Kalemouth Suspension Bridge

It was designed by Captain Samuel Brown (1776-1852), an officer of the Royal Navy, and built by William Mather, a contractor of Kalemouth, some time between 1820 and 1830. Another source give the name of the person who paid for the bridge as William Mein of Ormiston. It is protected as a Category A listed building. and is one of the earliest surviving carriage suspension bridges. The bridge was closed to motor vehicles in August 2020 due to significant defects in its timber deck, with restoration of its use as a vehicle crossing considered unlikely. In March 2026, Scottish Borders Council was awarded £250,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to refurbish the bridge and allow its…

It crosses the River Teviot just above its confluence with the Kale Water, near Eckford. There is another nearby bridge called the Kalemouth Bridge, which carries the A698 over the Kale Water. The bridge works on the principle of suspension, and uses chains with long iron links for the suspension cables. Iron rods are used for suspenders to connect the chain to the deck of the bridge, and additional suspenders have been added in the middle of the chain links. A red painted wooden truss supports the wooden deck, which is covered with a layer of asphalt.