Pedestrian footbridge at former Morningside Road Station, Edinburgh, Morningside, Edinburgh

Description

Dating from 1877 to 1884, Morningside Road footbridge is a linear-plan, cast iron, lattice-style pedestrian footbridge, possibly built by George Smith and Company. The footbridge spans the railway track to the west of the former Morningside Road railway station (altered, unlisted) and connects Balcarres Street and Maxwell Street. The footbridge remains in use as a pedestrian footbridge (2021).

The arched span of the footbridge rests directly on a sandstone pier at the south and four cast iron columns support the landing on the north side, resting on the north platform. The columns have fluted circular pedestals, moulded bases and plain shafts surmounted by cast and wrought iron capitals. The capitals have decorative foliate detailing surmounted by projecting square slabs and ball friezes. Above the columns are spandrels decorated with foil tracery. The main balustrades and stair parapets are constructed in a riveted diamond-trellis pattern. The outer face of the balustrades has curved loop braces that project outwards.

The north approach to the footbridge (from Maxwell Street) has two flights of steps with lattice decorated risers, separated by a landing. The south approach has one flight of five steps with plain risers leading up to the walkway. The steps and walkway are now covered in asphalt.

The footbridge has three pairs of chamfered, square-section, cast-iron newel posts with ball finials on the north approach and one pair of similar newel posts at the south approach. There are later cylindrical, iron handrails on both approaches at each set of stairs.

In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: attached handrails and later security fencing.

Historical development

While a station and pedestrian crossing was shown on the 1^st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1877, the present footbridge at Morningside Road Station dates from no later than 1884 when the suburban railway opened.

In the late-18^thcentury Morningside was a rural, agricultural village to the southwest of the City of Edinburgh. Located on the principal drove road into Edinburgh from the south, the village served farms and estates nearby, including Plewlands, Egypt, Comiston and Buckstone. From the early to mid-19^th century, Morningside developed as a suburb of Edinburgh, attracting wealthy people who built large villas within private grounds.

As seen on the 1^st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1852, Morningside in the mid-19^th century largely comprised of large villas interspersed with cottages within small garden plots and the Royal Edinburgh Asylum to the west (opened in 1813). The southern edge of Morningside is bounded by the Jordan Burn and a number of large farms are still shown at this time. Morningside expanded considerably between 1852 and 1877, merging with Newington to the east and Merchiston to the north, becoming a residential suburb of the city. Improvements in transport links, firstly by the introduction of a tram service after 1871 and secondly by the opening of a suburban railway line in 1884, accelerated the growth of Morningside.

Morningside Station is recorded on the Ordnance Survey map of 1877 which shows a station building at the southern edge of Morningside and the railway line is labelled as the Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Line. This map shows the station as comprising two rectangular-plan platform buildings, a ticket office, signal box and signal posts. The pedestrian footbridge is shown to the west of the station and spans the railway line, connecting two fields and providing pedestrian access to a goods yard and sidings. However, historic newspapers, record that construction of the suburban line began in August 1881, following the passing of the Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Railway Bill in August 1880 (Edinburgh Daily Review). The suburban line opened to freight transport on 31 October 1884 (Grace's Guide) and for passenger services on 1 December 1884 (Glasgow Evening Post and Dundee Evening Telegraph). Morningside Station was one of eleven intermediate stations on this circular suburban line.

Some sources record that Morningside Station was renamed Morningside Road Station in 1886 when the Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Line was legally incorporated into the North British Railway on 1 March 1885 (Canmore, Grace's Guide and Railscot). By the 1890s the circular Edinburgh Suburban line comprised stations at Duddingston and Craigmillar, Newington, Blackford Hill, Morningside Road, Craiglockhart, Gorgie East, Haymarket, Waverley, Abbeyhill, Piershill and Portobello. The 2^nd Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1893 shows the station largely the same as that shown on the 1877 map, however there are tenements (built in 1887) shown to the north of the line and the addition of Morningside Cemetery to the south. The pedestrian footbridge is now shown connecting Balcarres Street to Maxwell Street.

The suburban railway line encouraged increasing numbers of people to move to Edinburgh's expanding suburbs by providing a regular passenger service to Edinburgh Waverley. Early-20^th century photographs indicate Morningside Road Station retained largely the same footprint as that shown on the 1877 and 1893 maps. The ticket office is shown at street level on the road bridge spanning the railway line and the two platforms were accessed via two gates and staircases on both sides of the ticket office. A cast iron, pillar station clock was added to the station complex in 1910, originally located in the middle of Morningside Road it is now on the pavement on the east side of Morningside Road (unlisted).

Morningside Road Station closed to passenger traffic on 10 September 1962 (Railscot). The line remains in use for freight transport and is owned by Network Rail.

Some of the station buildings were dismantled in the early 1970s, including the two waiting rooms. Historic photographs show the south platform and staircase were removed sometime in the 1970s (Railscot). The buildings to the south of the former ticket office were replaced with another building (now the Bank of Scotland). The former goods yard is now covered by flats and car parks. The footbridge is still used as a pedestrian walkway between Balcarres Street and Maxwell Street. The north platform and north steps survive and the former ticket office is now used as a shop.

Statement of Interest

Morningside Road footbridge meets the criteria of special architectural or historic interest for the following reasons:

It is a well-detailed and decorative example of a standard lattice-style railway footbridge.

It is a rare survival of the infrastructure related to the former Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Line.

It is possibly a rare survival of the work of the Sun Foundry in Alloa.

It is a tangible reminder of Scotland's late-19^th century railway heritage.

It remains in its original position and continues to function as originally intended.

Apart from some minor changes, the structure of the footbridge is largely unaltered and overall remains as it was built.

Architectural interest:

Design

Morningside Road footbridge is a lattice-style, cast iron footbridge commonly used in railway stations constructed between 1877 and 1914. This footbridge has good detailing, including good-quality cast iron columns with foliate capitals, fine spandrels with foil tracery and cast-iron newel posts with ball finials.

The footbridge conforms to a standardised design in terms of style, materials and decorative detailing. The main structural elements of the footbridge, including the arch, the columns and the newel posts are constructed in cast iron, making the footbridge both durable, relatively cheap and easy to erect. At this date, finer ironwork detailing was however still included in footbridge design, such as the curved loop braces, the decorative spandrels, the foliate detailing at the top of the columns and the long metal bars forming the lattice detail. These details are likely constructed in wrought iron because, as a softer material, it could be more easily worked. The design features of the footbridge at Morningside are commonly associated with cast iron railway footbridges of the late-19^th century.

Early railway footbridges were often constructed in timber, but by the late-19^th century through to the early-20^th century cast iron, wrought iron and steel were more commonly used because of availability and cheaper production costs. Earlier pedestrian bridges were usually custom-made designs which followed the prevailing architectural fashions of the time. By the late-19^th century mass-produced, prefabricated components that could be assembled on-site or retrofitted to station complexes became the standard (Hayward, p.59). Footbridges constructed between 1870s and the late 1890s continued to be highly decorative, however the widespread use of full steel construction and technological advances from the early-20^th century onwards resulted in footbridges that were increasingly designed to be more functional than decorative (for example see Monifieth footbridge dating to around 1900, listed at category C, LB37980).

The footbridge balustrades have good diamond-shaped lattice detailing consisting of riveted trelliswork. Iron latticework was typically used because it was light and airy and more visually appealing than heavy panel-sided balustrades, such as plate and box girder bridges. The lattice design indicates that this bridge likely dates to the 1870s/80s because while this form uses iron more economically than box girder bridges, it still uses large amounts of material, much of which is structurally redundant, indicating this style of footbridge was constructed for its visual impact as well as its more functional one (Historic England, p.73). The rivets in the latticework sides further indicate the footbridge's late-19^th century date, because welding largely replaced riveting after 1945 (Hayward, p.59).

The footbridge at Morningside appears to be particularly well-detailed for a suburban line. Historic photographs show that a number of the stations along this line had waiting rooms with decorative canopies, cast iron lampposts and lattice footbridges in a similar style, suggesting this line adopted a matching style which was common across the rail network.

The footbridge may have been constructed by George Smith and Company of the Sun Foundry in Alloa (Grace's Guide). Maker's plates are recorded as being present on the posts at the western end of the footbridge (Scottish Ironwork Foundation), however these were not seen in 2021.

The footbridge is a typical example of a late-19^th century footbridge, built as a component of the former Morningside Road railway station of the Edinburgh suburban line. In terms of its design, it is well-detailed and retains much of its historic character and authenticity, which adds to its special interest under this heading. There have been some later changes to the structure, such as the addition of handrails and the replacement of the walkway with asphalt however, overall, the footbridge remains largely as it was built and continues to be used as a pedestrian route as originally intended.

Setting

The pedestrian footbridge, west of the former Morningside Road railway station, is in its original position, spanning the railway track of the former Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Line. The footbridge is located in a suburban area and provides a pedestrian route between Maxwell Street and Balcarres Street in Morningside rather than giving access between the station platforms. Much of the surrounding area on either side of the railway is covered by the Morningside and Plewlands conservation areas, however the footbridge is outside of both area boundaries.

The immediate setting of the footbridge has been altered by changes made after Morningside Road Station ceased to operate in 1962. The southbound platform was removed in the 1970s, as were associated ancillary structures, including the south steps leading from the ticket office down to platform level, two canopied waiting rooms on the north and south platforms, station furniture and a signal box west of the footbridge (removed in the late-20^th century).

There has been some development to the southeast of the footbridge, including the addition of commercial buildings next to the former ticket office (now in use as a shop). However, the footbridge is still intervisible with the railway line, the remains of the north platform and stairs, and the former ticket office on Morningside Road. The railway line is still in occasional use for freight and diverted passenger trains from Edinburgh Waverley.

The relationship between the footbridge and the remaining station structures remains clear as being part of the historic station group and this contributes to its interest under this heading. The former station clock (unlisted) dates from 1910 and is located on the pavement on the other side of Morningside Road opposite the former ticket office. When this was first constructed, it was located in the middle of the road directly outside the ticket office.

The survival of the footbridge in its original location is of interest for understanding the development of this part of Edinburgh during its suburban expansion in the late-19^th century through to the closure of the suburban railway line, and the subsequent developments in the area in the late-20^th century. The footbridge at Morningside is the only remaining lattice footbridge built as part of the Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Line. Its presence in the landscape is a reminder of the late-19^th century expansion of the city and informs on the peak period of urban railways in Scotland.

Historic interest:

Age and rarity

The pedestrian footbridge is an important component of the former Morningside Road Station, one of various 19th century stations built as a result of Edinburgh suburban expansion and the increasing popularity of trains. The footbridge at the former Morningside Road station is the only remaining lattice footbridge on the former Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Line. Of the eleven stations on this circular line, three had footbridges designed in this lattice style and now only that at Morningside Road survives. Since the closure of this line to passenger traffic in 1962, those stations that were wholly on the circular line (and not connected to other junctions) have been largely dismantled and are no longer accessible. The structures that survive, such as those at Morningside Road and Newington stations, are fragmentary. The survival of this footbridge is unusual but is likely related to its continued use as a pedestrian route across the line rather providing access across station platforms.

The pedestrian footbridge at the former Morningside Road station, which likely dates to just before the railway line was opened in 1884, was built at the peak of railway construction (between 1877 and 1914). With suburban expansion of cities, new stations were needed along with appropriate station facilities. The construction of suburban railway lines helped encourage people to move away from inner cities to the suburbs and allowed for people to commute to work at reasonable prices (Knox, p.4).

Mid-20^th century images of stations along the Edinburgh suburban line show a house style with standardised components, such as canopied waiting rooms and decorative lamp standards. Gorgie East station and Duddingston and Craigmillar station also had lattice footbridges that provided access to both sides of the station platforms (Edinphoto). Both have since been removed following the closure of the stations.

Surviving railway stations and associated railway structures are not rare and they can be found across much of mainland Scotland, however those that retain much of their historic character may be of interest in listing terms.

The footbridge at the former Morningside Road station is a good quality survival and is a decorative example of a common building type. While it is not an early example of its building type, it is one that largely survives intact and predates mass produced steel examples appearing more widely from the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. It remains in its original position and continues to function as a footbridge across the railway track.

There are over 90 cast iron and steel footbridges with lattice balustrades still surviving in Scotland of which around 42 are currently listed. Some of these form part of existing or former stations with other ancillary structures, for example signal boxes or ticket offices, such as the footbridge at Arbroath North/Wellgate (listed at category B, LB52054) and Inverkeithing (listed at category C, LB49952). There are currently nine footbridges listed by themselves and these all largely date from the late-19^th century, for example the decorative Phoenix Lane footbridge in Dunfermline dating to around 1880 (listed at category C, LB46928) and the footbridge at the former Strathbungo station in Glasgow dating to 1877 (listed at C, LB33401). These standalone listed structures are usually early examples of their type, such as Kinghorn footbridge (built around 1850, listed at category C, LB46839) or the steel constructed Monifieth footbridge (built around 1900, listed at category B, LB37980).

While the footbridge at the former Morningside station is an example of a common building type, and much of the surrounding station infrastructure has gone, the footbridge compares well with existing listed examples and survives largely unaltered. It is a well-detailed and decorative example of a late-19^th century footbridge constructed at the height of the age of the railways.

Social historical interest

Social historical interest is the way a building contributes to our understanding of how people lived in the past, and how our social and economic history is shown in a building and/or in its setting.

The footbridge is a surviving component of the former Morningside Road station and retains some social historical interest as one of a number of intermediate stations opened by the Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Railway in 1884, of which now only fragments remain. The creation of suburban lines allowed people to commute to work from the suburbs and new suburban stations, such as Morningside, were therefore of great convenience to the growing neighbourhood.

The footbridge is a tangible reminder of Scotland's late-19^th century railway heritage, particularly the introduction of the local, suburban rail network. While much of the former station is now gone, the footbridge continues to be used as a pedestrian route across the tracks.

Association with people or events of national importance

There is no association with a person or event of national importance.

The footbridge may have been constructed by George Smith and Company of the Sun Foundry in Alloa (Grace's Guide). The Scottish Ironwork Foundation describes the footbridge as a rare example of ironwork from the Sun Foundry.

External Links

Historic Environment Scotland Listing

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