Aughlish Bridge

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

An impressive 3 arch stone bridge over a gorge like part of the Sruhan Meenard Burn and carrying the Glenedra Road over it.

Almost viaduct-like in appearance the burn flows through the centre arch of 9 metre span. The 2 side arches of 6 metre span stradlle the banks on either side which are some 2 metres above the riverbed.

The parapet length is 54 metres with 6½ metre wide carriageway between. The supporting walls of the centre span rise some 8 metres to the springing line of the arch and the side arches ditto. The supporting walls of the arches are slightly battered both ways but beyond the arches continuous buttressing is formed creating a visual impression of strength. The walls are built of rockfaced, roughly squared random rubble, with large rockfaced quoins with tooled margins each 400mm high. Arch voissoirs, also rockfaced, have tooled margins and no keystone. The soffits of arches are in yellow brick stretcher bond.There is strap pointing to stonework. There are circular drainage holes in the brick soffits. Coping stones which are large and robust slightly overhang on the carriageway side and are rounded down at each end. The soffits of the voissoirs have ashlar face toothed to brickwork, 4 courses to each voissoir. A pleasant aspect of this bridge is the absence of concrete aprons to the supports or concrete riverbed bottoming. The natural riverbed contrasts with the robust bridge construction.

Historical information

The present bridge, built in 1893 replaced an earlier one. The Glenedra Road was constructed in the early 19th cent. John McCloskey in 1821 states “a very useful new road has been opened from Feeny to Ballynascreen.” O.S. memoirs agree “leaving the Dungiven Road at Feeny and passing towards the South-East, close to the village of Drumslave (Drumslieve, now ruinous, had a P.O. at one time) through Glenedra and on to Draperstown in Ballynascreen, is a great improvement on the former one…”
This road crossed the burn further downstream. The Rev Professor Witherow recalls in his autobiography the bridge at Aughlish in 1830: “My father would often carry me on his shoulders over the new bridge at Aughlish”. A plaque on the present bridge states: “A.C. ADAIR, ENGINEER, 1893.”
I H R No. 1980

References

Primary Sources
1. John McCloskey, Statistical Reports of Six Derry Parishes 1821. P 74.
2. O.S.map 1830 Londonderry sh. 30.
3. O.S.map 1830, rev. 1905, Londonderry sh. 30.
4. O.S. memoirs of Ireland, Parishes of Co Londonderry X, 1833-34, 1838.
Ed. by Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams Q.U.B. P 31.

Secondary Sources
1. Witherow, The Autobiography of Thomas Witherow 1824-1890. P. 17.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
D. Plan Form
E. Spatial Organisation
F. Structural System

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A robust and impressive late 19th cent. 3 arch stone bridge carrying the Glenedra Road over the Sruhan Meenard burn where it forms a deep glen. A good example of the work of the County Surveyor A.C. Adair.