Historic Buildings Record · Northern Ireland
Site of Balteagh Bridge
Balteagh, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Northern Ireland
The record
- Designation
- Record only (not listed)
- Grade
- Record Only
- Type
- Demolished
- Date of construction
- 1840 - 1859
- Address
- Site of Balteagh Bridge, Off Carbet Road, Balteagh, Craigavon, Co Armagh
- Townland
- Balteagh
- Council
- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon
- Country
- Northern Ireland
- Coordinates
- 54.45398, -6.39451
- Date of survey
- 15 July 2004
- HB reference
- HB14/04/008
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1838 "Ireland, north sheet." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
The Department's description
Exterior description and setting
Site -at the end of the now disused road, south of Carbet Road, less than a mile north of Craigavon- formerly occupied by a bridge, built in 1842 to carry the road over a railway cutting. The road was abandoned in the early 1970s and the bridge was partially taken down before July 1974, and totally demolished at some point after this date.
The first survey report of July 1974 reads:
‘Remnant of a road bridge over railway, with ends cut away by new roads [set] at lower level. Elliptical arch in sandstone ashlar, V-joint voussoirs, bevel spring course, bevel quoins [and] brick intrados. Margin joint, rock-faced battered piers each side of rough dressed basalt abutments. Bevel sill course. Upper parapet in brick with heavy stone coping. Remnants of insulated piping alongside. Condition- being disconnected, bridge likely to be removed. About 22ft over parapets’.
Historical information
The bridge formerly spanning this railway cutting was built in 1842, when the Ulster Railway was extended from Lurgan to Portadown. It was probably designed either by William Dargan or John Godwin, the company’s engineers. The bridge is marked on the revised map of 1860 as ‘Balteagh Br[idge]’.
With the development of the new town of Craigavon in the late 1960s and early 1970s this particular stretch of road was abandoned, and the bridge subsequently demolished.
References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/6/2/6/2 OS map, County Armagh sheet 6 (1860)
Secondary sources
1 Oram, Richard, et al., ‘Historic Buildings…Craigavon’ (Belfast, 1970), part III, p.9
2 McCutcheon, W.A., ‘The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland’ (Belfast, 1980), pp.106-107
Other
references
1 EHS HB14/04/008 First survey record card (18th July 1974)
Criteria for listing: architectural interest
Not listed
Criteria for listing: historic interest
Not listed
Evaluation
Site formerly occupied by a bridge, built in 1842 to carry the road over the Ulster Railway line between Lurgan and Portadown.
Nearby in the register
- Marlborough HouseOfficeunder 1 mi
- Site of houseDemolishedunder 1 mi
- FAIRVIEW HOUSEHOUSEunder 1 mi
- 41 Kilvergan Road, Aghacommon, Lurgan, BT66 6LFHouseunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.