alloway, South Ayrshire, Scotland, celebrated as the scene of the witches' dance in the poem "Tam o' Shanter" by Robert Burns.
The River Doon is a river in Ayrshire, Scotland. Its course is generally north-westerly, passing near to the town of Dalmellington, and through the villages of Patna, Dalrymple, and Alloway, birthplace of Robert Burns. The source of the Doon is Loch Doon, high in the Galloway Hills.
Ayr is a burgh constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering the town of Ayr in the council area of South Ayrshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) via the plurality electoral system. It is also one of nine constituencies in the South Scotland electoral region which elects seven additional members to the Scottish Parliament via a proportional electoral system known as the Additional Members System which allows for greater accuracy in representation for the region as a whole.
"Tam o' Shanter" is a narrative poem written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1790, while living in Dumfries. First published in 1791, at 228 lines it is one of Burns' longer poems, and employs a mixture of Scots and English.
James Main Dixon FRSE was a Scottish teacher and author, and an important scholar of the Scots language.
The village or hamlet of Gatehead is lin East Ayrshire, Kilmaurs, Scotland. It is one and a quarter miles from Crosshouse and one and a half miles from Kilmarnock. In the 18th and 19th centuries the locality was a busy coal mining district. The settlement runs down to the River Irvine where a ford and later a bridge was located.
The River Irvine is a river that flows through southwest Scotland. Its watershed is on the Lanarkshire border of Ayrshire at an altitude of 810 feet (250 m) above sea-level, near Loudoun Hill, Drumclog, and 7 miles SW by W of Strathaven. It flows 29+1⁄2 mi (47.5 km) westward, dividing the old district of Cunninghame from that of Kyle, until it reaches the sea via Irvine Harbour in the form of the Firth of Clyde, and flows into Irvine Bay by the town of Irvine. It has many tributaries, some of which form parish, district and other boundaries.
Robert Burns, also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is in a "light Scots dialect" of English, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. He also wrote in standard English, and in these writings his political or civil commentary is often at its bluntest.
The Castle and Barony of Robertland is located near Stewarton, off the B769 road, in the old district of Cunninghame, Parish of Stewarton, and now part of East Ayrshire, Scotland.
Swindridgemuir House and estate were composed of the 'Lands of Swindridgemuir' and the dwelling house about two miles north-east of Dalry in the old Barony of Kersland, about a mile and a half north of the Blair Estate, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The spelling on the family memorials at Ayr Auld Kirk is 'Swindrigemuir'.
Kate Kemp of Barskimming lived with her father at the Bridge House on the northern side of the single-span Barskimming Old Bridge, River Ayr, Scotland. Both Robert Burns and James Andrew, the miller at Barskimming Mill, had a romantic interest in her, and one visit led to the composition of the poem and dirge "Man was made to Mourn".
Minishant is a village bordering the A77 in the old county of Carrick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located in Maybole Parish, 3+1⁄2 miles from Maybole and standing close to the River Doon. The village was originally named Culroy after the Culroy Burn that runs through it.
John Ballantine (1743–1812), was a Scottish merchant and banker and one of the greatest friends, admirers and closest confidants of Robert Burns. Significantly Ballantine gave the poet advice on the selection of poems for his First Kilmarnock Edition as well as being asked for his opinion on the bard's poems.
Hamilton Paul was a Scottish church minister, and a writer, poet and humourist. In 1819 he edited the works of Robert Burns.
