Bridge

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Rubble-built, triple arch road bridge of perhaps pre 1834 construction carrying the Drumaghlis Road over the Ballynahinch River. The bridge is located roughly 3½ miles E of Ballynahinch, close to Kilmore Presbyterian church.

The bridge is in random fieldstone rubble with three semicircular arches. The parapets are also in rubble. Metal ties have been inserted into the structure. The road is covered in Tarmac.

Historical information

A bridge is shown on this site on the OS map of 1834. On the revised map of 1858, however, the orientation of the road, and the bridge, appears to have been altered marginally (suggesting the bridge may have been rebuilt), but puzzlingly, the on the latest OS maps, the road appears as it did in 1834! The construction of the bridge, with its three semicircular arches and overall straightness, indicates that it may have been built before the latter date.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/6/3/30/1 OS map, Down sh 30, 1834
2 PRONI OS/6/3/30/2 OS map, Down sh 30, 1858
3 EHS OS map, sh 205-10, c.1974
Secondary sources
1 Peter O’Keefe and Tom Simington ‘Irish stone bridges: History and heritage’ (Irish Academic Press 1991)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

Rubble-built, triple arch road bridge of possible pre 1834 construction carrying the Drumaghlis Road over the Ballynahinch River. Of special interest for its style, proportion, detailed design, surviving plan form, construction and local historical interest. Its relationship with the listed group of buildings at the nearby Kilmore Presbyterian Church is also of note as it adds to the historic character of their setting.