Newmill Bridge

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A triple-span masonry arch bridge which carries a secondary road between Moira and Dromore over the River Lagan.
The bridge is of random rubble construction. The stonework is mostly of rounded field stones but part of the left-bank arch spandrel and parapet are of quarried rubble (indicating a later rebuild). The arches are of irregular segmental profile, the middle one being the widest. All have split rubble masonry voussoirs and their soffits are rendered with cement (through which random rubble is visible in places). Triangular mass concrete cutwaters rise to just above arch spring level on both faces; they are capped with concrete rising to crown level. The parapets are coped with roughly squared granite blocks which contrast with the black stonework of the rest of the bridge. Both faces are identical except for the addition of a lagged water pipe on the downstream (NE) face which is carried across just above crown level. The carriageway comprises two lanes and has a slight hump. The downstream left-bank wall of the approach road from Moira is buttressed with random rubble.

The bridge may have been repointed with cement in 1983, this being the date inscribed on the upstream face of the left-bank arch.

Historical information

A bridge is shown here on Oliver Sloane's 1739 map of Co Down and on Taylor and Skinner’s 1777 road map. The bridge is cited on the 1834 OS six-inch map as ‘New Mill Bridge’. The 1837 Ordnance Survey Memoir for Moira Parish describes it thus: “New Mill bridge over the River Lagan is 55ft long and 23ft 6in broad. It is built of whinstone and freestone and consists of three semi-circular arches.”

The construction date of the present bridge is uncertain. The 1834 OS map shows a mill race just north of the bridge, but there is no actual mill on this or subsequent maps. This suggests that the mill was long gone and that the ‘New’ refers to the bridge rather than mill. However, such a designation could have persisted for many decades after the bridge was erected (as exemplified by Moore's Bridge, HB19.12.002). An early 18th century date would not be out of keeping with the bridge's relatively plain construction and crudeness of its arch profiles, but it may possibly have been rebuilt later in that century.

References - Primary sources:
1. Sloane, O. Map of County Down (1739).
2. Taylor, G. & Skinner, A. Maps of the Roads of Ireland, p.285 (1777).
3. Ordnance Survey Memoir, Co Down: Moira Parish (1837).
4. PRONI OS/6/3/13/1. First edition OS six-inch map, Co Down sheet 13 (1834).

References - Secondary sources
1. Brett, C.E.B. Buildings of North County Down, p.247 (Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2002)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A triple-span masonry arch bridge which carries a secondary road between Moira and Dromore over the River Lagan. Displaying the style and proportions of an 18th century bridge, it is constructed mostly of rounded field stones and with three arches of irregular segmental profile. Although this bridge's heritage merit has been diminished by the later concrete cutwaters and water pipe, it nevertheless retains its historical fabric more or less intact and is a good example of its time. Located in a landscape setting approx. 1 mile East of Moira village, it is of local historical and architectural interest.