Ballyroney Bridge

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A twin-arch masonry bridge carrying a minor road over the River Bann. It is of granite construction throughout. The abutments and piers are of coursed masonry blocks, now underpinned with concrete. There are domed rounded cutwaters at both ends of the pier, rising to arch spring level (a stone has been dislodged from the upstream cutwater). The equi-sized arches are of segmental profile and have finely dressed voussoirs and random rubble soffits. A string course runs across the bridge at arch crown level. The spandrels and parapets are of squared random rubble, brought to courses. The parapets are coped with out-projecting blocks. There are shallow pilasters at the bank ends of both arches, rising to parapet level. There are similar pilasters at both ends of the bridge which continue up to form parapet terminal piers.

An electric cable is carried across the faces of the bridge, via the underside of the left-bank (E) arch.

Setting

A short distance downstream is a small weir, presumably designed to slow up the current under the bridge and minimise undercutting. The village of Ballyroney to the north with historic structures including Ballyroney Presbyterian Church (HB17/09/008) and the former post office (HB17/09/022A).

Historical information

A bridge is captioned at this location on all editions of the OS map as ‘Ballyroney Bridge’.

It is described in the 1836 Ordnance Survey Memoir as follows: “Ballyroney Bridge … is an old and bad structure crossing the River Bann which is there 90ft wide. Its total length is 220ft and its breadth is 13ft. It consists of three small arches and three other small flood arches on the northern banks of the river. It is supposed to be several hundred years old. It is very strong in its architecture, never having given way and scarcely ever having been repaired”.

The present bridge does not fit this description and is therefore a later replacement. It is probably of mid 1800s date and was undoubtedly constructed by the County Down Grand Jury.

References – Primary sources:

1. PRONI OS/6/3/42/1. First edition OS six-inch map, Co Down sheet 42 (1833).
2. OS Memoir for Drumballyroney Parish (1836). Reprinted as A. Day & P. McWilliams (eds), Ordnance Survey Memoirs of
Ireland: Parishes of County Down I, 1834-6, South Down (Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1990).
3. PRONI OS/6/3/42/2. Second edition OS six-inch map, Co Down sheet 42 (1859).

References - Secondary sources:
1. W.A. McCutcheon, Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland, plate 6 (Belfast: HMSO, 1980).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
F. Structural System
H-. Alterations detracting from building

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A twin-arch masonry road bridge, probably of mid-19th century date, over the River Bann. This bridge exhibits good workmanship, particularly in its embellishment (voussoirs, cutwater, string course, pilasters, parapet copings and terminal piers). It is s good example of the type of Grand Jury bridge at an historic crossing point, demonstrating the development of infrastructure in the district.