Survey Data
Reg No
40908401
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
Bridge
In Use As
Bridge
Date
1850 - 1870
Coordinates
192580, 386082
Date Recorded
29/11/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Double-arched bridge carrying road over the Eglish River, built c. 1860, having dressed rock-faced stone cutwater to central pier and splayed wing walls terminating parapets. Round-headed arches having dressed stone voussoirs; squared rubble stone construction to arch barrels. Roughly coursed rubble stone construction to parapets and spandrels with rock-faced cut stone coping over parapets. Squared and coursed stone masonry to wing walls; wing walls slightly battered to base. Tarmacadam deck. Located in the rural landscape to the north of Mountcharles.
Appraisal
This elegant double-arched road bridge retains its early character and form, and is an appealing feature in the scenic landscape to the north of Mountcharles. It is robustly-constructed in good quality squared local rubble stone masonry, and its continued survival and use stands as testament to the quality of its original construction, and of the skill of the masons involved. The good quality dressed stone voussoirs and the construction of the cutwaters are of a high standard, which helps to elevate this bridge above many of its contemporaries in Donegal. The slightly battered and splayed wing walls terminating the parapets are a feature found on a number of bridges in Donegal and help to further distinguish this structure. This bridge dates to the mid-nineteenth century, a period that saw a great deal of bridge-building carried out in Ireland by the Board of Works and by the Grand Juries (the forerunners of the County Councils). This bridge is an integral element of the built heritage of the local area, and is a feature of some picturesque qualities in the desolate landscape to the south of the Bluestack Mountains.