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Historic Edinburgh bridge pillar toppled in possible vandalism incident

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
AuthorDavid McLean
Published date21 June 2022
Publication titleEdinburghLive (Scotland)
The 140-year-old piece of masonry, which was situated on a plinth on a stairwell at St Bernard's Bridge at the east entrance to the Dene, a popular city beauty spot on the Water of Leith, is believed to have been felled over the weekend. An iron gate has also been torn down

The damage was spotted on Monday morning by local resident Jo Young who took to Twitter to report the incident to the City of Edinburgh Council's online help service.

The staircase at St Bernard's Bridge was already cordoned off for safety reasons due to the poor condition of the parapets and pillars. However, it is understood that a barrier preventing people from accessing the steps was thrown into the Water of Leith in a separate incident several weeks ago.

Jo Young does not believe that the sandstone pillar, which dates back to the 1880s, when the staircase was added to the bridge, toppled all by itself. She thinks the historic structure has been targeted by "bored" young vandals.

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Ms Young, 43, who lives on nearby Saunders Street, told Edinburgh Live: "That pillar has been loose for weeks -probably even a couple of months now. It's slowly been coming away from the staircase over time.

"Originally the council had...

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