SENEIRL BRIDGE

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A later 18th C triple-arch masonry road bridge over the River Bush on a minor road between Bushmills and Ballymoney.

The bridge is of quarried random rubble basalt throughout with no dressed stone embellishments whatsoever. There are cutwaters at the up- and downstream ends of the piers, rising to just above arch spring level. The abutments and piers have concrete footings to minimise undercutting. The arches are of equal size and of segmental profile; they have undressed split stone voussoirs and random rubble soffits. Both parapets are coped with concrete. The deck carries two lanes of traffic and makes a dogleg at each end. The approach walls have rubble masonry buttresses except on the downstream/ right bank (i.e. NE end).

Setting:
The bridge is located in an entirely rural
setting, being surrounded by fields on all sides.

Historical information

An uncaptioned bridge is depicted on the 1832 OS map. It is described in the 1835 Ordnance Survey Memoir thus: "The bridge between the townland of Seneirl in this parish [Dunluce] and Ballynarry in the parish of Billy is a plain building 80ft long by 20ft wide and consists of three semicircular arches. It is sufficient repair."

The structure is explicitly cited as 'Seneirl Bridge' on the 1857 map and subsequent editions. Judging by its lack of adornment, it was probably erected by the Co Antrim Grand Jury under the Presentment system in the later 18th C.

References - Primary Sources:
1. PRONI OS/6/1/7/1. OS 1:10,560 map, Co Antrim sheet 7 (1832).
2. 1835 Ordnance Survey Memoir for Dunluce Parish. reproduced by A. Day & P. McWilliams (eds), Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland: Parishes of Co Antrim V - Giant's Causeway and Ballymoney, p.109 (Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1992).
3. PRONI OS/6/1/7/2. OS 1:10,560 map, Co Antrim sheet 7 (1857).
4. PRONI OS/6/1/7/3. OS 1:10,560 map, Co Antrim sheet 7 (1904).
5. PRONI OS/6/1/7/4. OS 1:10,560 map, Co Antrim sheet 7 (1922).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
F. Structural System
H-. Alterations detracting from building

Criteria for listing: historic interest

S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
X. Local Interest
R. Age

Evaluation

The plainness of this well-proportioned bridge is typical of those built before the mid 19th C (when County Surveyors began to be appointed and bridges became more ornamented). Although the stonework has been repointed and the parapet copings replaced with concrete, the bridge's fabric appears to be largely original. In short, it is an exemplar of a later 18th/ early 19th C multi-arched road bridge.