Union Canal, detail of bridge. Digital image of E5872 CN.
SC 678631
Description Union Canal, detail of bridge. Digital image of E5872 CN.
Date 2001
Catalogue Number SC 678631
Category On-line Digital Images
Copy of E 5872 CN
Scope and Content Detail, Bridge No 61, Union Canal, Falkirk, from east This shows a detail of the east front of the rock-faced masonry bridge, which was built in 1821. The keystone of the large arch has been moulded with a smiley face. The border of the date panel has been carved to resemble rope and the number '61' above the date is the serial number of the bridge. This bridge is popularly known as 'The Laughin' and Greetin' Bridge' because of its carved keystones of a sad face (west front) and a smiling face (east front). The faces are said to represent the engineering task that was faced at either side of the bridge. The east to Edinburgh was relatively straightforward as the canal followed the contours of the hills but the west was far more difficult and needed a long tunnel and eleven locks where the two canals connected. The government authorised the construction of the Union Canal in 1817 and appointed Hugh Baird (1770-1827) as the chief engineer. The main purpose of the canal was to provide an economical route for the transportation of coal and lime between Edinburgh and Glasgow via the Forth & Clyde Canal (1768-90). The 51km-long canal was opened in 1822 at a cost of £461,760, almost double the estimate, and it ran from Lock 16 at Camelon, Falkirk to Fountainbridge, Edinburgh. Except where the two canals are joined at Falkirk, the canal was built with no locks because it followed the contours of the hills. The Union Canal was closed in 1965, two years after the Forth & Clyde Canal, and the construction of new roads meant that it was impossible for boats to travel along the full length of these watercourses. However, the £84.5m Millennium Link project enabled both canals to reopen in 2002. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.
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Attribution: © RCAHMS
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