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Latitude: 57.1781 / 57°10'41"N
Longitude: -2.1705 / 2°10'13"W
OS Eastings: 389787
OS Northings: 809714
OS Grid: NJ897097
Mapcode National: GBR S15.MP
Mapcode Global: WH9QH.MVM1
Entry Name: Bucksburn, canal bridge, 60m SSE of St Machar's Church
Scheduled Date: 30 October 2002
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
Source ID: SM10378
Schedule Class: Cultural
Category: Industrial: inland water
Location: Newhills
County: Aberdeen City
Electoral Ward: Dyce/Bucksburn/Danestone
Traditional County: Aberdeenshire
The monument comprises an early nineteenth-century canal bridge, built to take the Aberdeenshire Canal over a natural stream, the Bucks Burn. The bridge, visible as an upstanding structure, now lies in the built-up area of Bucksburn, some 60m SSE of St Machar's Church, at a height of about 40m OD.
Today the bridge carries a minor road over the Bucks Burn. Only the E face of the bridge is visible. The W face is obscured by a 3m high wall which retains the garden ground of a modern dwelling house, 36 Old Meldrum Road, at a much higher level. The burn reappears 30m away, on the W side of Old Meldrum Road.
The bridge comprises a fine arch, some 5.5m wide, spanning the burn. The banks down to the burn are very steep. The lowest part of the banks has been concreted and walkways inserted on either side of the burn. The vertical E face of the bridge stands about 5m high and is built in coursed masonry. The roadway traversing the bridge is a minimum of 6.8m wide.
The bridge formed part of the Aberdeenshire Canal, which was begun in 1798 and opened in 1805. This canal provided a mode of transport for only a short space of time. It was superseded by the Aberdeen to Inverness railway line, opened in 1854, which runs close by the Bucksburn canal bridge today.
The area proposed for scheduling is an irregular, curving shape to include the whole bridge structure. It has maximum dimensions of 20m N-S by 9m W-E, as marked in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling excludes the road surface to allow for routine maintenance. It also excludes the high retaining wall on the W side of the road.
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
The monument is of national importance as an integral part of the Aberdeenshire Canal, which has the potential to contribute to an understanding of canal engineering and architecture and early nineteenth-century transport. It is also important because the construction and use of the canal is well documented in written and cartographic sources. This particular bridge is an interesting example of one method used to engineer the canal over natural barriers, such as the Bucks Burn.
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
Bibliography
RCAHMS records the monument as NJ 80 NE 113.
Reference:
Graham, A. (1969) 'Two canals in Aberdeenshire', Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 100.
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
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