Bridge of Earn
Bridge of Earn
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 Bridge of Earn
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| Bridge of Earn shown within Perth and Kinross | |
| Population | 2,330 |
| OS grid reference | NO1102 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | PH |
| Police | Scottish |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Bridge of Earn (Scottish Gaelic: Drochaid Èireann) is a small town in Perthshire, Scotland. Often referred to simply as 'The Brig' (Scots for 'bridge'). The village grew up on the south bank of an important crossing of the River Earn, whose sandstone bridge existed from at least the early 14th century, when it is known to have been repaired by order of King Robert I of Scotland (1306–1329) (site: NO 133 185). Substantial remains of the medieval bridge (rendered redundant by a replacement, still in use, slightly upstream in 1821-22) survived into the 1970s, when almost all the stonework was demolished, for (allegedly) being in a dangerously ruinous condition. This ancient bridge was a major landmark on the road between Edinburgh (39 miles south) and Perth (4 miles north) for several centuries. The village's oldest houses are to be found lining the road (Back Street/Old Edinburgh Road) leading south from the site of the demolished bridge. Among them are some with 18th-century datestones.
The ruined Old Bridge of Earn (and part of the village) are featured in the 1857 painting Sir Isumbras at the Ford by John Everett Millais (1829–1896), who often stayed at nearby Perth. There is also an early 19th-century lithograph showing the structure as complete in Sketches of Scenery in Perthshire by David Octavius Hill (1802–1870).
Bridge of Earn is the main village in the parish of Dunbarney (sometimes Dumbarney in older documents). The place-name is of uncertain (though probably Gaelic) origin, and may contain the element druim, 'ridge, spine'. The ancient ecclesiastical focus of the parish was not within the present village, but about 1.5 km to the west at NO 113 190. The site of the medieval parish church is marked by a walled burial ground a little south of the River Earn. There are no visible remains of the medieval building (or of the medieval village that is said to have adjoined it to the south), but the churchyard contains an interesting collection of 18th-century headstones carved with symbols of mortality, trades etc. In 1689 the church was rebuilt much nearer to the Bridge, by then the main focus of settlement in the parish, at NO 130 185. In 1787 the church was rebuilt yet again, using the same stones, on its present site just to the east of the second, which also became a graveyard. The present congregation is a large and flourishing one, and a modern hall and kitchen has been built adjoining the church in recent years. The parish has recently been merged with Forgandenny, its neighbouring village (3 miles) to the west.
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