Dean Bridge

The private Dean Gardens lie under the east side of the bridge on the north bank of the Water of Leith.

[3] The original proposal for a new bridge came from John Learmonth, a former Edinburgh Lord Provost and owner of the Dean estate on the north bank of the river.

The footway was carried on outer segmental arches, the wooden supports of which had to be carefully removed, slowly and evenly, to allow the finished bridge to settle uniformly into its final position.

[6] Between completion and the contract hand-over date, Gibb had a toll-gate erected at each end of the bridge and charged pedestrians one penny per head to enjoy the view from the structure.

[4] In 1888, the Edinburgh Corporation asked the Burgh Engineer John Cooper to recommend measures designed to deter suicides which were occurring from the bridge.

The Dean Bridge
Telford’s bridge carries the bulk of traffic from the city's West End to its north-west suburbs.
The Dean Bridge is difficult to view as a whole, but Telford's Lothian Bridge on the A68, also from 1831, is a smaller five-arched version of the same design.