Looking back with Ian Scott at the old Dorrator 'swing' Bridge over the Carron

Whatever the size or complexity, or the period when they were constructed, the response is usually the same. Of course the 1960s did serve up some brutal concrete monstrosities like the road bridge over the railway line on Grahams Road but that only makes us love the earlier ones even more.

One of my favourites from childhood was the celebrated Dorrator ‘swing bridge’ over the Carron which was replaced a decade ago. We would often walk from Stirling Road in Camelon opposite the bus depot along the lane through the fields to the bridge which led to Carronvale and Larbert. The structure of the bridge meant that it was pretty easy to set it swinging from side to side, while we stood in the middle, to the annoyance of adults and other children who thought their last hours had come. It was also a favourite meeting point for young courting couples but when Rev John Scott said at the official opening that “it would unite the lads and lassies of Stenhousemuir and Camelon more closely than in the past” I think he had something different in mind!

The bridge had a long history. It was erected in 1893 at a point close to a ford where people had crossed on foot for many centuries. Designed by Louis Harper a young Aberdeen engineer whose family firm had with a long record of bridge building, it had a 90 foot span with a four foot wide footpath. It was a suspension bridge made of steel wire rope which allows for the swing I mentioned before. At each end, the structure was anchored by concrete piers which had iron vertical columns holding the platform and suspending ropes. It cost £217 and at the opening ceremony the Wright Memorial Band and Camelon Brass Band paraded through Camelon and marched to the bridge where Ralph Stark, Camelon’s ‘grand old man’, declared the new crossing open.

It was not the last Harper family connection with the town because Douglas Harper, grandson of the designer, was for 23 years consultant surgeon at Falkirk and District Royal Infirmary. In his retirement Douglas has made a study of his grandfather’s work and contributed an excellent article some years ago to our local history journal. His book River, Railway and Ravine published in 2015 is a masterly account of Louis Harper’s suspension footbridges world wide.

For years people expressed concern about the general condition of the iron work and, of course, construction standards had changed. Health and Safety trumped sentiment and that is only right but could it have been modified without demolition? In addition, the steps at each side mean that the crossing was difficult or impossible for people with limited mobility. After much heart searching, the decision was taken to take it down though a part of the structure was left as a token reminder. So what of its bright green tubular replacement? Functional for sure but beautiful? To some maybe but for this bridge lover it doesn’t come close to Harper’s little masterpiece. And besides you can’t stand in the middle and make it shake from side to side. I’m just a big wean really.