Inverness, Tomnahurich Swing Bridge over Caledonian Canal View from south west of south side of bridge, with pivot roller bearing visible (left)

Description Inverness, Tomnahurich Swing Bridge over Caledonian Canal View from south west of south side of bridge, with pivot roller bearing visible (left)

Date 30/3/1999

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number D 64123

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 804877

Scope and Content Tomnahurich Swing Bridge, Caledonian Canal, Inverness, Highland, from south-west This shows the south side of the 1938 swing bridge which was built by Sir William Arrol & Company to designs by Crouch & Hogg and T Shirley Hawkins. The two-storeyed building with the hipped roof (right) is the bridge-keeper's cottage and the support for the bridge is shown in the foreground. Wheels attached to the underside of the bridge run along the tracks (right and under the bridge on the left) on the support during the opening and closing operation. This bridge-keeper's house was probably built around 1820 and would have been occupied by the bridge-keeper who was responsible for opening and closing this bridge. This task was relatively straightforward for this mechanised swing bridge, but was more difficult for the 19th-century hand-operated drawbridge which spanned the canal at this point. The bridge-keeper would have opened one leaf and then rowed across the channel in a small punt to open the other. The Caledonian Canal was designed by Thomas Telford (1757-1834) and built between 1803 and 1822 at a cost of £840,000. It was the first example of a transport network funded by the government in Great Britain. The 96.5km-long canal provides a route for boats travelling between the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean as it runs from the Beauly Firth at Clachnaharry, Inverness, to Loch Linnhe at Corpach. Only 35.4km of this length is man-made while the other 61km runs through four lochs: Loch Dochfour, Loch Ness, Loch Oich and Loch Lochy. Unfortunately, at 4.2m deep, the canal was too small for most sea-going ships which led to it being altered and deepened between 1844 and 1847. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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