Poland's Bridge

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Poland’s Bridge is a twin-arched masonry road bridge over the River Bann. Its abutments and piers re of regularly-coursed dressed granite blocks. There is a semicircular cutwater of vee-jointed granite blocks rising to arch spring level at both ends of the pier; they are embellished with string courses and domed caps. The arches are of equal size and of segmental profile, with vee-jointed granite voussoirs and random rubble soffits. They are delineated by shallow vee-jointed ashlar granite pilasters rising to parapet level. An ashlar granite string course runs horizontally across each face at arch crown level. There is a second such string course, with chamfered top, along the base of each parapet and which rises from NE to SW, following with the road gradient. The spandrels and parapets are of random Silurian rubble; the stonework to the former is of smaller size than to the latter. The parapets are coped with oversailing chamfered granite blocks and terminate in out-projecting granite piers which are continuations of the pilasters up each face. The carriageway is 1½ lanes wide.

Setting

Timber stiles give access to the river at the NE end of the bridge.
Just beyond its SW end is a twin-arch stone and brick bridge over the former Banbridge-Newcastle railway. Along the road to the NE is a single arch bridge over a mill leat.

Historical information

‘Poland’s Steps’ is cited at this crossing point on the 1833 OS map. The are described thus in the 1834 OS Memoir: “A ford called the Poland Steps over the Bann at the south-west end of Tullyorior townland connects the two roads from Banbridge to Castlewellan, which run on each side of the Bann as far as Katesbridge”. The bridge is captioned on the 1859 map and subsequent editions. It was therefore erected sometime in the intervening period; judging by its style, it is probably of post-Famine date and erected by the Co Down Grand Jury in the 1850s.

References

Primary sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/34/1. First edition OS six-inch map, Co Down sheet 34 (1833).
2. OS Memoir for Garvaghy Parish (1834). Reprinted as A. Day & P. McWilliams (eds), Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland: Parishes of County Down III, 1833-8, Mid-Down, p.81 (Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1992).
3. PRONI OS/6/3/34/2. Second edition OS six-inch map, Co Down sheet 34 (1859).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Poland’s Bridge is a mid-19th century twin-arched masonry road bridge over the River Bann. Although on a minor road, it exhibits a high standard of workmanship (dressed stonework) and is of interest because of its use of contrasting materials (granite and Silurian schist) and embellishment (cutwaters, voussoirs, pilasters, string courses and parapet copings), all of which are typical of the period. The bridge is also of historical interest. The setting remains as original, including a minor bridge over the former railway to the SW and one over a mill leat to the NE.