Ballykeel Bridge Mill Road Ballykeel Mullaghbawn Co. Armagh BT35 9UA

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Ballykeel Bridge (IHR00582) is a stone-built road bridge constructed c.1800, carrying the Mill Road over a tributary of the Forkhill River, located to immediate N of Ballykeel Mill (HB16/19/022), approximately 2 miles N of Mullaghbawn, Co Armagh.

The bridge is a hump-backed type and is constructed of roughly dressed rubblestone in uneven courses, but with carefully shaped voussoirs. Large, individual cut stones for coping to each parapet.
The two arches are semi-circular in section and are asymmetric with one arch much larger than the other.
Stone cutwaters to each face located between the arches. That on the E side has concrete to top.
The soffit of each arch has been sprayed with gunnite or similar material.

Materials:
Unevenly coursed rubblestone

Setting:
Ballykeel Bridge is a rural, vernacular stone-built road bridge carrying the Mill Road over a tributary of the Forkhill River, located to immediate N of Ballykeel Mill (HB16/19/022), approximately 2 miles N of Mullaghbawn, Co Armagh.

Historical information

Ballykeel Bridge carries the Mill Road over a tributary of the Forkhill River, and is located in close association with a group of mill buildings that pre-date the first edition OS map of 1835.

The bridge likely dates to c1800 as neither the road nor the crossing are shown on Rocque’s 1760 map of County Armagh, appearing for the first time, uncaptioned, on the 1835 map edition. An ‘intended road’ is shown by Rocque in the vicinity of the present-day Mill Road, but this road does not cross the river. However, it is possible that the ‘intended road’ was rerouted and became the Mill Road sometime in the closing decades of the 18th century.

The style and construction of the bridge would appear to be consistent with a late 18th or early 19th century date. The bridge is of a hump-backed type and bears no obvious evidence of widening or parapet replacement. It is constructed of roughly dressed rubblestone in uneven courses but the voussoirs appear carefully shaped. The two arches are semi-circular in section giving the minimum degree of side thrust to abutments and piers, a style of bridge that is simpler to construct for less experienced bridge builders. However, the bridge, at c20 feet at its widest point is more substantial in width than the narrow rural bridges of the 18th century (McCutcheon).

The bridge appears captioned ‘Ballykeel Br.’ on the 2nd edition of 1862 and is captioned on subsequent editions.

References:
Primary Sources:

1. PRONI D1594/291 Rocque’s map of County Armagh (1760)
2. PRONI OS/6/2/28/1 First Edition Six Inch OS map (1835)
3. PRONI OS/6/2/28/2 Second Edition Six Inch OS map (1862)
4. PRONI OS/6/2/28/3 Third Edition Six Inch OS map (1906-7)
5. PRONI OS/6/2/28/4 Fourth Edition Six Inch OS map (1956-7)

Secondary Sources:
6. McCutcheon, W A ‘The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland’ Belfast: HMSO (1980)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
F. Structural System
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

S. Authenticity
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
X. Local Interest
R. Age

Evaluation

Ballykeel Bridge (IHR00582) is a stone-built road bridge constructed c.1800, carrying the Mill Road over a tributary of the Forkhill River, located to immediate N of Ballykeel Mill (HB16/19/022), approximately 2 miles N of Mullaghbawn, Co Armagh.
This vernacular-style hump-backed bridge retains historic character and authenticity with its original roughly dressed rubblestone and asymmetric, semi-circular arches. It is more substantial in width than the narrow rural bridges of the 18th century (McCutcheon) and its association with the adjacent Ballykeel Mill (HB16/19/022) increases its special interest.
Despite the arch soffits being sprayed with gunnite, and concrete being added to the cutwater on the E side, this is a good example of a rural road bridge and is of local interest.