Survey Data
Reg No
40909409
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
Bridge
In Use As
Bridge
Date
1760 - 1820
Coordinates
195561, 380901
Date Recorded
13/09/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Double-arched bridge carrying road over the River Eske, built c. 1800, having ashlar V-profile cutwater to central pier. Segmental-headed arches having roughly squared rubble stone voussoirs; rubble stone construction to arch barrels. Roughly coursed rubble stone construction to spandrels, piers and abutments. Rubble stone parapets having rubble stone coping over; modern repairs in places. Rubble stone wing walls to either end (south and west). Tarmacadam deck with grass verges. Located in the rural landscape to the north-east of Donegal Town and to the south of Lough Eske.
Appraisal
This impressive and quite picturesque double-arched road bridge retains its early character and form, and is an appealing feature in the rural landscape to the north-east of Donegal Town. It is robustly-constructed using local rubble stone masonry, and its continued survival and use along a stands as testament to the quality of its original construction, and of the skill of the masons involved. The good quality ashlar construction to the cutwater contrasts attractively with the rubble stone construction elsewhere. The robust rubble stone construction, the unrefined voussoirs to the arches, and the wide central pier all suggest that this bridge may be of considerable antiquity, perhaps dating to the second half of the eighteenth century and perhaps earlier. Its location hints that it may have some association with Lough Eske Castle (see 40909401) a short distance to the north, the site of a castle from the fifteenth-century. This appealing edifice is a feature of some rustic charm in the scenic rural landscape to the north-east of Donegal Town, and is an integral element of the built heritage and transport history of the local area.