Keith Old Bridge, also known as Keith Auld Brig, is a bridge over the River Isla in Keith in

Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...

, Scotland. Built in 1609, it is the oldest surviving dated bridge in Moray and is a

Category A listed building Category, plural categories, may refer to: General uses *Classification, the general act of allocating things to classes/categories Philosophy * Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) * Category (Kant) * Categories (Peirce) *Category (V ...

Description

Keith Old Bridge is built of

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, 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 coo ...

rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...

, and spans the River Isla in a single

segmental arch A segmental arch is a type of arch with a circular arc of less than 180 degrees. It is sometimes also called a scheme arch. The segmental arch is one of the strongest arches because it is able to resist Arch#Basic concepts, thrust. To prevent fai ...

, linking the higher northern bank to the lower southern one, where it is widely splayed. On its eastern flank it bears a worn carving of the coats of arms of Thomas Moray and Janet Lindsay, and on the west there are date stones showing 1609, the year the bridge was built, and 1822, when repair work was carried out on it. Currently used only by pedestrian traffic, it is approximately 2.8 metres wide, with a span of 8.2 metres.

History

Keith Old Bridge, sometimes known as Keith Auld Brig, was built for the use of packhorses by Thomas Moray and Janet Lindsay, his wife. The couple lived close to the ford that had been in use prior to the bridge's construction, and they were distressed by the dangers involved in crossing it, so paid for a bridge to be built with their own savings. It was built in 1609, making it the oldest surviving dated bridge in Moray. It has been in constant use since that date, and underwent repairs in 1724, and again in 1822. Its role in carrying the main road across the River Isla ended in 1770 when the nearby Union Bridge was built, but it remained open for pedestrians, and stone steps were added at the southern end, probably in the twentieth century. The bridge was designated a

Category B listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 1972, and upgraded to Category A in 1988.

References

{{Reflist Category A listed buildings in Moray Listed bridges in Scotland Packhorse bridges Footbridges Deck arch bridges Keith, Moray Bridges completed in the 17th century Transport infrastructure completed in the 1600s 1609 establishments in Scotland Buildings and structures completed in 1609