Auld Brig, Dumfries
| The Auld Brig | |
| Dumfriesshire, Kirkcudbrightshire | |
|---|---|
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| |
| Location | |
| Carrying: | Foot traffic |
| Crossing: | River Nith |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NX96897605 |
| Location: | 55°4’5"N, 3°36’58"W |
| Structure | |
| Length: | 163 feet |
| Material: | stone |
| History | |
| Built Early 17th century | |
| Information | |
The Auld Brig, usually just the Old Bridge, in Dumfries is the 17th-century bridge which crosses the River Nith in the town, from the Dumfriesshire bank on the east to the Kirkcudbrightshire bank on the west, at Maxwelltown. It is also known as the Devorgilla Bridge.
A wooden bridge is said to have been built across the Nith at Dumfries by Devorgilla Balliol at some time in the 1260s. This was replaced in the fifteenth century as a document of 1431/2 refers to 'the bridge which has recently begun' at Dumfries. This latter structure was swept away by a flood in 1621.
In the 17th century, the bridge was rebuilt. This new bridge originally had nine arches, but on the reclamation of the eastern bank of river in 1794, the three eastern arches were removed, leaving the remaining six arches spanning a width of 163 feet. A corbel on the north side of the easternmost arch is dated '1610', but this stone was taken from a house being reconstructed late in the 19th century and inserted in the bridge.[1]
The bridge today is in good repair and though barred to motor traffic it is in use for pedestrian traffic.
Structure
The Auld Brig crosses the Nith on six spans (having lost 3 more in 1794). It is built of with dressed-stone arch rings and rubble spandrels. There are prominent triangular cutwaters, the central ones carried up to form pedestrian refuges. The arches are semi-circular. The westmost arch is reckoned to be original.[1]
Port of the Bridge
From an earlier for of the bridge, there survives a part of the "port of the bridge" on the lower part of the piers to which the gate was attached. This is the remains of this port or gateway. Tradition states that it was arched over and had a small tower where a watchman could be placed, similar to the other ports of Dumfries. Tolls collected here before the Reformation were given to the Grey Friars.[2]
Old Bridge House
The Old Bridge House stands at the western end of the bridge, in Maxwelltown. It is open as a folk museum, known as the Old Bridge House Museum.[3]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Devorgilla Bridge) |
