Survey Data
Reg No
40909424
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
Bridge
In Use As
Bridge
Date
1820 - 1870
Coordinates
200351, 382772
Date Recorded
14/11/2007
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Double-arched bridge carrying road over tributary of the Lowerymore River, built or rebuilt c. 1860, having diminutive cutwater to central pier. Round-headed arches having dressed rock-faced voussoirs with dressed margins; cement rendered coating to arch barrels. Snecked and/or squared and coursed mildly rock-faced masonry construction to spandrels and abutments; rubble stone construction to parapets with rock-faced stone coping over. Parapets rebuilt in places. Tarmacadam Deck. Located to the north-east of Donegal Town, and at the south-west entrance to the Barnesmore Gap.
Appraisal
This simple double-arched road bridge retains its early character and form, despite some modern alterations, and is an appealing feature in the scenic landscape to the north-east of Donegal Town. It is robustly-constructed in mildly rock-faced snecked and squared coursed 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 rock-faced voussoirs to the arch and the rock-faced construction to the central cutwater are noteworthy features. Although the use of rock-faced masonry is a feature of 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, the small arches and the construction of this bridge suggests that this bridge is earlier, perhaps dating to the first half of the nineteenth-century. This unassuming rustic bridge is a modest addition to the local area, and is a feature of some picturesque qualities in the scenic landscape to the south-west end of the Barnesmore Gap.