Survey Data
Reg No
15000009
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Archaeological, Historical, Technical
Original Use
Bridge
In Use As
Building misc
Date
1560 - 1850
Coordinates
203993, 241465
Date Recorded
06/09/2004
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached storage shed on square plan with rounded corners, built c.1844, incorporating pier and fabric of bridge originally constructed c.1570. Constructed of coursed limestone with limestone coping. Steel door to south elevation. Flight of cut limestone steps to immediate east. Located on east bank of River Shannon.
Appraisal
An unusual and interesting historical fragment. This structure formed part of the pre-1844 Bridge of Athlone, originally built by Sir Henry Sidney in 1566, but altered many times and probably substantially rebuilt after the sieges of 1690 and 1691. Sidney's bridge was removed after the new bridge was constructed a short distance upstream in 1844 (15000010). The early bridge played an extremely important role in the development of Athlone as a thriving market town of considerable strategic importance. The surviving fabric appears to be of eighteenth/nineteenth century date but may well contain earlier fabric. This structure now forms a locality amenity on the east bank of the River Shannon.