Monument record MHG15801 - Site of former General's Well Bridge To Ness Islands, Bught Road, Inverness

NH64SE 50 6611 4361

(Suspension bridge of James Dredge type: location cited as NH 661 437). Built 1853-4 by James Dredge, engineer. Cast-iron pylons, tapering iron rod chains of Dredge type, iron frame to booms, wooden deck. Main span 97 ft 3 ins (29.6m) Public footbridge. <1>

Paper copy of Listed Building Record missing at time of update. <2>

This bridge has been demolished and was removed from the statutory list on 16 January 1998. <3>

Reconstructed in Whin Park. The original General's Well Bridge (see MHG15801) was one of a twin, with Bank Road Bridge (see MHG3763) located on the far bank.
The two bridges were designed by James Dredge in 1853. They replaced earlier bridges which were put up in 1839 so that the islands could (as was reported in the local newspaper) 'be laid out in graceful and varied walks' which would 'form a lasting ornament to the town, a powerful attraction to strangers, and a source of healthful recreation and enjoyment to the inhabitants'. These bridges fell in 1849.
Dredge worked at a period when many designers were experimenting with suspension bridges. On this small bridge the rods are diagonal to the pylons, and that the iron ribbon of cables lessens in width as each rod is linked into the deck. Starting with 6 it reduces to 5-4-3-2. In the centre there is a short double span. In effect the cable and rods are supporting the cantilevered deck and, as there is successively less weight to carry, the tension member can be reduced in size. None of the measurements on this bridge are very uniform. The curved lateral girders under the deck are not equidistantly spaced. The overall length when in situ over the Ness was 97 feet 3 inches. Its twin (now scrapped), the Island Bank Road Bridge, was slightly shorter at 83 feet. <4>