New Bridge

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A five-span road bridge, with datestone dated 1727, carrying Old Bridge Road over Derg River. Random rubble parapets, abutments and spandrels; squared rubble coping. Five segmental-headed arches with cut stone voussoirs; semi-circular sandstone cutwaters with rounded capstone. Arch soffits are rubble.

The carriageway is approximately 5m wide. Parapet wall continues beyond bridge at north and south to form boundary wall to surrounding agricultural land; some cement repairs to parapet; drainage channels at carriageway level. Rounded datestone within carriageway to west parapet; largely illegible; mason's mark.

The bridge is located in a rural
setting with dwelling to north-west.

Roof N/A
Walling Random rubble
Windows N/A
Rainwater goods N/A

Historical information

The bridge bears a datestone with a date of 1727, although now largely illegible. A bridge is present, uncaptioned, on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1833. On subsequent editions, it is captioned ‘New Bridge’.

OS Memoirs comments, “The bridges are good [in Ardstraw parish]…Those over the Derg are the new bridge over which passes the mail road…” (p.14)

McCutcheon lists it as ‘worthy of attention’. (p.42)

Judging by the segmental nature of the arches and that the OS Memoirs refer to the bridge as 'new' it is likely that the present bridge repaced an earlier one at the beginning of the nineteenth century and incorporated the datestone from an earlier bridge.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/6/17/1 – First Edition OS Map (1833)
2. PRONI OS/6/6/17/2 – Second Edition OS Map (1854)
3. PRONI OS/6/6/17/3 – Third Edition OS Map (1905)
4. PRONI OS/6/6/17/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map (1936)
5. 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.

Secondary Sources

1. McCutcheon, W.A. “The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland,” London: HMSO, 1980.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A five-span road bridge, probably form the early nineteenth century, carrying Old Bridge Road over Derg River. This substantial multi-span bridge is well constructed of rubble stone and remains largely unchanged, with only minor cement repairs to the parapet walling. This well proportioned and detailed bridge is an good example of early nineteenth eighteenth century engineering work and has an unspoiled rural setting.