Railway Bridge

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

This skew single arch bridge carries the double-track Belfast-Bangor railway over the Seapark Road.

The arch is of segmental profile, with voussoirs in rusticated, margined and vee-jointed sandstone and quoins similarly detailed. Its soffit is of skew-laid brick, rising directly from the abutments, without an intermediate string course. The spandrels and dwarf parapets are of roughly-faced, randomly-sized sandstone blocks; the latter are coped with finely-dressed chamfered blocks, also in sandstone. The abutments are of rock-faced blackstone rubble brought to courses and embellished with rusticated, margined and vee-jointed sandstone. A modern two-bar galvanised steel railing runs along the top of each parapet.

There are angled wing walls at each end, of random rubble blackstone brought to courses. The NE and SW wing walls splay outwards to accommodate vehicle waiting places (the bridge is only wide enough for single-file traffic). These waiting places have since been flagged over as part of the footpath. All but the SE wing walls also have dressed sandstone block terminal piers.

There are triangular headroom warning signs over the arch crown on the south elevation (14ft 6in and 4.4m). There were identical signs on the north face, now missing. There are also emergency information plaques affixed to the wing walls at either end; they note this as bridge no.336.

Historical information

Although the railway arrived in Holywood from Belfast in 1848, it was not until 1862 that the Belfast, Holywood & Bangor Railway (BHBR) began construction of the Holywood-Bangor section on which this bridge is located. Because of land access difficulties and extensive rock blasting, it took three years to complete, not opening until 19 May 1865. The line's consultant architect was Charles Lanyon, and it was probably he who designed this bridge.

The bridge is shown on some versions of the 1858 OS six-inch map, but it should be noted that such maps were re-engraved some years after their original publication to take account of this new line. The railway was not in existence in 1858 despite what some versions of this map may show.

When the line opened, the Belfast & County Down Railway (BCDR) sold their Belfast-Holywood section to the BHBR. In 1873, the entire line was leased back to the BCDR and transferred outright to them in 1884. In 1948, the line was taken over by the Ulster Transport Authority and then by Northern Ireland Railways in 1968. It is now operated by Translink.
Originally the line was a single track but it was eventually doubled. The width of the original abutments was such, however, that no widening of the bridge was necessary.

References – Primary sources:
1. PRONI OS/6/3/1/2. Second edition OS six-inch map, Co Down sheet 1 (1858).

References – Secondary sources:
1. Patterson, E.M. The Belfast and County Down Railway (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1958).
2. Green, E.R.R. The Industrial Archaeology of County Down (Belfast: HMSO, 1963).
3. McCutcheon, W.A. The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland (Belfast: HMSO, 1980).

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
V. Authorship

Evaluation

This skew single arch was built by the Belfast, Holywood & Bangor Railway in the early 1860s and is typical of many rail-over-road bridges along this line. The work of Charles Lanyon, it has merit because of the quality of the workmanship, the use of contrasting materials (blackstone, sandstone and brick), and embellishment (rock facing, rustication, vee jointing etc). It is also of structural interest as a skew bridge with stone voussoirs and brick soffit and of historic interest as an example of mid-19th century railway engineering.