Bridge at Garron Point,

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A small single-arched bridge carrying the main coast road over a small river, built of snecked basalt rubble with pink sandstone voussoirs to the segmental arch. There is a platband of limestone which continues down as a raking coping to the angled abutments, but some of the coping is missing or has crumbled. A low wall of rubble along each side of the approach roads continues across the bridge as a parapet.

A timber strut has been fixed within the archway on the east side.

SETTING: The bridge stands in a very rural and scenic area, on the coast; the east face directly overlooks a rocky shore, with vegetation to the northern embankment of the road on that side but later roughly poured concrete to the southern embankment; the west face overlook a small river with overgrown banks, with a mid-19th century masonry built pump house (HB06/01/031) facing it on the south bank.

Historical information

The date of the bridge is not recorded but it appears for the first time on the OS map of 1857 and may be taken to date from c.1842-3 when the portion of coast road from Glenarm to Cushendall was constructed, to the designs of the engineer and architect, Charles Lanyon. The River Foaran which the bridge spans is reputedly the shortest river in Ireland, emerging from the cliff-rock only 50 metres away.

References – Primary Sources
1. OS Map 1857, Co Antrim 20.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This is an example of early Victorian bridge engineering on a very small scale, attributable to an important Irish architect and engineer.