White Cart Bridge is a Scherzer rolling lift bascule bridge situated on the A8 road in Renfrew, Scotland. The bridge crosses White Cart Water at the confluence with the Black Cart River. It is the only remaining lift bridge in the country and became

category A listed This is a list of Category A listed buildings in Scotland, which are among the listed buildings of the United Kingdom. For a fuller list, see the pages linked on List of listed buildings in Scotland. Key The organization of the lists in th ...

on 13 December 1994. The bridge is still capable of opening, as the

Doosan Babcock Altrad Babcock Ltd (formerly ''Doosan Babcock Ltd.'') is part of Altrad. It is a power sector OEM, construction, upgrade, and after-market services company that offers specialist services and technologies to the fossil-fired power generation, ...

factory in Renfrew requires the capability to move large loads by river.

History

The White Cart and Black Cart Rivers have been an important crossing site for many years. Initially, people forded the rivers and latterly, a ferry was used to make the crossing. A bridge built in 1759 was a seven-arch bridge, crossing both rivers, but was washed away in 1809. Two separate bridges, still in use today, were built in 1812 as a replacement for the crossing. The new bridges could not accommodate large ships sailing into Paisley. A new section of river bypassing the low bridge was completed by 1838, requiring a new bridge to cross the White Cart. Initially, a

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...

was used to make the crossing. It was replaced by the lift bridge in 1923. The name "swing bridge" has remained locally, though the bridge lifts, rather than swings. The original channel bypassed by the cut under the new bridge gradually silted up, and the old bridge is now landlocked. The bridge was designed by Scottish civil engineer

Sir William Arrol Sir William Arrol (13 February 1839 – 20 February 1913) was a Scottish civil engineer, bridge builder, and Liberal Unionist Party politician. Career The son of a spinner, Arrol was born in Houston, Renfrewshire, and started work in a cotton ...

. His company, William Arrol & Co, built some of the most famous bridges in the United Kingdom, including the

Forth Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...

and Tower Bridge. They were responsible for the construction of the bridge at Renfrew. In August 2004, a £1m restoration project in connection with

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment ...

took place. This involved renewing all the mechanical components and resurfacing the road. The bridge was also painted red and cream and had new lights installed.

Gallery

File:White Cart 'Swing' Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 1006429.jpg, Bridge after restoration project File:IMGP0416 White Cart Bridge v1.png, View from river bank File:White Cart 'Swing' Bridge, Renfrew - geograph.org.uk - 1158281.jpg, Engine house and counterbalance weight File:Old White Cart bridge - geograph.org.uk - 35388.jpg, Old White Cart bridge

References

{{reflist Transport in Renfrewshire Road bridges in Scotland Bascule bridges Category A listed buildings in Renfrewshire Renfrew Bridges completed in 1923 1923 establishments in Scotland

History

Gallery

See also

References