Black Bridge,

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A single-span humpbacked rubble stone bridge, erected c. 1815, located to south of the mansion in Baronscourt demesne.

Random rubble stone abutments, spandrels and parapets; soldier coursed coping to parapet, some cement repointing. Single segmental arch with rubble stone voussoirs. The bridge carries a dirt road over a stream linking Lough Fanny at south and Lough Catherine at north. Set in farmland with grassed and wooded embankments.

Walling: Random rubble stone

Historical information

The present Black Bridge appears to date to 1815 and served as a replacement to earlier wooden versions. The bridge appears to have undergone repairs carried out by Lynch & Sons in 1998.

‘Black Bridge’ is recorded from the 1833 OS map (‘Black Br’ in the 1854 OS map). The first mention of the bridge dates to 1808 in a letter from John James Burgoyne to the Marquis of Abercorn discussing flooding on the demesne: ‘The Black Bridge was almost carried away and the railing dashed off by the force of the stones and sand, and the entire of the channel from Givan’s to the lake filled full.’ On 5th September 1814 Burgoyne reports problems with the bridge in his letter, suggesting a stone one may be better: ‘The black bridge is beginning to fail and I think if your Lordship approved it would be well done to make a stone bridge instead which will be permanent.’ Presumably the Marquis shows interest in this proposal as a letter dated 24th September discusses how much it would cost to replace: ‘The black bridge was renewed about ten years ago and sheeted this time four years. It is in so low a damp situation that wood will not last long there. The expense of a stone bridge will be from £25 to £30 and that would last forever…’. The bridge appears to have been replaced with a stone bridge in 1815, a letter from Burgoyne communicates that: ‘We have begun to build a stone bridge instead of the black one with was so much decayed as to be very dangerous. I hope it will be a good and permanent job. We have been obliged to pile under it as the bog is 14 feet deep.’

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI D/623/D/1/16/72 – Map of Baronscourt Park (1777)
2. PRONI OS/6/6/25/1 -First Edition OS Map (1833)
3. PRONI OS/6/6/25/2 -Second Edition OS Map (1854)
4. PRONI OS/6/6/25/3 -Third Edition OS Map (1907)
5. PRONI OS/6/6/25/4 -Fourth Edition OS Map (1947)
6. Letter from John James Burgoyne to the Marquis of Abercorn, 10th August 1808 D623/A/123/47
7. Letter from John James Burgoyne to the Marquis of Abercorn, 5th September 1814 D623/A/127/35
8. Letter from John James Burgoyne to the Marquis of Abercorn, 24th September 1814 D623/A/127/38
9. Letter from John James Burgoyne to the Marquis of Abercorn, 9th May 1815 D623/A/128/21
10. Scott, Robert W. L., Abercorn Estates Agent and Factor. “Letter Concerning Semple’s Bridge, White Bridge and Black Bridge to David Kirk, Environment and Heritage Service.” 15 January 1998. Collected in Historic Buildings File, Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Monuments and Buildings Record.

Secondary Sources

1. Bence-Jones, M. “A Guide to Irish Country Houses.” Second Revised Edition. London: Constable and Robinson, 1990.
2. Day, A. and P. McWilliams, eds. “OS Memoirs of Ireland, Parishes of County Tyrone I, 1821, 1823, 1833-36, Vol. 5.” Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1990.
3. Dean, J. A. K. “The Gate Lodges of Ulster.” Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1994.
4. Lewis, S. “A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, Vol. I.” London: S. Lewis & Co., 1837.
5. O’Brien, J. and D. Guinness. “Great Irish Houses and Castles.” London: George Weidenfield & Nicolson Ltd., 1992.
6. Rowan, A. “North West Ulster: Londonderry, Donegal, Fermanagh, and Tyrone.” Buildings of Ireland Series. Dublin: Penguin Books, 1979.
7. The Irish Architectural Archive Dublin. [Internet Source]. Available from: (Accessed 22/04/09)
8. Young, R.M. “Belfast and the Province of Ulster in the Twentieth Century.” Brighton” W. T. Pike, 1909

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
F. Structural System
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Black Bridge is a simple single-spanned early-nineteenth-century humpbacked rubble stone bridge, carrying a secondary estate road over a stream in Baronscourt demesne (HB10/04/001A-R). The bridge remains in relatively good condition with most original construction intact, and is an example of the estate improvements carried out by the (7th) Earl in the early nineteenth century. The bridge is an important part of the estate group, and is one of only two rubble stone bridges to remain intact on the demesne (see also Semple’s Bridge, HB10/04/001H). The bridge has group value with the other listed structures in the demesne.

General comments

Renumbered as part of a group-previously HB10/04/050E