Kelso Bridge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coordinates | 55°35′43″N2°26′01″W / 55.595352°N 2.433480°W |
| Crosses | River Tweed |
| Heritage status | Category A listed |
| Characteristics | |
| Material | Stone |
| Longest span | 72 feet (22 m) |
| No. of spans | 6 |
| History | |
| Designer | John Rennie the Elder |
| Constructed by | Murray & Lees |
| Construction start | 1800 |
| Construction end | 1803 |
| Location | |
 | |
The Kelso Bridge or Rennie's Bridge is a bridge across the River Tweed at Kelso, in the Scottish Borders.
The first bridge at the site was opened in 1754, funded by public subscription. [1] It had six arches, and replaced a ferry which was dangerous during times of bad weather and limited the volume of traffic that could pass through the town. [1] An arch collapsed in 1756, killing 6 people. [1] The bridge was repaired, but a storm on 25 October 1797 caused damage to the foundations of the centre arches, and the weakened structure collapsed into the river the following day. [2] [3]
John Rennie engineered the replacement bridge, which was built between 1800 and 1803, but he had been considering the design since 1798. [2] [4] It was his first major road bridge, and he gave exacting instructions for its construction, advising the trustees to build deep foundations by day labour instead of contract. [4] The piers were sunk into the bedrock to a depth of 7 feet (2.1 m) using cofferdams, this level being around 15 feet (4.6 m) below low water. [5] The cofferdams were kept dry by a pump driven by a water wheel on the south bank of the river. [4]
The bridge was built by a partnership between John Murray of Edinburgh and Robert Lees of East Lothian. [6] [7] It is situated about 50 yards (46 m) downstream of the site of the old bridge. [7]
The replacement bridge cost £12,876, part of which was funded by a government loan. [5] This money was repaid by collecting tolls, which were meant to be collected only until the cost of construction had been repaid, but in 1825 the right to collect tolls was let at £900 per year, making the bridge extremely profitable. [7] The collection of tolls continued until 1854, when there were riots protesting against the failure of the trust that ran the bridge to publish accounts. [2] Soldiers were called from Edinburgh to restore order, but no ringleaders were caught, and the collection of tolls was abandoned later that year. [2] [5]
The bridge was repointed in 1921. [5] In 1956, it was proposed that the bridge be widened, but the Fine Art Commission protested on the grounds that it would upset the architecture of the bridge. [5] By the 1980s the parapets were both leaning outwards, and work was undertaken in 1981 on the upstream side and 1985 on the downstream side to rectify this by demolishing each parapet and rebuilding it plumb. [8] In 1993, a fire engine crashed through the parapet whilst en route to an incident, resulting in the death of the driver. [9]
At the north-east end of the bridge is a tollhouse built for the bridge, which, like the bridge itself, is a category A listed building. [10] [11] [12]
The Kelso Bridge has five elliptical arches of 72 feet (22 m) span and 10 feet (3.0 m) rise, and is 24 feet (7.3 m) wide between the parapets. [2] A pair of engaged Doric columns rises from the semicircular cutwaters on each of the piers. [12] The high approach at the south end meant that to keep the deck level, as was Rennie's style, an embankment had to be built at the north end. [5] [4] The design of the Kelso Bridge inspired Rennie's design of the Waterloo Bridge in London. [2]
The bridge carries the A699 public road between the north and south of the town. [13] Downstream from the Kelso Bridge is Hunter's Bridge, a concrete viaduct opened in 1998 to direct traffic away from the centre of Kelso. [13] [14]
Richmond Lock and Footbridge is a lock, rising and falling low-tide barrage integrating controlled sluices and pair of pedestrian bridges on the River Thames in south west London, England and is a Grade II* listed structure. It is the furthest downstream of the forty-five Thames locks and the only one owned and operated by the Port of London Authority. It was opened in 1894 and is north-west of the centre of Richmond in a semi-urban part of south-west London. Downstream are Syon Park and Kew Gardens on opposite banks. It connects the promenade at Richmond with the neighbouring district of St. Margarets on the west bank during the day and is closed at night to pedestrians – after 19:30 GMT or after 21:30 when BST is in use. At high tide the sluice gates are raised and partly hidden behind metal arches forming twin footbridges.
Kelso is a market town in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Roxburghshire, it lies where the rivers Tweed and Teviot have their confluence. The town has a population of 5,639 according to the 2011 census and based on the 2010 definition of the locality.
The Union Chain Bridge or Union Bridge is a suspension bridge that spans the River Tweed between Horncliffe, Northumberland, England and Fishwick, Berwickshire, Scotland. It is four miles (6.4 km) upstream of Berwick-upon-Tweed. When it opened in 1820 it was the longest wrought iron suspension bridge in the world with a span of 449 feet (137 m), and the first vehicular bridge of its type in the United Kingdom. Although work started on the Menai Suspension Bridge first, the Union Bridge was completed earlier. Today it is the oldest suspension bridge still carrying road traffic and is a Category A listed building in Scotland, a Grade I listed building in England and an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. It lies on Sustrans Route 1 and the Pennine Cycleway.
The Ladykirk and Norham Bridge connects Ladykirk in the Borders, Scotland, with Norham in Northumberland, England, across the River Tweed. It's one of three bridges that cross it along the Anglo-Scottish Border, the others being the Coldstream Bridge and the Union Chain Bridge; out of these, the Ladykirk and Norham Bridge is the youngest, opening to the public in 1888.
Berwick Bridge, also known as the Old Bridge, spans the River Tweed in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England. The current structure is a Grade I listed stone bridge built between 1611 and 1624.
Coldstream Bridge, linking Coldstream, Scottish Borders with Cornhill-on-Tweed, Northumberland, is an 18th-century Category A/Grade II* listed bridge between England and Scotland, across the River Tweed. The bridge carries the A697 road across the Tweed.
The Royal Tweed Bridge is a road bridge in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England crossing the River Tweed. It was intended to divert traffic from the 17th century Berwick Bridge, and until the 1980s it formed part of the A1 road, the main route from London to Edinburgh. However, the construction of the A1 River Tweed Bridge to the west of Berwick has since reduced the Royal Tweed Bridge's importance.
The Kelvin Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct in Glasgow, Scotland, which carries the Forth and Clyde Canal over the River Kelvin.
Connel Bridge is a cantilever bridge that spans Loch Etive at Connel in Scotland. The bridge takes the A828 road across the narrowest part of the loch, at the Falls of Lora. It is a category B listed structure.
The Leaderfoot Viaduct, also known as the Drygrange Viaduct, is a railway viaduct over the River Tweed near Melrose in the Scottish Borders.
North Bridge is a road bridge and street in Edinburgh linking the High Street with Princes Street, and the Old Town with the New Town. The current bridge was built between 1894 and 1897. A previous North Bridge, built between 1763 and 1772, stood until 1896.
The Tweed Bridge is a stone-built road bridge of five spans over the River Tweed in Peebles, in the Scottish Borders.
Bridge of Don is a five-arch bridge of granite, built between 1827 and 1830, crossing the River Don just above its mouth in Aberdeen, Scotland.
The Kalemouth Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge at Kalemouth in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, near the B6401. It crosses the River Teviot just above its confluence with the Kale Water, near Eckford.
The Yair Bridge or Fairnilee Bridge is a bridge across the River Tweed at Yair, near Galashiels in the Scottish Borders.
Skerton Bridge is a road bridge carrying the southbound lanes of the A6 road over the River Lune in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The bridge is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building and Scheduled Monument.
The Victoria Swing Bridge is a swing bridge in Leith, Edinburgh.
The Newbattle Viaduct, sometimes also called the Lothianbridge, Newtongrange or Dalhousie Viaduct, carries the Borders Railway, which opened in 2015, over the River South Esk near Newtongrange, Midlothian, Scotland.
The Drygrange Old Bridge is a disused road bridge over the River Tweed near Melrose in the Scottish Borders.
The Mertoun Bridge is a bridge across the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders.
