The Shaking Bridge (Morrison Bridge) Cults

Finding it hard the last few days, so getting out in a bit of Sun to Cults, in Aberdeen this afternoon did the mind good today.

This suspension footbridge on pylons rising from inflated cast-iron Greek Doric columns on ashlar piers. It used to have decking and balustrading made in wood. The bridge's total length is 305ft, whilst its main span measures some 185ft. A disused abutment sits at the south shore - crossing into Aberdeenshire.

The bridge was built for the Rev. George Morrison in 1836/37 whose parishioners at Banchory Devenick lived on the north bank of the River Dee, but needed to travel to church on the south bank. It gained its nick name from its propensity to shake whenever a pedestrian crossed.

The bridge has been derelict since 1984 when its timber decking was removed. It became redundant after the southern approaches were swept away in the 1970s and due to the changed course of the River Dee. A trust was being established to raise the estimated £770,000 required for repairs. The trust wanted to seek to assume ownership of the bridge, which then did not appear to have an owner.

A condition survey in 2005 found the bridge to be in a dangerously dilapidated state. Maintenance had been difficult because one end lies in Aberdeen City Council boundary and the other in Aberdeenshire Council boundary. A new crossing has been proposed, with the current bridge perhaps relocated more centrally. The restoration was then estimated at £2 million. The hangars are seriously corroded or broken.

In 2008 an Aberdeen City Council report on the Bridge recommended the Council investigate whether a building preservation trust would be willing to undertake a feasibility study for the restoration project for the bridge.