Designated 1 March 1984 Designated 16 October 1935 Built for James Beaton | Reference no. 2607 Reference no. 878 | |
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Location Dairsie, Fife, Scotland
GB grid reference NO415161 Similar Dairsie Old Church, Dairsie Castle, Aberdour Castle | ||
Dairsie Bridge is a 16th-century stone bridge, located 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) south of Dairsie, in north-east Fife, Scotland. It carries a minor road across the River Eden, linking the parishes of Dairsie to the north and Kemback to the south. The bridge is protected as a Category A listed building, and as a scheduled ancient monument.
History
There was an earlier bridge at Dairsie, as it is recorded that King James IV crossed it on his way from St Andrews to Stirling in 1496.
The present bridge bears an inscribed stone displaying the arms and initials of James Beaton (1473–1539), Archbishop of St Andrews, and it is likely that he ordered the bridge to be built during his episcopate (1522–1539). Nearby Dairsie Castle had been a property of the archbishops of St Andrews until the early 16th century.
The three-arched bridge is 30 metres (98 ft) long and 3.5 metres (11 ft) wide. The Eden flows under the two southern arches, and cutwaters project from the bridge's piers. Only minor alterations, to the parapets and approaches, have been carried out since the bridge's construction.