Strabane Bridge,

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A seven-span road bridge, built c.1800, carrying Bridge Street over Mourne River. Random rubble parapets, abutments and spandrels with cast-iron wall-ties; segmental concrete coping to parapet surmounted by cast-iron lamp-posts along length. Seven semi-circular-headed arches with squared rubble voussoirs; rubble V-shaped cutwaters. Arch soffits are cement rendered.

The carriageway is approximately 8m wide with pedestrian footways to east and west. Parapet wall continues beyond bridge at south-west to form boundary wall to surrounding residential area; rendered walling to south-east continues to form boundary to road at river. Concrete retaining wall bounds river to north and south.

The bridge is located on a main road within Strabane town centre; residential housing to south; comercial town centre to north.

Fred Hammond comments in the first survey, "All the arches are of equal size, save the west-most one which is lower and narrow. This is reflected in the road and parapet line which rises from east to west at this end. There are angled cutwaters on both sides, terminating just above arch spring level. Soffit markings indicate that the original bridge was widened by three quarters as much again…Seven pairs of cast-steel electrified lamp standards have been placed on the parapets; markings suggest that this has been carried out in the recent past.

Over the past few years, a massive flood prevention scheme has taken place along this section of the Mourne River. This has involved the creation of vertical reinforced-concrete walls along the banks on either side of the bridge. The west ends of the parapets have been rebuilt as a result of this work, and the north end of the east abutment replaced in concrete (a pipe is carried through the arch on this side). The bridge piers have also been underpinned."

The parapets are coped

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

Historical information

‘Strabane Bridge’ is shown, captioned, on the first edition Ordnance Survey map (1833) as a road bridge over the Mourne river in Strabane town. It is the only bridge crossing the Mourne in Strabane until the construction of the railways.

In 1808 it is recorded that the Rev. S Hamilton, R Cochran and J Barclay were granted £14.6s.6d by the grand jury at Omagh assizes to ‘repair the walls of Strabane Bridge’.

Fred Hamond has commented as part of the first survey, “From its relatively plain style of construction, it is probably of 18th century date. The lack of embellishment in the newer section [towards the west end of the bridge] (in particular the lack of dressed stone) suggests that this, too, may be of this period, if not the earlier 19th century.”

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/6/5/1 – First Edition OS Map (1833)
2. PRONI OS/6/6/5/2 – Second Edition OS Map (1854)
3. PRONI OS/6/6/5/3 – Third Edition OS Map (1905)
4. PRONI OS/6/6/5/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map (1951)

Secondary Sources

1. “Presentments, Grand Juries of Ireland; Spring and Summer Assizes, 1807”, available at http://books.google.co.uk
2. Hamond, F – First Survey Information

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
F. Structural System

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A six-span stone bridge, built c.1800, carrying Bridge Street over Mourne River. This large bridge is well constructed of tightly packed rubble stone and remains largely unchanged. The bridge is an important example of early-nineteenth century engineering work and makes a prominent and positive contribution to it's urban context within the town centre of Strabane.