Shakkin' Briggie

St. Devenick's Bridge (locally known as the Shakkin' Briggie, or as Morison's Bridge) is a suspension footbridge which crosses the River Dee from Ardoe to Cults near Aberdeen in Scotland.

The foundation stone was placed on 27 August 1836, and the bridge was opened in 1837 (1840 according to Robertson). It was funded by Rev. Dr. George Morison (1758–1845), at a cost of £1,400. Morison, son of Aberdeen Provost Robert Morison, was the minister at the Banchory-Devenick Parish Church from 1785, and inherited his elder brother Thomas' estate. He carried out work on behalf of his parishioners including arranging distribution of vaccines, supply of food during the 1800 famine, setting up a savings bank, and building a school.

Morison proposed the bridge to link his church on the south bank of the Dee to 700 parishioners resident on the north bank, who were at the time crossing to the church by boat every Sunday. The bridge was designed by Aberdeen's City Architect John Smith, who had previously worked with Captain Samuel Brown on the Wellington Suspension Bridge in Aberdeen, who helped Thomas Telford design the Bridge of Don, and who designed the nearby Bridge of Dee. St. Devenick's Bridge was Smith's only solo suspension bridge design.

The bridge spans 54.9 metres (180 feet) between stone piers and cast iron towers. The suspension chains comprise 3-inch-diameter (76 mm), 6-foot-long (1.8 m) cast-iron bars, anchored into stone anchor blocks. The southern anchor block is now in the middle of the river, which has changed course considerably since the bridge was built. The timber bridge deck and parapets were built by Morison's friend George Barclay. The lack of any significant metal stiffening of the bridge deck led to a flexibility which gave the bridge its popular name.

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