Stirling Old Bridge is a stone bridge which crosses the River Forth. For over 300 years it provided the lowest crossing point of the Forth and so had strategic importance. [1]
Old Bridge | |
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Coordinates | 56°7′43.03″N3°56′12.78″W / 56.1286194°N 3.9368833°W |
Carries | foot and bicycle traffic |
Crosses | River Forth |
Locale | Stirling |
Heritage status | Category A listed building |
Characteristics | |
Material | Stone |
Total length | 268 feet (82 m) |
No. of spans | 4 |
History | |
Construction end | circa 1500 |
Location | |
The stone bridge was constructed on rubble foundations around 1500 [2] and replaced earlier wooden bridges, including that on which the Battle of Stirling Bridge was fought.
The bridge originally had arches at either end and a defensive gate at the end nearer the burgh. Tolls were levied on goods being taken across the bridge. [3] : 114
In December 1745 General Blakeney, lieutenant governor of Stirling Castle, had one of the bridge arches destroyed to hinder the movement of the Jacobite Army. [3] : 160 The destroyed arch was rebuilt in 1749. [4] [5]
In May 1833 the adjacent new road bridge was opened to traffic and the Old Bridge was closed to wheeled traffic. [1] [3] : 196
The bridge was designated as a Category A Listed Building in 1965. [2]
The Battle of Stirling Bridge was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence. On 11 September 1297, the forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace defeated the combined English forces of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, and Hugh de Cressingham near Stirling, on the River Forth.
Clackmannanshire is a historic county, council area, registration county and Lieutenancy area in Scotland, bordering the council areas of Stirling, Fife, and Perth & Kinross and the historic counties of Perthshire, Stirlingshire and Fife.
Stirling is a city in central Scotland, 26 miles (42 km) northeast of Glasgow and 37 miles (60 km) north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its merchants and tradesmen, the Old Bridge and the port. Located on the River Forth, Stirling is the administrative centre for the Stirling council area, and is traditionally the county town of Stirlingshire. Proverbially it is the strategically important "Gateway to the Highlands".
The Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in east central Scotland. The bridge opened in 1964 and at the time was the longest suspension bridge in the world outside the United States. The bridge spans the Firth of Forth, connecting Edinburgh, at South Queensferry, to Fife, at North Queensferry. It replaced a centuries-old ferry service to carry vehicular traffic, cyclists and pedestrians across the Forth; railway crossings are made by the nearby Forth Bridge, opened in 1890.
Bannockburn is an area immediately south of the centre of Stirling in Scotland. It is part of the City of Stirling. It is named after the Bannock Burn, a burn running through the town before flowing into the River Forth.
Borrowstounness is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically part of the county of West Lothian, it is a place within the Falkirk council area, 16.9 miles (27.2 km) north-west of Edinburgh and 6.7 miles (10.8 km) east of Falkirk. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, the population of the Bo'ness locality was 15,100.
Inverkeithing is a port town and parish, in Fife, Scotland, on the Firth of Forth. A town of ancient origin, Inverkeithing was given royal burgh status during the reign of Malcolm IV in the 12th century. It was an important center of trade during the Middle Ages, and its industrial heritage built on quarrying and ship breaking goes back to the 19th century. In 2016, the town had an estimated population of 4,890, while the civil parish was reported to have a population of 8,090 in 2011.
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.
The Kincardine Bridge is a road bridge crossing the Firth of Forth from Falkirk council area to Kincardine, Fife, Scotland.
Tullibody, is a town set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies north of the River Forth near to the foot of the Ochil Hills within the Forth Valley. The town is 1.8 miles (2.9 km) south-west of Alva, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) north-west of Alloa and 4.0 miles (6.4 km) east-northeast of Stirling. The town is part of the Clackmannanshire council area.
Kincardine or Kincardine-on-Forth is a small town on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, in Fife, Scotland. The town was given the status of a burgh of barony in 1663. It was at one time a reasonably prosperous minor port. The townscape retains many good examples of Scottish vernacular buildings from the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries, although it was greatly altered during the construction of Kincardine Bridge in 1932–1936. It is in the civil parish of Tulliallan.
Linlithgow is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on an historic route between Edinburgh and Falkirk beside Linlithgow Loch. The town is situated approximately 20 miles west of Edinburgh.
Alloa railway station is a railway station in the town of Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, which was re-opened on Monday, 19 May 2008.
The Alloa Swing Bridge was a railway swing bridge across the River Forth that connected Throsk and Alloa as part of the Alloa Railway. The structure was in use from 1885 until 1968.
The Tweed Bridge is a stone-built road bridge of five spans over the River Tweed in Peebles, in the Scottish Borders.
Tullibody Old Bridge, over the River Devon near Tullibody, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, dates from the early 16th century. Disused after 1915, it was restored for use by walkers and cyclists in 2003.
The Devon Valley Railway linked Alloa and Kinross in central Scotland, along a route following the valley of the River Devon. Its construction took 20 years from the first section opening in 1851, to the final section in 1871. Three railway companies were involved, and it encountered a great many problems both with finance and engineering.
The Dean Bridge spans the Water of Leith in the city of Edinburgh on the A90 road to Queensferry on the Firth of Forth. It carries the roadway, 447 feet (136 m) long and 39 feet (12 m) broad, on four arches rising 106 feet (32 m) above the river. The bridge was one of the last major works before retirement of the bridge designer, civil engineer Thomas Telford, and was completed in 1831 when he was seventy-three years old.
Mote Hill is the northern tip of the Gowanhills, Stirling, the northern half of the Royal Park that extends around Stirling Castle. The wider park includes the King's Knott and sections of a 2-metre-high deer wall, first established in the 12th century, though Gowan Hill only became park of the Royal Park around 1500.
The Municipal Buildings are based in Corn Exchange Road, Stirling, Scotland. The structure, which was the meeting place of Stirling Burgh Council, is a Category B listed building.
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