View from south east

Description View from south east

Date 18/6/2001

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

Catalogue Number SC 769039

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of E 16091 CN

Scope and Content Balmoral Bridge, Balmoral Estate, Aberdeenshire, from the south-east This single-span, wrought-iron, plate-girder bridge, probably the earliest in Scotland, was completed in 1857. The designer was the renowned engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and the iron-founder was R Brotherhood of Chippenham, Wiltshire. The span of the two riveted girders is 39.8m, and they are pierced with a simple diamond pattern in which rivets and plates are used effectively as part of the design. The girders are mounted on two large granite piers, the building of which was supervised by Dr Andrew Robertson, the doctor and factor at Balmoral. The bridge is currently painted green although Brunel originally wanted 'some simple sober but warm brown tint' with the underside and the outside painted in contrasting shades. The bridge crosses the river at Crathie Church, and links the north and south Deeside roads. It was first used by the royal party when they drove across it to attend Sunday worship at church on 13 September 1857, and is used today by visitors approaching the castle grounds. It was built to alter the route of the public road which originally followed the winding course of the River Dee through the Balmoral estate, thereby creating move privacy for the royal family. The Balmoral estate was bought in 1852 by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria as a Highland retreat from the stresses of London life. Prince Albert initiated many improvements, including the building of a new holiday home, Balmoral Castle, in 1853-5 and the construction of new cottages for estate workers, new stables, new bridges, roads, plantations and a model dairy. Balmoral Bridge was commissioned by the prince in 1854 to form a new approach to the castle. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/769039

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap