Description

The monument comprises a bridge of 17th century date, which in the 18th century was incorporated into the military way between Kippen and Gargunnock. The bridge survives as a stone built single arched structure measuring about 13m in length and 2m in width. It spans the Leckie Burn, at about 30m above sea level.

The bridge is built of roughly coursed rubble with long thin slabs, or voussoirs, forming the arch rings. It has a single semicircular arch with a span of about 3.4m, rising to about 2.7m above the Leckie Burn. A stone set into the parapet on the south side of the bridge bears the incised inscription 1673 / EX BENEVOLENTIA / OB SALUTEM ("(Built) out of benevolence, for safety's sake").

The scheduled area is rectangular. It includes the remains described above and an area around within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. 

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as it makes a significant contribution to our understanding or appreciation of the past as a surviving arch bridge dating to the 17th century. It has the potential to add to our understanding of period of road improvements in Scotland in the 17th century. As the bridge is inscribed with its date of construction, it can inform our understanding of the development of this form of bridge, and the programme of road improvements in Stirlingshire to which it relates. The monument is a particularly good surviving example of a 17th century arch bridge and is therefore an important representative of this monument type. The monument makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the historic landscape by adding to our knowledge of route networks in the Modern period. Study of this monument along with similar bridges and military ways dating to this time period has the potential to significantly add to our understanding of the importance of routeways in the 17th century, and the economic changes which necessitated the improvement of the road networks. 

The monument has significant associations with historical events and movements. The monument was built four years after the passing of the 1669 'Act for repairing High ways and Bridges', and appears to be a direct response to wider movements to improve routeways in Stirlingshire during this part of the 17th century. When the military road between Dumbarton and Stirling was constructed between 1770 and 1780, the monument was utilised to carry the section between Kippen and Gargunnock. The road was built as part of a wider networks of routes for use by Government forces to control the Scottish Highlands and as such the monument has a significant association with the transformation of the society and culture of the Scottish Highlands in the 18th century in the years following the Jacobite Risings.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography
No Bibliography entries for this designation

trove.scot

https://www.trove.scot/place/45390/

Source: Historic Environment Scotland