Tweed Bridge, Innerleithen

Heritage listing

Category C Date Added 12/08/2003 Local Authority Scottish Borders Planning Authority Scottish Borders Parish Traquair NGR NT 33365 35978 Coordinates 333365, 635978 — 1886 for The Peeblesshire Road Trustees; RS Anderson (engineer) and Robertson & Co, Workington (contractors). Log-back girder road bridge comprising 4-spans held on stone piers and cutwaters, terminating in low wing walls. Mild steel and wrought iron with some cast-iron components (decorative green sand cast-iron plaques); rock-faced ashlar walls with dressed ashlar piers and coping. NE AND SW (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATIONS: three very large stone piers morphing into diamond-shaped cutwaters, cushion caps surmounting, similar terminating piers to end, all supporting the 4 log-backed spans (each with riveted cross trusses and railing parapets embossed with STOCKTON MIC); pair of ornate rectangular plaques of erection aligned with central piers with ERECTED BY THE PEEBLES SHIRE ROAD TRUSTEES 1886 (surrounding coat of arms with lion rampant shield with thistles to flanks), RS ANDERSON ENGINEER and ROBERTSON & CO CONTRACTORS WORKINGTON. Small wing walls with segmental coping to outer of end piers (stone protectors adjacent to metalwork). — The bridges and roads linking the parishes of Innerleithen and Traquair have an interesting past. The boundary of the 2 parishes is found in the centre of the River Tweed, across which this bridge spans. Although it may seem an obvious choice now, there has not always been a means of crossing the river here. On other bridge sites crossing this river, there were usually fords - one appears never to have existed here. The now lost estate of Pirn was found on the north bank (near Innerleithen), whilst the south bank belonged almost exclusively to Traquair House. The maps of the early 18

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.