Survey Data
Reg No
41400955
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
Bridge
Date
1850 - 1870
Coordinates
263489, 333244
Date Recorded
18/04/2012
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Single-arch railway bridge, built c.1860, carrying road over Portadown and Cavan Branch of Ulster Railway, later Great Northern Railway. Three-centred-arch with rock-faced rusticated V-jointed limestone voussoirs, dressed limestone soffits, rock-faced rusticated buttresses flanking arch to each elevation. Rock-faced rusticated limestone spandrel and abutment walls, having tooled stone plat-bands at impost level. Squared limestone parapet walls with tooled limestone copings.
Appraisal
This well-designed and executed railway bridge is representative of the skill in civil engineering and stoneworking in the late nineteenth century. Its elegant three-centred arch is articulated by rusticated stone voussoirs and flanking buttresses, which provide a sense of symmetry. It was built to carry the road over the Monaghan-Clones Branch of the Ulster Railway (later Great Northern Railway) and the widespread nature of the railway in this area is indicative of the prevalence of industry in the locality. Barely discernible from the road, it is an aesthetically-pleasing structure which serves as a physical reminder of the extent and importance of the railway network at the turn of the century.