Abbey Bridge is

grade B listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

road-bridge over the

White Cart Water The River Cart ( sco, River Cairt) is a tributary of the River Clyde, Scotland, which it joins from the west roughly midway between the towns of Erskine and Renfrew and opposite the town of Clydebank. The River Cart itself is very short, being f ...

in the centre of Paisley in Scotland. It was erected in 1879, widened in 1933, and comprehensively restored in 2009.

Description

Abbey Bridge connects the south of central Paisley with the area around

Paisley Abbey Paisley Abbey is a parish church of the Church of Scotland on the east bank of the White Cart Water in the centre of the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, about west of Glasgow, in Scotland. Its origins date from the 12th century, based on a for ...

, carrying Bridge Street over the White Carr Water to connect with Cotton Street. It is a

beam bridge Beam bridges are the simplest structural forms for bridge spans supported by an abutment or pier at each end. No moments are transferred throughout the support, hence their structural type is known as '' simply supported''. The simplest beam ...

having two spans resting at each extreme on masonry-faced concrete

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...

s, and supported in the centre by a slender masonry pier. The roadway

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

comprises six steel-plate

girder A girder () is a support beam used in construction. It is the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams. Girders often have an I-beam cross section composed of two load-bearing ''flanges'' separated by a stabilizing ' ...

s, whilst the footpaths are supported by Warren trusses originally of

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

, but latterly of steel plate. The bridge has ornamented

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

s incorporating polychrome reliefs of the town’s arms; and facias, originally of

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

, but latterly replaced by ductile iron

cast Cast may refer to: Music * Cast (band), an English alternative rock band * Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band * The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis * ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William * ...

from the patterns of the originals, on which are mounted

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

lamps manufactured by the

Saracen Foundry The Saracen Foundry, Possilpark, Glasgow c.1890 The Saracen Foundry was the better-known name for the Possilpark, Glasgow–based foundry company W MacFarlane & Co. Ltd, founded and owned by Walter MacFarlane. MacFarlane's was the most importan ...

. The current Abbey Bridge replaces a 3-arch stone-built bridge dating to around 1763. The new bridge was manufactured by a local shipbuilding company, Hanna, Donald & Wilson and erected in 1879; in 1933 it was widened. In 2009 it was refurbished in a £1.5 million, 6-month project by Raynesway Construction Ltd., involving replacement of the truss sections, parapets and facias in modern materials, but faithful to the original design; and blast-cleaning and painting of the original superstructure. The re-opened bridge, incorporating programmable-colour

architectural lighting Architectural lighting design is a field of work or study that is concerned with the design of lighting systems within the built environment, both interior and exterior. It can include manipulation and design of both daylight and electric ...

, has been painted red with gilt highlighting to replace a prior uniform grey colour scheme. The bridge is classed by Historic Environment Scotland as a Grade B structure, denoting "buildings of regional or more than local importance, or major examples of some particular period, style or building type which may have been altered."

References

{{coord, 55.84385, N, 4.42064, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Beam bridges Bridges completed in 1879 Buildings and structures in Paisley, Renfrewshire 1879 establishments in Scotland Listed bridges in Scotland Category B listed buildings in Renfrewshire

Description

See also

References