Threave Bridge
Road Bridge (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Threave Bridge
Classification Road Bridge (Period Unassigned)
Alternative Name(s) River Dee; Castle Douglas; Bridge Of Dee
Canmore ID 176537
Site Number NX76SW 50
NGR NX 73734 60333
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/176537
- Council Dumfries And Galloway
- Parish Kelton
- Former Region Dumfries And Galloway
- Former District Stewartry
- Former County Kirkcudbrightshire
NX76SW 50 73734 60333
Threave Bridge [NAT]
OS 1:10,000 map, 1982.
For predecessor Old Bridge of Dee (Granyford Bridge) at NX 7344 5995, see NX75NW 29.
For corresponding railway bridges, see NX76SW 51.
(Location cited as NX 737 604). Threave Bridge: three-arched granite bridge over the River Dee, built c. 1825 (probably to a design of Telford) on the Dumfries-Portpatrick turnpike, to replace the much older Bridge of Dee (NX75NW 29) nearby.
I Donnachie 1971.
(Location cited as NX 737 604). Threave Bridge, built c. 1825. A fine, 3-span masonry bridge, with segmental arches and rounded cutwaters. The masonry is rusticated. Replaced Old Bridge of Dee [NX75NW 29].
J R Hume 1976.
Threave Bridge: three segmental arches of hammer-dressed granite spanning the Dee: rounded cutwaters. It was built in 1825, and widened in 1986-7.
J Gifford 1996.
Threave Bridge, widened in 1986 by Barr and Co, doubled the width of the carriageway to the S. S elevation recladded with the original granite masonry, although the original slightly curved profile has been straightened.
J R Hume 2000.
This bridge carries the A75 (T) public road across the River Dee to the NE of Bridge of Dee village (NX76SW 58). The river here forms the boundary between the parishes of Kelton (to the E) and Balmaghie (to the W).
The location assigned to this record defines the midpoint of the structure. The available map evidence indicates that it extends from NX c. 73707 60323 to NX c. 73761 60343.
Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 15 March 2006.
Publication Account (2007)
Threave Bridge, also over the Dee, is on the A75 about two miles south-west of Castle Douglas. It was built for the turnpike road trustees from 1823–25 when the Carlisle to Portpatrick road was realigned. The bridge has three masonry arches in grey granite of which the outer spans are 54 ft and the centre span is 5812ft. Its width was 18 ft between parapet faces. The bridge was originally designed by Kenneth Mathieson, but reviewed and modified by Edinburgh civil engineer James Jardine. The contractor was John McCraken.
In 1986 the bridge was doubled in width, requiring the taking down and rebuilding of the downstream face. The
arches were strengthened at the same time and a reinforced concrete deck provided on top of the hollow spandrel walls. The new arch width was also constructed in this material but this is masked by the granite facing except at the unfinished far side in the view. The engineers were W. A. Fairhurst & Partners and the contractor, Barr Ltd, and their reconstruction won a Saltire Society Civil Engineering Construction Award in 1988. The reconstruction required a flatter gradient for modern traffic. The original elevation with its rise from
the sides to the centre, which dictated the arch dimensions, can be seen at the rear of the view.
R Paxton and J Shipway 2007
Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Lowlands and Borders' with kind permission from Thomas Telford Publishers.
