Edinburgh Bridges #18 The Dean Bridge

This is, in some ways, the daddy of all Edinburgh’s bridges not least because of its size a span of nearly 30m, 12m wide and a height over the Water of Leith of 32.5m and that it was Thomas Telford’s last major project, he was 73 at the time, which he designed in 1828 and built between 1829 & 1831.

The stone used for this bridge came a long way, all of 2km from the Craigleith quarry to be precise. The initial design called for 3 arches but this revised due to the span and height of the crossing and a 4 arch design was implemented, the stone piers are actually hollow making them lighter but not necessarily less weaker and consequently allow the inspection of the stonework easier.
The bridge was funded (to the tune of £18,556) almost exclusively by John Learmouth owner of the land to the north of the river who saw the bridge as a vital link to the flat land on which an extension of the New Town development could be carried out.
One change to the bridge was made in 1888 when the parapets on either side were raised to deter suicides which were occurring with a regularity that was disturbing in the mid-Victorian period.