Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Highlands and Islands

Date 2007

Event ID 882106

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Publication Account

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/882106

This fine bridge, of seven segmental masonry arches, was built from 1770–75 and carries the A92 road over the North Esk some 3 miles north of Montrose. The arch spans are graduated so that the bridge has a 63 ft centre arch and 40 ft span

side arches. Although featuring dressed arch-rings, quoins and mouldings, the bridge’s piers and spandrels are of scrabbled masonry. This practice of Smeaton’s at Perth influenced similar finishes being adopted on most large Scottish

bridges for a considerable time.

The inscription at the south end of the bridge attributes the design of the bridge to Smeaton, John Adam and Andrew Barrie, but it was the last named, a mason in

Montrose, who made the major input to the as-built design. He based this on a design and details prepared previously by Smeaton for a bridge at another site. Adam offered advice to the bridge trustees and prepared adraft of the contract. Barrie and Patrick Brown were joint contractors for building the bridge.

R Paxton and J Shipway 2007b

Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Highlands and Islands' with kind permission of Thomas Telford Publishers.