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Contin, Old Bridge
Road Bridge (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Contin, Old Bridge
Classification Road Bridge (Period Unassigned)
Alternative Name(s) Contin Bridge; Black Water; Achilty
Canmore ID 12457
Site Number NH45NE 59
NGR NH 45403 56672
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/12457
- Council Highland
- Parish Contin
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Ross And Cromarty
- Former County Ross And Cromarty
NH45NE 59 45403 56672
Contin Bridge [NAT]
OS 1:10,000 map, 1992.
For (present and successor) Contin, New Bridge (NH 45420 56612), see NH45NE 147.
ARCHITECT: Thomas Telford (1803-21).
(Undated) information in NMRS.
(Location cited as NH 454 567). Bridge, Contin, early 19th century. A 3-span rubble bridge, with segmental arches and rounded cutwaters.
J R Hume 1977.
Bridge over the Black Water, by Thomas Telford, 1812-13. Rubble-built, with three segmental arches, and triangular cutwaters topped by pilasters at the parapet.
J Gifford 1992.
NH 4540 5667 A small watching brief was undertaken on old Contin Bridge (NH45NE 59) in December 2003 as part of a water mains renewal project. No archaeological deposits or features were revealed.
Report lodged with Highland SMR and the NMRS.
Sponsor: Halcrow Group Ltd for Scottish Water.
S Farrell 2004.
This bridge carries the former line of the A835 (T) public road over the Black Water to the NNW of the village of Contin (NH45NE 62). There is a successor bridge (NH45NE 147) about 40m to the S.
Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 4 May 2005.
The location assigned to this record defines the midpoint of the structure. The available map evidence suggests that it extends from NH c. 45377 56659 to NH c. 45427 56682.
Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 21 April 2006.
Construction (1813 - 1816)
Designed by Thomas Telford, built by T. Muirson.
R Paxton and J Shipway, 2007.
Publication Account (2007)
An unusual asymmetrical three-span rubble-masonry bridge with spans of 40 ft, 45 ft and 50 ft span designed by Telford and erected from 1813–16 by T. Muirson at a cost of £1163. The long time period was because Muirson was required to rebuild two arches in 1815–16. The bridge connected the Achnasheen and Contin to Dingwall sections of the Loch Carron Road. An earlier bridge of insufficient dimensions was destroyed by a flood in 1811.
Above the bridge’s arch springing level its triangular cutwaters translate into narrow pilasters extending up to the parapets. The inclination of the parapet line at the bridge does not quite match that intended by Telford. The bridge carried the A832 road until bypassed in the 1980s by the present bridge which is curved in plan and affords a good view of the old bridge.
R Paxton and J Shipway, 2007.
Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Highlands and Islands' with kind permission from Thomas Telford Publishers.
