Document record MAB57135 - BOW BRIDGE

Site of a bridge.

Site of a bridge. The date for the building of this bridge over the Denburn is uncertain, but the first mention of the Bow Brig dates from a charter of 27 February 1506 in which a piece of land is described as being 'near the bow bridge'. It may have replaced an earlier bridge as there is a reference in a an earlier document, dated 1453, to a bridge in the area in which the Bow Brig stood. The term bow in this sense refers to an arched bridge, probably made of stone. In 1556 the Council of Aberdeen wanted to build a new bridge and add a second bow, or arch but it is not clear if this second arch was ever added. At any rate it was repaired in 1587 when Malcolm Wadderburn bought stones in Dundee to repair the bridge. Changes were again proposed in 1610. At that time the council of Aberdeen noted that the existing bridge had one arch and that this was too narrow. They went on to note that because of this when the Denburn over flowed the narrowness of the bridge caused the surrounding land to be flooded. Thus they wanted to build a new bridge with two arches that would let the water pass through it without causing flooding. This Bow Brig survived until the middle of the eighteenth century. The Denburn overflowed on 4 October 1746 and the effects made worse by the two arches of the Brig. This resulted in a public clamour for the Brig to be rebuilt with one arch. The new Brig was begun in 1747 to a design by the mason, John Jeans. The Bow Brig was finally removed in 1850 to make way for the Denburn Valley Railway. At that time the arches of the Brig were taken to Union Terrace Gardens, where part of it was incorporated into the arches which support Union Terrace itself.

CRUICKSHANK, J, 1934, NEWHILLS: THE ANNALS OF THE PARISH, 12, 39 (Bibliographic reference). SAB250.

ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL, 2012, ABERDEEN: GREEN HERITAGE TRAIL, Trail leaflet (Bibliographic reference). SAB8365.

Record last edited

Dec 12 2022 10:52AM