Kelso Bridge

Tweed Bridge at Kelso

Kelso Bridge crosses the River Tweed on the A699 in Kelso. It was built by John Rennie and opened in 1803 to replace an older bridge of 1754. The bridge consists of 5 equal spans crossing the braided river channel, with small islands having formed around most of the piers. The piers are protected by bullnosed cutwaters, which have flat tops at the arch springs. Some of the detailing, such as the twin columns rising up the piers to support refuges, appear to have been copied from the nearby, and earlier, Teviot Bridge. However, the refuges here are only shallow and home to lamp posts, although the wide roadway allows for good sized pavements across the bridge. The parapets step out in square form around the refuges, but at the ends they curve outwards before a right angled turn back in to the termination formed by a square pier topped with an ornamental lamp column.

The parapets are built of smooth ashlar, but the spandrels and piers are of a very different form, almost as if the parapets have been rebuilt at some point. The lower parts of the structure are largely faced with thin courses of rusticated stonework. This includes the arch rings, which spread out to form steps matching the courses of the stonework on the spandrels. Between the two, a toothed cornice level supports a very wide projecting 'shelf' which is wider than the refuges, but still steps out around them.