Tullibody Old Bridge, over the River Devon near

Tullibody Tullibody ( gd, Tulach Bòide), is a town set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies north of the River Forth near to the foot of the Ochil Hills within the Forth Valley. The town is south-west of Alva, north-west of Alloa and east-nor ...

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; sco, Clackmannanshire; gd, Siorrachd Chlach Mhannainn) is a historic county, council area, registration county and Lieutenancy area in Scotland, bordering the council areas of Stirling, Fife, and Perth & Kinross and the ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, dates from the early 16th century. Disused after 1915, it was restored for use by walkers and cyclists in 2003.

Sixteenth century

Clackmannanshire Council's public information board names Robert Spittal, the court tailor to

James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauch ...

and

Margaret Tudor Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541) was Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to King James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and successfully fought to extend her regency. Ma ...

and a local philanthropist, as the person probably responsible for the bridge's construction. Spittal was also responsible for the Brig o'Teith over the

River Teith The River Teith is a river in Scotland, which is formed from the confluence of two smaller rivers, the ''Garbh Uisge'' (River Leny) and ''Eas Gobhain'' at Callander, Stirlingshire. It flows into the River Forth near Drip north-west of Stirling. ...

at Doune. Tullibody Old Bridge was built early in the 16th century, constructed of rubble with some

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitr ...

and was designed to impede the rapid transit of horse traffic. The plan shows two opposed bends. With two main arches and three

flood arch A flood arch is a small supplemental arch bridge provided alongside a main bridge. It provides extra capacity for floodwater. The space beneath a flood arch is normally dry and often carries a towpath or similar. In some cases it borders on the ...

es to the west, its great length (442 ft or 134.7m) probably reflects the difficulty in crossing the flood plain at this point. The eastern arch was demolished, by

William Kirkcaldy of Grange Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange (c. 1520 –3 August 1573) was a Scottish politician and soldier who fought for the Scottish Reformation but ended his career holding Edinburgh castle on behalf of Mary, Queen of Scots and was hanged at the co ...

in January 1560, to hamper French troops during the regency of

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (french: Marie de Guise; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was a French noblewoman of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine and one of the most powerful families in France. She ...

the mother of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

. The French commander

Henri Cleutin Henri Cleutin, seigneur d'Oisel et de Villeparisis (1515 – 20 June 1566), was the representative of France in Scotland from 1546 to 1560, a Gentleman of the Chamber of the King of France, and a diplomat in Rome 1564-1566 during the French Wars o ...

improvised a bridge using timbers from the roof of the nearby Tullibody Old Kirk, and carried on from Fife to Stirling.Laing, David, ed., 'John Knox's 'History of the Reformation', Book 3,' ''The Works of John Knox'', vol. 2 (Bannatyne Club: Edinburgh, 1848), p. 14
/ref> A more permanent repair was made in 1560.

Seventeenth century

In the 17th century the bridge was often in a ruined state but was repaired several times with funds raised by tolls levied on users. In 1697 Thomas Bauchop, a mason, received a contract for repairs from the Earl of Mar. In that year he or his son, Alloa Master Mason Tobias Bauchop, built a new eastern arch and inserted iron ties.

Recent history

The Old Bridge went out of use in 1915 in favour of a lattice steel girder bridge, Downie's Bridge, built a short distance to the north to carry the A907 road. In 1999 the A907 was re-routed over the present concrete structure and the steel bridge, long neglected, was demolished in 2003. In January 2003, Clackmannanshire Council began restoring the Old Bridge and performed vegetation clearance, resurfacing and structural repairs to the masonry in accordance with conditions laid down by

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. ...

. The project was completed in January 2005 and Tullibody Old Bridge now forms part of the National Cycle Network in Clackmannanshire. It is protected as a Category A

listed building 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 I ...

, and was a

Scheduled Ancient 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 2016 when this status was removed due to dual designation.

References

{{reflist, 33em Bridges completed in the 16th century Bridges in Scotland Former toll bridges in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Clackmannanshire 16th-century establishments in Scotland Buildings and structures in Clackmannanshire