Former Canal Aqueduct Over Black Burn

Former Canal Aqueduct Over Black Burn

This former canal aqueduct was constructed between 1798 and 1805 to carry the Aberdeenshire Canal and its traffic over the Black Burn as a navigable crossing. It was designed by John Rennie and later adapted in the late 19th century to function as a road bridge.

The surviving structure runs east-west, measuring 5.5 metres long and 4.5 metres high from ground level on the burn side. It is built primarily of light grey granite. The main feature is a low stone arch or "bridge-hole" composed of 19 voussoirs. On the southern side, a cut-water funnels the Black Burn beneath the aqueduct, while two stone walls set at 90-degree angles support the banks of the burn. Above the arch are seven courses of ashlar stone blocks, topped by a course of flat copping stones that are slightly wider than those beneath. The arch and lower two courses have a rough tooled surface, while the remaining courses have a rubbed finish.

The northern wall retains its original wing shape built to accommodate the earthen banks of the canal. The southern wall has been altered: part of its wing wall has been removed and a linear stone extension has been added on the western approach. The eastern approach has also lost a portion of its wing, which has been replaced by a wooden fence.

The Aberdeenshire Canal Navigation was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1798 and opened on 31 May 1805 after seven years of construction. The canal ran from Waterloo Quay to Port Elphinstone near Inverurie, originally measuring 5.18 metres wide by 0.91 metres deep, though it was eventually enlarged to 7 metres by 1.17 metres deep. The cost of construction was £50,000, funded mainly by landholders along its route. By the 1830s, these investors had received no returns, and the canal was purchased by the Great North of Scotland Railway. The railway began construction in 1849, and the canal was finally closed in 1854.

Following the canal's closure, the railway largely followed the original canal route, including a crossing at the Black Burn. Two walls associated with the railway bridge were built at this time, abutting the northern wing wall of the canal aqueduct at right angles to contain the burn's channel. The 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1865 shows two distinct crossings: a larger railway bridge to the north and the former canal bridge, then used as field access. By the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey of 1899, the canal bridge had been adapted to carry a road running north-south along the burn's course.

The former canal aqueduct continued in use as a road bridge through the 20th century. In the 21st century, part of the south wing wall on the eastern approach was lost and replaced by a wooden fence.