Survey Data

Reg No

15309001


Rating

Regional


Categories of Special Interest

Architectural, Social, Technical


Original Use

Bridge


In Use As

Bridge


Date

1800 - 1810


Coordinates

243634, 254016


Date Recorded

06/09/2004


Date Updated

--/--/--


Description

Single-arch hump-backed canal bridge carrying small road over Royal Canal feeder line, built c.1806. Constructed of dressed limestone with dressed limestone voussoirs to arch. Dressed limestone coping to parapets with modern metal railings over. Located to the northwest of Mullingar Town over feeder line from Lough Owel to the north.

Appraisal

A typically well-built canal bridge, which is a valuable part of the architectural heritage of Westmeath and the industrial heritage of Ireland. Although humble in form, this structure has a simple and functional elegance. It is robustly built in fine stone masonry, which is testament to the long term ambitions of the Royal Canal Company at the start of the nineteenth century. This bridge is of a different form and scale to other canal-related bridges in Westmeath as it crosses the narrower canal supply line from Lough Owel rather than the canal itself. It is one of a number of related structures in the area and is an appealing feature in the landscape to the northwest of Mullingar Town.