The old bridge at Bridge of Earn
To quote from an article by Geoffrey Hay and Geoffrey Stell, 'the old bridge over the River Earn was one of the large multiple span stone arched bridges of medieval Scotland'. Its date of construction is unknown though the documentary evidence suggests there was a stone (or partly stone) bridge in place before 1350. On the other hand, structural evidence indicates a close similarity with the bridge over the Forth at Stirling which has been dated to the late fifteenth or early sixteenth centuries. The tolls from the bridge were paid to the Town Council of Perth.
In 1614, part of the bridge collapsed. It was repaired though doubts about its safety continued to be expressed. Ultimately, in 1821/22, it was replaced by the present bridge and the old one apparently deliberately destroyed. The remaining arches of the bridge were demolished in 1976. It lives on in various old prints and photographs such as this one, but also in the background to Millais's painting of 'Sir Isumbras at the Ford' of 1857.
Magnus Jackson (1831-1891) was the pre-eminent photographer working in Perth in the latter half of the nineteenth century. He learned his craft in London as a young man and returned to Perth to set up what became a very successful business. He was known throughout Scotland for the quality of his landscape and nature work, although he also had an interest in recording Perthshire buildings of note. Most of his photographs are now housed in Perth Museum and Art Gallery.
