Survey Data
Reg No
40906111
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
Bridge
In Use As
Bridge
Date
1850 - 1870
Coordinates
219970, 407618
Date Recorded
04/11/2010
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Single-arched bridge carrying road over Dooballagh Burn, c. 1860 and possibly containing fabric of earlier bridge to site, c. 1800. Projecting rubble stone piers\buttresses to either side of arch to both the north and south elevations. Segmental-headed arch with roughly dressed and mildly rock-faced stone voussoirs; sprayed concrete lining over rubble stone construction to arch barrel. Squared and rubble stone construction to spandrels and abutments. Rubble stone construction to parapets with rubble stone coping over; modern repairs in places. Rubble stone wing walls to either side. Tarmacadam deck with grass verges. Located in the rural countryside to the south-east of Letterkenny.
Appraisal
This appealing small-scale bridge over the Dooballagh Burn retains its early character and form, and is an appealing feature in the rural landscape to the south-east of Letterkenny. It is robustly-constructed in good quality squared local rubble stone masonry, and its continued survival stands as testament to the quality of its original construction, and of the skill of the masons involved. A bridge is depicted here on the Ordnance Survey first edition six-inch map of the area, c. 1836. However, the good-quality rock-faced voussoirs to the arches and the projecting buttresses flanking the arch are features found at the many bridges that were built or altered by the Board of Works during the mid-to-late nineteenth century, and particularly between c. 1847 - 60, suggesting that this bridge may have been built or altered around this time. The cement lining to the arch barrel detracts somewhat from its visual appeal and integrity. This bridge is called Foundry Bridge as a Smithy lay adjacent to it, c. 1905 (Ordnance Survey twenty-five inch map of c. 1907). This bridge is an attractive feature in the landscape to the south-east of Letterkenny, and is an integral element of the built heritage of the local area.