Bridge of Dee - Aberdeen, Scotland
Posted by: 
creg-ny-baa
N 57° 07.379 W 002° 07.149
30V E 553332 N 6331420
Historic seven arch bridge over the River Dee on the southern side of the city of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland.
Waymark Code: WM167F0
Location: Northern Scotland, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 05/26/2022
Views: 1
The Bridge of Dee stands at the northern end of an ancient drovers road that led from Stonehaven to Aberdeen up the north-eastern coast of Scotland. In the 15th century a ferry would operate on the site transporting traffic across the River Dee into the city, a ford also stood 300 yards downstream. In the 1510s, a bequest of £20,000 from Bishop William Elphinstone, who died in 1514, went into a project for a bridge over the river. A later bishop, Bishop Dunbar, took over the project and employed master mason, Thomas Franche to construct the bridge in 1527.
The bridge was partly rebuilt from 1719-23, and then widened by city architect John Smith in 1823, who moved the western side a full 26 feet. The bridge remained the only crossing of the river into the city until the opening of the Wellington Suspension Bridge downstream in 1830.
The bridge now carries the main A92 route into the city and is constructed of granite and Elgin sandstone, with seven arches, ribbed underneath. The remaining parts of the original build are the piers and some stone carvings, along with the triangular cutwaters acting as refuges on both sides of the walkways. The bridge has a 2.1 metre width restriction, and wide loads are directed to the dual-carriageway King George VI Bridge downstream.