The easternmost selected bridge links the Union Canal sequence with the older church landscape at Auldcathie.
Quick facts
- Date
- Circa 1820
- Architect / designer
- Hugh Baird, engineer
- Type
- Stugged-ashlar segmental canal bridge with railings and numbered keystones
- Designation
- Listed building, Category C (LB7426)
- OS grid reference
- NT 08089 76124
Architecture and continuing use
Segmental stone arches are faced in stugged ashlar, giving this crossing a more deliberately finished surface than the plainer coursed masonry of neighbouring bridges. Railings protect the parapet line and numbered keystones locate it within the canal system. Its position close to Auldcathie brings transport engineering into dialogue with much older ecclesiastical remains.
Its story
Hugh Baird’s team built the crossing around 1820, before the Union Canal opened in 1822. The bridge was added to the statutory list in 1984. As Winchburgh expanded, Auldcathie Park and new schools transformed the surrounding landscape, but the canal alignment and numbered bridge retained continuity through the change.
Why it is included
It marks the point where the canal cohort meets the area of major twenty-first-century growth without losing the older rural and ecclesiastical geography.
What to notice
- Tooled ashlar around the segmental arches.
- Railings above the parapet.
- Views connecting the canal corridor with Auldcathie’s open landscape.
Reading the surroundings
Follow canal, park and construction signs. Use authorised paths, keep away from the water, and do not cross work sites or private ground to reach the church ruin.
Timeline
- Circa 1820 Hugh Baird engineered the ashlar crossing near Auldcathie.
- 1984 The bridge was separately listed for its surviving canal fabric.
- 2021 onward Opening and expansion of Auldcathie Park changed the surrounding public landscape while the canal remained in use.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
Development phases can alter approach routes; the marker identifies the HES point but does not establish a public path from every direction.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Union Canal Bridge 34, LB7426 — Current designation status, statutory identity, official mapped point, date, fabric and significance.
- West Lothian Council: public-art plan for Winchburgh — Council-published landscape and heritage study connecting Auldcathie Church, canal routes and surviving industrial traces with the expanding settlement.
- Trove: Union Canal Bridge 34 — National heritage inventory entry for designation identity, mapped location, related records and available archive material.
- Scottish Canals: facilities on the Union Canal — Current operator information for the navigable canal, towpath-related facilities and Winchburgh services near Bridge 32.
Location
OS grid reference NT 08089 76124 · Location confidence: High for the current HES designation point; public text separately qualifies access, component identity and current use. · 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.
Suggest a marker correction
Suggest a more accurate position
The teal marker is the current published position. The orange marker starts slightly to its right so both remain visible; this is only a visual starting position. Tap the correct place on the map or drag the orange marker. Sending this form creates a private review entry only; it does not move the published marker.
Check this area in Google Maps Choose the Satellite layer there if useful.
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors. You can also enter checked coordinates below.