CHAP. VT. 



KELSO BRIDGE. 



173 



with a level roadway 23 feet 6 inches wide between the 

 parapets, and 29 feet above the ordinary surface of the 

 river. The foundations were securely laid upon the solid 

 rock in the bed of the Tweed, by means of coffer-dams, 

 and below the deepest part of the river. The piers and 

 abutments were ornamented with three-quarter columnar 

 pilasters of the Roman Doric order, surmounted by a plain 

 block cornice and balustrade of the same character. The 

 whole of the masonry was plain rustic coursed work, and 

 in style and execution it was long regarded as one of the 

 most handsome and effective structures of its kind. It 

 may almost be said to have formed the commencement 

 of a new era of bridge-building in this country. The 

 semi-elliptical arches, the columnar pilasters on the piers, 

 the balustrade, and the level roadway, are the same 

 as in Waterloo Bridge, except as regards size and cha- 

 racter ; so that Kelso Bridge may be regarded as the 

 model of the greater work. We believe it was one of 

 the first bridges in this country constructed with a level 



KELSO BRIDGE [By Ptrcival Skeltcn.] 



