Linn Park Bridge, Linn Park, Cathcart, Glasgow, Glasgow, Glasgow

Description

Circa 1811-1820. Single-span, ornamental cast iron bridge crossing the White Cart Water at Linn Park, Glasgow.

The bridge is 13.12 metres (43 feet) long and 3.66 metres (12 feet) wide with a semi-elliptical depressed arch formed from four iron ribs spaced 1.22 metres (4 feet) apart and braced by rectangular frames held by bolts with square nuts. Each rib is cast with a decorative Greek frieze, pierced saltire lattice-work, gothic spandrels and distinctive 'ha'penny' roundels.

The bridge has sandstone abutments and simple parapet handrails, also of cast iron. A concrete deck was installed in the 1950s, replacing the 19th century timber deck. The abutments were extended in the 1960s. The southwest abutment was replaced and the bridge restricted to pedestrian use in 2016.

Statement of Interest

The bridge at Linn Park is an early example of a single-span cast iron bridge in Scotland and is the oldest known complete iron bridge in Glasgow. The distinctive decorative pierced iron work, including Greek and gothic stylistic motifs, give the structure a light and elegant appearance appropriate to its former parkland estate setting.

The bridge at Linn Park is located near Linn Park House (listed at category B – LB33334) and forms part of the setting of the house and the designed landscape of the estate. It is located on the former drive to the house, over the river White Cart. The secluded and picturesque setting of the bridge has changed little since the 19th century. It is now part of a publically accessible network of pedestrian routes through the park (2016).

The design of the bridge is visually distinctive with four ribs with ornamental pierced spans, cast in large sections. The decorative cast iron spandrels, using a number of architectural stylistic motifs including Greek and gothic, run the length of each rib.

No maker's marks are evident on the Linn Park Bridge. While a designer or builder's name is not currently associated with this bridge, the decorative quality and construction suggest that a renowned architect, engineer, or foundry may have been responsible.

The bridge is known variously as Linn Park Bridge, the White Bridge or the Ha'penny Bridge (in reference to the circular holes in the cast iron arches which resemble coins). It is located on the former drive to Linn Park House (see separate listing) and forms part of the setting of the house and the designed landscape of the estate. The bridge was probably built while Linn Park House and its surrounding estate was in the ownership of the Rev. James Hall, between 1811 and 1820. The sale notice of 16 March 1820 refers to an 'elegant cast iron bridge' on the estate. Field Marshall Colin Campbell (later 1st Baron Clyde) purchased the estate in 1820 and named it 'The Lynn' after a nearby waterfall. The Glasgow Corporation acquired the 207 acre park in 1919 and incorporated it into the city boundaries in 1938 and the bridge is now part of a public network of pedestrian routes through the park (2016). The secluded, picturesque setting of the bridge has changed little since the 19th century.

The first cast iron bridge in the world was the 1779 bridge by Thomas Farnolls Pritchard at Coalbrookedale over the Severn Gorge, Shropshire. The material was not only used for its flexibility, practicality and durability, but also for its ability to be manipulated for decorative effect. Cast iron was increasingly used for bridge-building in Scotland in the 1820s through to the 1850s and 1860s, when it was supplanted by wrought iron and then steel. The earliest firmly dated example of a fixed, segmental cast iron bridge in Scotland is the Duchess Bridge (see separate listing – LB4087) of 1813 at Langholm over the River Esk. It was cast in Workington, Cumbria. The second known single-span cast iron bridge in Scotland is Craigellachie Bridge in Aberlour, dating from 1814, a twin to the demolished Bonar Bridge, both of which were cast in Wales and transferred in parts by sea. The arch carrying London Road over the Molendinar Burn at Schipka Pass in Glasgow was built in 1826.

Among estate parkland bridges constructed in cast iron, the bridge at Hafton House (see separate listing - LB5074) near Dunoon, probably erected circa 1815-1820, may be the earliest surviving example. The Naughton Estate has one of Scotland's earliest surviving cast iron estate bridges, cast in 1818 and erected by Henry Balfour & Co, Durie Foundry of Leven in Fife (see separate listing – LB2533). There are similar but smaller bridges on the Cambo Estate in Fife, perhaps from the same Durie foundry. Possibly earlier is Linlathen East Bridge, Dundee, but that is primarily wrought iron rather than cast.

The bridge at Linn Park was erected within this early phase of cast iron bridge building. The use of a semi-elliptical arch is relatively unusual in a cast iron bridge, permitting the load to bear down vertically and laterally onto stone abutments – whereas the Linlathen Bridge, for example, has angled abutments to receive the thrust of the arch. The elliptical arch tended to be used in parkland settings in England and Germany and there are also 19th century examples in Russia (St Petersburg) and America (New York Central Park).

Statutory listing address and listed building record revised in 2016. Previously listed as 'Linn Park, Iron Bridge'.

External Links

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.