Cidercourt Bridge, Cidercourt Road, Crumlin, Co Antrim

This is a late 18th or early 19th century bridge of robust construction, situated in a relatively unspoiled rural setting. It is a twin-arched masonry bridge carrying a minor road over the Crumlin River. The arch to the north is slightly higher than the one to the south. The bridge is built from random rubble basalt with roughly shaped voussoirs forming segmental arches. Each face has a rough triangular cutwater, and recessed arch and spandrel panels. Four later shaped cast iron tie bars are visible on each face, designed to strengthen the structure. The west face is partially covered in ivy, while the vaulting is of basalt rubble with gunite applied, leading to a flat carriageway. The parapet copings are rendered with humped tops, and the east side has undergone some repairs, including new cement render to the coping. A modern plastic pipe emerges from the parapet on the east face. The parapets continue as field walls at the south end on both east and west faces, with a projecting battered face on the west side beyond the arches, and two broad buttresses further to the south. Modern hard landscaping, including concrete kerb stones, stone chippings, and circular concrete plant pots, is located at the verge along the carriageway at the southern extremity of the eastern parapet. The bridge appears on an Ordnance Survey map dated 1832-3, and construction is estimated to have occurred between 1820 and 1839. The surrounding area is rural, with fields and mature trees in the immediate vicinity, near a bend in the road. The bridge is noted as being of industrial archaeological interest.