Overtoun Bridge is a category B-listed structure over the Overtoun Burn on the approach road to Overtoun House,[a] near Dumbarton in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It was completed in 1895 to a design by the landscape architect H. E. Milner.
Since 2005, media publicity has been given to reports that a number of dogs had fallen or leapt from Overtoun Bridge, being injured or dying when landing on the rocks 50 feet (15 m) below; the bridge has also been the site of a human murder and an attempted suicide. There have been claims of ghosts or other supernatural causes; researchers have described the story of dogs committing suicide off the bridge as an example of folklore and urban legend. Natural explanations include the dogs being attracted to the scent or sounds of animals in undergrowth, and losing their balance on sloping surfaces of the bridge's parapet.
Lord Overtoun had inherited Overtoun House and the estate in 1891. He purchased the neighbouring Garshake estate to the west of his lands in 1892.[2] Carriages had been unable to gain access to the Overtoun mansion along the old eastern approach road as the incline was too steep;[3] work commenced on constructing a new driveway as soon as Garshake was acquired.[4]
Designed by the civil engineer and landscape architect H. E. Milner, the bridge was constructed using rough-faced ashlar and was completed in June 1895. It comprises three arches: a large central arch spanning a deep valley at the bottom of which flows the Overtoun Burn, flanked on each side by lower, smaller pedestrian arches.[4]
Since 2005, media publicity has been given to reports that a number of dogs had fallen or leapt from Overtoun Bridge, being injured or dying when landing on the rocks 50 feet (15 m) below; the bridge has also been the site of a human murder and an attempted suicide. There have been claims of ghosts or other supernatural causes; researchers have described the story of dogs committing suicide off the bridge as an example of folklore and urban legend. Natural explanations include the dogs being attracted to the scent or sounds of animals in undergrowth, and losing their balance on sloping surfaces of the bridge's parapet.
Lord Overtoun had inherited Overtoun House and the estate in 1891. He purchased the neighbouring Garshake estate to the west of his lands in 1892.[2] Carriages had been unable to gain access to the Overtoun mansion along the old eastern approach road as the incline was too steep;[3] work commenced on constructing a new driveway as soon as Garshake was acquired.[4]
Designed by the civil engineer and landscape architect H. E. Milner, the bridge was constructed using rough-faced ashlar and was completed in June 1895. It comprises three arches: a large central arch spanning a deep valley at the bottom of which flows the Overtoun Burn, flanked on each side by lower, smaller pedestrian arches.[4]
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Animals