Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

KINCARDINE BRIDGELB50078

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
23/02/2005
Local Authority
Fife
Planning Authority
Fife
Parish
Tulliallan
NGR
NS 92562 87165
Coordinates
292562, 687165

Description

Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, Westminster, 1930-31, with architectural advice from James Miller. Major road bridge with swing span (now fixed shut).

2696ft total length with series of shallow-arched spans. Swing span, 364ft, swivels at centre with cantilevered spans to either side. Series of gantries span roadway. Above centre, control cabin. Original plant in machine room at centre pier. Flanking swing span, 7 identical 100ft steel spans (cantilevers, central 50ft spans resting on girders projecting 25ft from piers). In addition, at Kincardine end, 3 62ft 6in spans (also steel) over land. At opposite end, 9 50ft reinforced concrete spans and piled viaduct, also reinforced concrete, 265ft long.

Statement of Special Interest

A large and important swing span bridge. The swing span was fixed shut in 1989. When completed, it was the largest road bridge in Britain with the largest swing span in Europe.

J Guthrie Brown was engineer-in-charge under Sir Alexander Gibb. Building began in 1933 and the bridge was opened on 29th October 1936. The contractors were the Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Co Ltd, although much of the work was subcontracted. Other subcontractors included: Sir William Arrol who provided the swing span turntable; Bromsgrove Guild, the lamp standards; Tunnel Cement Co and the Cement Marketing Co, both of London, provided the enormous amount of cement filler (2 types) required.

The swing span turns on a roller path mounted on a steel cylinder containing two sets of turning gear - a Ward-Leonard set to control turning and a standby diesel engine of 150 horsepower. The control desk and oak and teak joinery was by Scott Morton Ltd.

Built under the direction of the joint committee representing Fife, Stirling and Clackmannan counties and Dunfermline and Falkirk burghs. Pier foundations were obtained by sinking 14ft 16in hollow steel cylinders with their tops kept above high water level. The river bed was excavated to bedrock from within these cylinders. A geological fault line at the south end rendered it necessary for the foundations there to be made on groups of piles.

Photo electric cells, used here for the first time, controlled the exact location of the swing span. Harrison noted that it was so accurately set on its track that its 1600 tons could be turned through 90 degrees by three farthings worth of electricity.

The bridge spans the Firth of Forth from Tulliallan Parish in Fife to Airth Parish in Falkirk.

References

Bibliography

THE OPENING OF THE KINCARDINE ON FORTH BRIDGE 29.10.36 (1936). John Guthrie Brown, MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS (1937) pp687-770. Godfrey Harrison, ALEXANDER GIBB THE STORY OF AN ENGINEER (1950).

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 29/03/2024 15:04