The Bridge of Dee or Brig o Dee ( gd, Drochaid Dhè) is a road bridge over the River Dee in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. The term is also used for the surrounding area of the city. Dating from 1527,Richards, J.M., ''The National Trust Book of Bridges'', Jonathan Cape, 1984, the bridge crosses at what was once the City of Aberdeen's southern boundary. The Bridge of Dee is approximately 32 feet (10 m) above typical water height and consists of seven nearly semicircular ribbed arches, built using

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

and Elgin

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

. Today the bridge carries the main

A92 road The A92 is a major road that runs through Fife, Dundee, Angus, Aberdeenshire, and Aberdeen City in Scotland. From south to north, it runs from Dunfermline to Blackdog, just north of Aberdeen. History The A92's original route in southern ...

into Aberdeen from the south. It was designated a Category A

listed structure In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in 1967, and was also listed as a

Scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

until being de-scheduled on 16 February 2009.

George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly (156213 June 1636) was a Scottish nobleman who took a leading role in the political and military life of Scotland in the late 16th century, and around the time of the Union of the Crowns. Biography The son o ...

with his Catholic supporters rebelled against James VI of Scotland and confronted the King at the Brig of Dee on 17 April 1589. There was no battle and Huntly surrendered a few day later. The bridge was the site of a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in 1639 between the

Royalists A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

under

Viscount Aboyne Viscount Aboyne was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created on 20 April 1632 for George Gordon, Earl of Enzie, eldest son of George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly, with remainder that the title should pass to his second son the Hon. Jam ...

and the Covenanters who were led by the

Marquess of Montrose A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...

and

Earl Marischal The title of Earl Marischal was created in the Peerage of Scotland for William Keith, the Great Marischal of Scotland. History The office of Marischal of Scotland (or ''Marascallus Scotie'' or ''Marscallus Scotiae'') had been hereditary, held b ...

. This was the only substantial action of the

First Bishops' War First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

, and it took place after the peace treaty had already been signed.

History

The bridge was built following a bequest of £20,000 by Bishop

William Elphinstone William Elphinstone (143125 October 1514) was a Scottish statesman, Bishop of Aberdeen and founder of the University of Aberdeen. Biography He was born in Glasgow. His father, also William Elphinstone, later became the first Dean of the Fa ...

who died in 1514. The bridge was completed by Bishop Gavin Dunbar. It was nearly all rebuilt between 1718 and 1723, and in 1841 was widened from 14 to 26 feet (from four to eight metres) under the direction of Aberdeen City Architect John Smith. Smith also designed the Shakkin' Briggie, and worked on the Bridge of Don with

Telford Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in t ...

and Wellington Suspension Bridge with Captain Samuel Brown. The bridge is located near the northern terminus of the Causey Mounth, a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

drovers' road A drovers' road, drove ''roador droveway is a route for droving livestock on foot from one place to another, such as to market or between summer and winter pasture (see transhumance). Many drovers' roads were ancient routes of unknown age; ot ...

connecting

Stonehaven Stonehaven ( , ) is a town in Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 11,602 at the 2011 Census. After the demise of the town of Kincardine, which was gradually abandoned after the destruction of its royal cast ...

. This ancient

trackway Historic roads (historic trails in USA and Canada) are paths or routes that have historical importance due to their use over a period of time. Examples exist from prehistoric times until the early 20th century. They include ancient trackways ...

specifically connected the Bridge of Dee via Bourtreebush,

Muchalls Castle Muchalls Castle stands overlooking the North Sea in the countryside of Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The lower course is a well-preserved Romanesque, double-groined 13th-century tower house structure, built by the Frasers of ...

and

to the south. The route was that taken by William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal and the

when they led a Covenanter army of 9000 men in the first battle of the Civil War in 1639. The following contemporary verse was written about the battle. ::''Muskies mother'' large cannon''has made a vow'' ::''That she will take her venter'' are to go ::''And thunder throughe (the) brige of Dee'' ::''Led by a Covenanter.'' ::''The Covenanters that ye see'' ::''Come marching alongest the grein'' pen grassy ground ::''Wer not for feare of God they say,'' ::''They wold plounder Aberdeine.'' A chapel had been built right next to the bridge as a resting place for pilgrims travelling to and from Aberdeen. There appears to be no record showing when it was built but we know that an inventory was made by the Chaplin Sir William Ray.https://garthdeechurch.co.uk/garthdee/chapel/ This may have been done prior to a legal battle. Gordon of Abergeldie petitioned Aberdeen town council on 27 February 1530 claiming that the chapel prevented him having easy access to his fishing rights in the river. Having lost the court case Gordon removed one of the buttresses to the bridge to make a footpath for his men to get to the river. Consequently, Aberdeen Town Council, the owners of the bridge, started legal action against him in Edinburgh High Court. Until 1832, this was the only access to the city from the south. The bridge still features the original 16th-century piers, coats of arms and passing places.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dee, Bridge of Bridges completed in 1527 Areas of Aberdeen Category A listed buildings in Aberdeen Road bridges in Scotland Bridges across the River Dee, Aberdeenshire Bridges in Aberdeen 1520s establishments in Scotland

History

See also

Footnotes