Description

John and Thomas Smith of Darnick, 1832. 2 uneven segmental arches spanning Hermitage Water with central rounded cutwaters, circular end piers and splayed wing walls to W. Squared yellow sandstone rubble with dressed red sandstone voussoirs and bull-faced sandstone central pier. Ashlar-coped parapet.

Statement of Interest

A well-preserved, prominent, and notable example of the work of John and Thomas Smith of Darnick, using their pioneering economical method of whinstone rubble arch construction. The bridge is situated on the main road (B6357) from Newcastleton to Jedburgh. It was built for the Fifth Duke of Buccleuch.

John (1782-1864) and Thomas Smith (1785-1857) were the younger sons of John Smith, a mason and builder from Darnick (near Melrose). Intelligent and enterprising, they worked as architect-builders for a large number of projects in the Borders during the first half of the 19th century. They pioneered whinstone rubble arch construction without the use of ashlar and published a paper on this subject in the first volume of the RIBA Transactions. They built a number of bridges using this method, of which Hermitage Bridge is a good example.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q56615111

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)