Highbridge is located on the River Spean, downstream from the village of

Spean Bridge Spean Bridge ( gd, Drochaid an Aonachain) is a village in the parish of Kilmonivaig, in Lochaber in the Highland region of Scotland. The village takes its name from the Highbridge over the River Spean on General Wade's military road between F ...

in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

. The village takes its name from this bridge. The bridge was originally built by

General Wade Field Marshal George Wade (1673 – 14 March 1748) was a British Army officer who served in the Nine Years' War, War of the Spanish Succession, Jacobite rising of 1715 and War of the Quadruple Alliance before leading the construction of barra ...

in 1736 (at a cost of £1,087) as the crossing of the

River Spean The River Spean flows from Loch Laggan in a westerly direction to join the River Lochy at Gairlochy in the Great Glen in the West Highlands of Scotland. Major tributaries of the Spean include the left-bank Abhainn Ghuilbinn and River Treig, the ...

on his

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

to Fort William

military road {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The following is a list of military roads worldwide. Australia * Part of the A8 (Sydney) between Neutral Bay and Mosman * Military Road, part of Route 39, Melbourne * Military Road, off Wanneroo Road just north ...

. This bridge was superseded in 1819 by a new bridge further upstream, designed by

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE, (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotla ...

. Highbridge was last repaired in 1893, but partially collapsed in 1913, and only the piers now remain. The remains are protected as a

category B listed building 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 ...

It was the site of the first action of the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Franci ...

, the

Highbridge Skirmish The Highbridge Skirmish was the first engagement of the Jacobite Rising of 1745 between government troops and Jacobites loyal to Prince Charles Edward Stuart. It took place at Highbridge, Lochaber, on the River Spean on 16 August 1745, and mar ...

, when a small number of Keppoch MacDonalds fooled a company of troops led by Captain Scott into thinking the bridge was heavily defended. The government troops retreated and were pursued to

Loch Oich Loch Oich (; gd, Loch Omhaich) is a freshwater loch in the Highlands of Scotland which forms part of the Caledonian Canal, of which it is the highest point. This narrow loch lies between Loch Ness (to the north-east) and Loch Lochy (to the south- ...

, where they surrendered.

References

Category B listed buildings in Highland (council area) Bridges in Highland (council area) Bridges completed in 1736 Listed bridges in Scotland Ruins in Highland (council area) 1736 establishments in Scotland {{UK-bridge-struct-stub