Pathhead, Lothian Bridge

In the early 17th century, the main road from Edinburgh to the Merse, via Soutra, was described as 'so worne and spoylled as hardlie is thair any

journaying on horse or fute ... botwith haisard and perrell'.

And although the first Scottish Turnpike Act was passed in 1750, it was 1840 before Thomas Telford's grand new turnpike between Dalkeith and Greenlaw was finally ready. The modem road is essentially Telford's road, and his graceful Lothian Bridge still carries all its traffic.

Built in 1827-31 of well-dressed stone, it has 5 spans of flattened segmental arches, very similar to those of his Dean Bridge over the Water of Leith in Edinburgh (1829-31). The arches rise some 24 m from the river, to a 15 m span.

In carrying the new road over the peaceful Tyne, the bridge superceded the ford which gave its name to the attractive village in the valley bottom. Pathhead, by contrast, reflects the top of the track which climbed steeply up, south from the ford: it is essentially a mid-18 th century village of one-and two-storeyed houses built in a long line both sides of the curving, uphill

A 68. Much renovated, the earlier roofs are pantiled and more steeply-pitched, and on No. 101 a carved stone bears the royal warrant mark of the leatherworkers.

Not far to the south of Path head a temporary Roman camp has been identified from crop-markings recorded on aerial photographs. It may be that the Roman road, on its way towards Eskbank or Dalkeith, crossed at the ford and continued northward very much along the line of the present impressively straight road through Chesterhill and Edgehead.

Nearby is the linear estate village of Dewartown (NT 378641); also the Dewar family's uncompromisingly massive Victorian mansion house of 1875 at Vogrie (NT 380632). The estate, with its attractive early 19th century Gothic stable-block, is now a country park.

Information from 'Exploring Scotland's Heritage: Lothian and Borders' (1985).

This project was undertaken to input site information listed in 'Civil engineering heritage: Scotland - Lowlands and Borders' by R Paxton and J Shipway, 2007.

This striking sandstone masonry bridge, crossing about 90 ft above the Tyne Water at the north end of Pathhead, was designed by Telford as part of the Edinburgh to Morpeth road improvement, now the A68. It has five semicircular masonry arches, each of 50 ft span and was built by James Lees from 1829–31 at a cost of about £8500. The footpaths are partly carried on shallower arches carried 2 ft forward of the main spans but bonded to them. This ‘ascititious’ or ‘external’ arch and pier pilaster feature, as Telford called it, was intended to make the bridge look more slender. It is not altogether successful as the eye tends to move restlessly between the two arches affecting the harmony of the elevation. His adoption of this feature at Dean Bridge, Edinburgh, where the external arches extend 5 ft forward of the main spans, is much more effective in producing a slenderness effect.

Problems were encountered in founding the bridge. ‘An iron rod was driven 56 ft without impediment so piling became out of the question. Telford, Jardine & other persons of science and skill were consulted and in conformity with their directions, the piers were founded upon platforms composed of double tiers of memel logs and of three tiers of stones from Craigleith quarry. This has occasioned an extra expense of about £2000 and it was unexpected as the ground had been bored’, but what was thought to be bedrock 13 ft below the surface turned out to be ‘large round stones’.

R Paxton and J Shipway 2007

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