Survey Data
Reg No
22810114
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Historical, Social, Technical
Original Use
Bridge
Date
1875 - 1880
Coordinates
209899, 99335
Date Recorded
11/11/2003
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Five-arch rubble stone railway viaduct over river, opened 1878, with five-span cast-iron section to north-west originally having six spans. Decommissioned, 1967. Now disused with span to north-west removed. Broken coursed rock-faced squared rubble stone walls to section to south-east with cut-stone cut-waters to piers, cut-stone stringcourse, and cut-stone coping to parapets. Series of five segmental arches with cut-stone voussoirs, and squared rubble stone soffits having traces of render over. Cut-stone round piers to section to north-west with stringcourses and coping, and cast-iron panelled parapets. Series of five flat spans (originally six spans with one removed) on cast-iron girders. Sited spanning River Blackwater with grass banks to river.
Appraisal
A gracefully-proportioned railway viaduct presenting a dramatic landmark on the River Blackwater. The construction of the two sections - with that to south-east conforming to long-standing traditions in bridge building, and that to north-west exploring the possibilities of cast-iron – is of considerable technical interest, and identifies the civil engineering heritage significance of the site. The bridge is of particular importance for its associations with the introduction of the railway network to Cappoquin by the Fishguard and Rosslare Railways and Harbours Company in the mid to late nineteenth century.