page_title: Eglinton Tournament Bridge
section_title: 2008–9 restoration
hierarchical_section_title: Eglinton Tournament Bridge / 2008–9 restoration
caption_attribution_description: Temporary dam at the Tournament bridge, Eglinton, Irvine, Scotland.
context_page_description: The Eglinton Tournament Bridge is a bridge located within Eglinton Country Park near Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The bridge crosses the Lugton Water a short distance northwest of Eglinton Castle and was named after the Eglinton Tournament of 1839. The castle and surrounding grounds were once home to the Montgomerie family, Earls of Eglinton and chiefs of the Clan Montgomery.
context_section_description: The restoration of the Tournament Bridge involves a faithful and historic renovation of the 'Tournament Bridge', based on surviving documentary evidence. Historic Scotland requires a ‘faithful restoration where all details are replicated as closely as possible in terms of material, design and construction’.
   
  The concrete arches were removed as well as the infill above. The concrete arches were replaced with the existing refurbished cast iron arch sections and new cast iron fascia sections, which have restored the original width of the structure. The load-bearing capacity of the bridge is carried by a modern steel structure concealed beneath the wooden deck surface, as this was considered to be the original material, possibly coated with a layer of whin dust or such-like.
  The timber parapets have been replaced with cast iron sections to match the original items. All of the cast iron elements have been fabricated and fitted by the Ballantine Bo'ness Iron Company to restore the splendour of the original structure.
  The restoration involved hydrodemolition to expose the cast iron arches through removing the concrete in which they had been embedded. This process used very high pressure water jets and confirmed the poor structural integrity of the iron arches. They were not however intended to be load bearing in the restored bridge and an upside was the degree of Gothic artwork found to exist on the arches.
  The estimated total project cost was £720k. Historic Scotland have indicated that they would be able to contribute some £161k, around £5k will be provided in kind, and the shortfall of £354k was the subject of the successful grant application to the Heritage Lottery Fund. The final cost was in the order of a million pounds.
  The bridge deck is made from imported hardwoods such as Ipe. The bridge was re-opened on Friday, 26 June 2009.
caption: The temporary earth dam in the Lugton Water.
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