Sold as a quarry to the builders of its replacement, then bought back before they could take it apart.
In 1816 this bridge was sold to the men building its replacement, to be taken apart for stone. Money was raised to buy it back, and the trustees of the new bridge went and quarried somewhere else. It is an unusually early case of a community paying to keep a structure for what it was rather than for what it did.
The bridge is late medieval, thought to date from the early fifteenth century. John R. Hume names James Kennedy, who died in 1465, as the builder; the first written mention is not until 1512, and by 1593 it was already being described as ruinous. It is a single arch with a steeply humped span of 72 feet and a rise of 26, so crossing it is a climb. It has been repaired many times, most recently in 1978, and a good deal of the stonework does not match - the repairs are legible in the fabric.
Traffic goes over the New Bridge of Doon now, downstream, on the B7024. The old one carries walkers, and its likeness on the Bank of Scotland five pound notes of 2007 and 2016, where it appears beside the Burns statue from Dumfries.
What follows is drawn from published sources, with each claim labelled by how firmly it is established.
History
The Brig o' Doon, sometimes called the Auld Brig or Old Bridge of Doon, is a late medieval bridge over the River Doon in Ayrshire, near Alloway, and a Category A listed structure. Auld and brig are Scots for old and bridge, so the name means simply the old bridge of Doon. The bridge is thought to have been built in the early fifteenth century. According to John R. Hume it was built by James Kennedy, who died in 1465, though the first recorded mention of it comes only in 1512. It was described as ruinous as early as 1593.
It is a single-arched bridge with a steeply humped span of 72 feet and a rise of 26 feet. It has been repaired many times, most recently in 1978, and many parts of the stonework do not match — a record of those repairs written into the fabric. The B7024 crosses the Doon on the New Bridge of Doon, a single-arch stone bridge built downstream in 1816 to cope with increasing traffic. The old bridge was sold to the builders of the new one as a quarry for material.
Money was raised to buy the old bridge back, and the trustees of the new bridge decided to quarry somewhere else. That is a very early instance of a community paying to prevent the demolition of a structure valued for what it was rather than for what it did. The bridge appears on the 2007 and 2016 series of five pound notes issued by the Bank of Scotland, alongside the statue of Robert Burns that stands in Dumfries.
People
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Portrait: Unknown / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain James Kennedy
Named by John R. Hume as the builder of the bridge; he died in 1465.
Connections
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Photo: Simon Johnston / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0 New Bridge of Doon
Built downstream in 1816 for increasing traffic, and the reason the old bridge was sold for its stone.
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Photo: Mary and Angus Hogg / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0 Alloway
The village beside the crossing, and Burns country.
In culture
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Bank of Scotland five pound note
The bridge appears on the 2007 and 2016 series, alongside the statue of Robert Burns in Dumfries.
What to look for
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The humped span
A single arch of 72 feet with a rise of 26 - steep enough that the crossing reads as a climb rather than a level passage.
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The mismatched stonework
Many parts do not match, recording the repairs the bridge has had since it was called ruinous in 1593.
Plan your visit
- Location
- 55.4260°N · 4.6367°W
Nearby places
Fortified place · Medieval
Greenan Castle
South Ayrshire
A sixteenth-century tower on a headland fortified since before the Romans, and the place a Kennedy set out from on the morning he was murdered.
Fortified place · Medieval
Dunure Castle
South Ayrshire
A ruin on a rocky headland of the Carrick coast, five miles south of Ayr, on a site of the late thirteenth century.
Minor monument · Medieval
Market Cross, Prestwick
South Ayrshire
The cross carries its own admission that it is not original: the inscription reads 'Rebuilt 1777'.
- Near Prestwick
- Easy path
Sacred place · Medieval
Crossraguel Abbey
South Ayrshire
A ruined Cluniac monastery near Maybole that still keeps its church, covered walkways and dovecote.
Questions people ask
- How old is the bridge?
- It is thought to have been built in the early fifteenth century. John R. Hume names James Kennedy, who died in 1465, as its builder, though the first recorded mention is in 1512.
- Why was it nearly demolished?
- When the New Bridge of Doon was built downstream in 1816, the old bridge was sold to its builders as a quarry for stone. Money was raised to buy it back and the trustees quarried elsewhere.
- Is it on a banknote?
- Yes. It appears on the Bank of Scotland five pound notes of 2007 and 2016, with the statue of Burns that stands in Dumfries.
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