Troswick Clapper Bridge, Troswick

Heritage listing

Category C Date Added 13/08/1971 Last Date Amended 10/08/2017 Local Authority Shetland Islands Planning Authority Shetland Islands Parish Dunrossness NGR HU 40596 17224 Coordinates 440596, 1117224 — A late 19th century flagstone and rubble clapper road bridge spanning the Burn of Clumlie. The bridge has 2 flat arches and low coursed rubble parapets. — The road bridge at Troswick dates to the latter part of the 19th century and is a rare rubble and flagstone clapper bridge, spanning a small burn and situated in a rural setting, close to a row of nationally important former watermills. Clapper bridges are mainly found in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and although once a common type, they are now rare. Troswick Bridge has undergone some alteration to form a modern road, but the rubble and flagstone construction survives. Age and Rarity This bridge dates from the latter part of the 19th century. The 1st Edition Ordnance Survey Map of 1882 does not show any track or road at this site. A track is depicted on the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map, surveyed in 1900, and it is likely that the bridge was built to provide local access across the Burn of Clumlie. There has been some alteration to the bridge as the parapets have been heightened and the road surface has been renewed. A clapper bridge is an early type of bridge construction with slabs laid across a series of rocks or piles of stones. It was easier to build than an arched structure. There are other surviving examples of this bridge type, mostly in the Highlands and Western Isles. These include Achnamara, a clapper bridge in Knapdale, Argyll and Bute which was constructed in 1684 and is a scheduled monument (SM10341) and North Shawbost Bridge on the Isle of Lewis, which is a 4-span rural bridge and is listed at ca

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.