General view from south east

Description General view from south east

Date 4/6/2001

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

Catalogue Number SC 768792

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of E 15540 CN

Scope and Content Bridge of Dee, Invercauld, Aberdeenshire, from the south-east (Old Invercauld Bridge) This remarkable six-arched, hump-backed, rubble bridge stands on a rocky bend in the River Dee where reefs of rock cross the flow of water. Each span is a different size, and the smaller outer spans, completely hidden by the trees, are built on dry land. This asymmetry rather enhances the bridge's appearance, as do the massive V-shaped cutwaters that have roofs of large stone flags. In 1855 the new Balmoral Castle on the Balmoral estate was almost completed, and Prince Albert turned his attention on laying out the grounds. However, there was a question of privacy as one of the two public roads from Ballater to Braemar followed the south bank of River Dee on its winding course through the Balmoral estate. This road ran from the east lodge of the castle, which was passed with only a few metres to spare, and continued through the estate to the Bridge of Dee at Invercauld. Up to this point it had only been used by local people, but now that Balmoral was a royal residence, royal privacy had to be ensured. This stretch of road was closed by the Ballater Turnpike Road Act of 1855, and new bridges built at its eastern and western ends so that traffic coming on the south bank road from Ballater by-passed the estate, and crossed back to the south of the River Dee by a new bridge at Invercauld. Bridge of Dee at Invercauld was designed in 1753 by the engineer, Major Edward Caulfield, as a military bridge to link Corgarff in the north with Inverness, and Blairgowrie in the south. It was superseded in 1859 by a new Invercauld Bridge, built at the expense of Prince Albert in order to secure his privacy on the Balmoral estate, which he and Queen Victoria purchased in 1852. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/768792

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap