Tay Bridge, River Tay, Aberfeldy, Aberfeldy, Perth and Kinross

Entry Name: Tay Bridge, River Tay, Aberfeldy

Listing Name: Tay Bridge

Listing Date: 5 October 1971

Category: A

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 356063

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB20861

Building Class: Cultural

Also known as: General Wade's Bridge
Aberfeldy, River Tay, Tay Bridge
Tay Bridge

ID on this website: 200356063

Location: Aberfeldy

County: Perth and Kinross

Town: Aberfeldy

Electoral Ward: Highland

Traditional County: Perthshire

Tagged with: Road bridge Stone arch bridge

Description

William Adam, 1733; General Wade's classically-detailed bridge over River Tay on road from Crieff to Dalnacardoch. 5 segmental arches with 4 elegant obelisks to parapet framing centre arch. Chlorite schist rubble (see Notes) with ashlar dressings, keystones and voussoirs. Stepped band course and flat-coped parapet.

SW (UPSTREAM) ELEVATION: broad (60' span), taller centre arch with stepped keystone surmounted by white marble panel bearing crown, sceptre and sword at parapet; flanking cutwaters giving way to quoined refuges each containing panelled obelisk base at road level. Flanking arches (35' span) with raised and stepped voussoirs and full-height canted-out refuges with aediculed marble panels giving way to similarly-detailed outer arches (30' span) with small stone cannon projecting at outer elevations to W. Splayed approaches with flat-coped parapets and pyramidal copes.

NE (DOWNSTREAM) ELEVATION: mirrors above but aediculed panels with grey stone tablets.

Statement of Interest

Scheduled Ancient Monument partly in Weem Parish (W approach and 2 1/2 arches) and Dull Parish (E approach and 2 1/2 arches); E approach only is within the burgh. Erected for The Board of Ordnance to the order of Lt Gen George Wade, the stone was quarried, cut and tooled at local Bolfracks. The 'House of Commons Journal' of 1734 records that "the starlings are of oak, and the piers and landbreasts founded on piles shod with iron". Originally with steeply humpbacked centre and parapets 6' above the roadway. In 1932, 2 tablets with copies of Wade's original inscriptions were let into the stonework of two obelisk plinths, that to NE in English and that to SW in Latin. These record that the bridge, begun in April 1733, was finished within nine months, but this is not strictly true as General Wade stopped work for the winter leaving the bridge without parapets over the side arches. These were added the following year. Mackay records some extra details evident in the 1950s, these include small stone cannon over the small arches each projecting some 2', and hanging iron rings flanking the cutwaters of both centre piers.

External Links

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