Teviot Bridge

Teviot Bridge carries the A699 over the River Teviot just upstream from its confluence with the Tweed at Kelso. It is a substantial three arch bridge which dates back to 1795 which was built wide enough to carry a two-way road with narrow pavements on either side. Pedestrian refuges rise up above the piers, although they are more detailed than normal, with a pair of columns rising up from the substantial cutwaters to support the underside of the refuges. At either end the bridge abutments flare out substantially with carefully sculpted wing walls on the parapet ends.

The central arch is larger than the two flanking spans, and carries a horizontal parapet where the sides slope down a little. This is reflected in the roadway which is slightly humped in the centre, albeit necessarily with a different profile to the parapets, which is unusual. John Rennie was later tasked with constructing Kelso Bridge over the Tweed nearby, and took ideas from the Teviot Bridge, such as the twin columns on the piers, and developed them for his design. Whether this was a case of trying to make the two bridges look similar, or straightforward plagiarism is unknown!