North Bridge, Edinburgh

North Bridge, above Waverley Station, from the East

North Bridge is a road bridge and street in Edinburgh linking the High Street with Princes Street, and the New Town with the Old. The current bridge was built between 1894–97. A previous North Bridge, built from 1763–72, stood until 1896.

Current North Bridge

The current North Bridge has three spans of arched girders. It was constructed from 1894-7 by Sir William Arrol & Co.^[1]

Situated on the bridge is the Scottish National War memorial, by sculptor William Birnie Rhind which memorialises soldiers killed in campaigns between 1878 and 1902.^[2]

First North Bridge

The old North Bridge, with Calton Hill in the background, in 1829

The original North Bridge was founded, and the first stone of the building laid, by the Lord Provost George Drummond, a driving force behing the modernisation of Edinburgh, on the 21 October 1763. In that year, the North Loch, which separates the New from the Old Town, was drained, and the mud removed. But, though the erection of the bridge was resolved upon at this time, the contract for building the bridge was not signed till the 21 August 1765. The parties to this contract were the town-council of Edinburgh, and William Mylne, architect, brother to Robert Mylne. The sum agreed for was £10,140; the work was to be completed before Martinmas (11 November) 1769, and Mylne was to guarantee the works for a period of ten years.^[3]

A difficulty, however, occurred in the course of the work, which had neither been foreseen nor provided against. As the north side of the hill on which the old part of the city stands is extremely steep, it had been found convenient, in early times, to throw the earth dug from the foundations of houses down this declivity, towards the North Loch. As a result the whole mass, to a considerable depth, consisted entirely of what is called travelled earth. Mylne underestimated the depth of foundations required. This, together with other design faults, led to a collapse of part of the structure on 3 August 1769, killing five people. Rebuilding work cost another £18,000 and the bridge reopened in 1772.^[3]

The North Bridge consisted of three central arches, two side arches, with several smaller concealed ones at each end, of the following dimensions: width of the three central arches, 72 feet (22 m) each; breadth or thickness of the piers, 13.5 feet (4.1 m); width of the small arches, 20 feet (6.1 m) each. The total length of the piers and arches was 310 feet (94 m); and the whole length of the bridge, from the High Street to Princes Street was 1,125 feet (343 m). The height of the central arches, from the top of the parapet to the base, was 68 feet (21 m); the breadth of the bridge within the wall over the arches was 40 feet (12 m); and the breadth at each end 50 feet (15 m). Towards the northern extremity, however, the bridge was widened(?) by the erection of a range of buildings on the site of a lane called St Ann Street.^[3]

This first North Bridge was demolished in 1896 to make way for its successor.

Notes

• This article contains public domain text from Picture of Edinburgh By John Stark, 1825

References

Coordinates: 55°57′08″N 3°11′19″W / 55.95222°N 3.18861°W / 55.95222; -3.18861