A modest canal-side cottage conceals a deep workshop basement built into the steep bank above Loch Gilp.
Quick facts
- Date
- About 1800 with nineteenth- and twentieth-century additions
- Architect / designer
- Designer unknown; associated with the early Crinan Canal works
- Type
- Former canal bridge keeper’s house with workshop basement
- Designation
- Listed building, Category B (LB18247)
- OS grid reference
- NR 85636 87935
Architecture and continuing use
From the canal the building appears single-storeyed with an attic, but the falling ground exposes two storeys to the rear. A large segmental-arched opening served the basement workshop, while a simple pilastered doorway addresses the canal side.
Its story
The house belongs to the canal’s first development between 1794 and 1810; traffic began in 1801. A northern addition was present by the 1865 Ordnance Survey. Twentieth-century subdivision and a lean-to porch adapted the property to domestic use.
Why it is included
It joins domestic, industrial and transport history in one structure and explains the labour required to operate and maintain the canal’s bridges.
What to notice
- The contrast between cottage scale on the canal and deep rear elevation.
- The large arched workshop opening towards Loch Gilp.
- The functional grouping with Oakfield swing bridge.
Reading the surroundings
The house is private and the bridge is working infrastructure. Use signed towpaths, obey canal staff and barriers, and remain clear of moving machinery, moorings and water edges.
Timeline
- 1794 Construction of the Crinan Canal began.
- 1801 The canal opened to traffic.
- 1865 The first-edition Ordnance Survey showed the northern house addition.
- 2026 Scottish Canals continued to identify Oakfield Bridge and its leisure moorings.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The national point identifies the house, not the adjacent separately protected bridge. Private occupancy and interior access are not inferred.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Oakfield Bridge House, LB18247 — Current designation status, official mapped location, date, fabric and significance.
- Scottish Canals: Oakfield Bridge — Current official location within the canal and leisure-mooring use.
- Scottish Canals: Crinan Canal maps — Official route context identifying Oakfield Bridge in the Lochgilphead section.
- Trove search: Oakfield Bridge House Crinan Canal — National collection search for site records, surveys and archive material.
Location
OS grid reference NR 85636 87935 · Location confidence: High for the current national designation point; public text separately states access, component-identity and current-use uncertainty. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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