The Tweed Bridge Story

On the subject of Tweed Bridge, it is interesting to see the changes that have taken place over the centuries. Under the present arches you can see clearly the 15th century stone bridge, much narrower, wide enough only for a horse and cart, that replaced a previous crossing, possibly of wooden construction. For several hundred years this must have sufficed, but in 1834 funded by public subscription, the bridge was widened on each side to allow carriages and carts to pass each other.

However, possibly because of the expansion of Peebles to the south towards the end of the 1800s, and the railway bringing goods and travellers to Peebles, by 1900 there was obviously a need for an even wider bridge and this time it was a forward-looking town council who took responsibility, doubling the width of the bridge by adding to the east side - the other side in this picture. You can see the faint joining line through the arch in the photo. A plaque on the bridge records that at that time Henry Ballantyne was the Lord Provost, head of the town council, and William Buchan the town clerk.

So today, 109 years later, the bridge still seems to be adequate for the traffic that uses it, though there has been some talk in the town over the last year or three that maybe another bridge could be built to relieve congestion at busy times. There has been a lot of house construction on the south side of the river in the last years of the 20th century to the present date and many of the new Peebles residents commute daily to Edinburgh to work, so the idea of a second bridge may be one that will eventually come to fruition.