Eglinton Park's Tournament Bridge opens

Jul 3 2009 by Lorraine Howard, Irvine Herald

THE historic Tournament Bridge in Eglinton Park, Kilwinning, has been restored to its original glory at a cost of £719,000.

On Friday, primary schools from Irvine and Kilwinning turned back time to the days of the Eglinton Tournament for the opening of the bridge.

And provost, Councillor Bobby Rae, joined Kilwinning’s Segdoune Queen, Holly Robinson, to let the first visitors cross the new-look bridge.

The biggest contribution of £345,000 came from Heritage Scotland, with North Ayrshire Council putting in £207,000 and Historic Scotland contributing £167,000.

Martin Fairley, of Historic Scotland, said: “The bridge required specialist cast ironwork, with the end result allowing people to see at first-hand the artistry involved in this type of structure.”

Using archived material about the bridge, the painstaking restoration work, carried out by Ballantine’s Bo’ness Iron Company, saw the existing concrete arches being replaced with refurbished cast iron arch and fascia sections.

It was also given a new non-slip timber deck and the current timber parapets were replaced with cast iron sections to match the original.

Council spokesman Jim Leckie said: “We see the bridge and surrounding park playing an important part in the promotion of local history to visitors and future generations.

“It can now continue to play as important a role in the life of Eglinton Country Park as it did for the great medieval tournament of 1839.”