Bridge over railway, Blackstown Road, Aldergrove, Crumlin, Co Antrim

This is a single-arch masonry bridge built of basalt rubble and brick, carrying a minor road over a railway line. Constructed between 1840 and 1859, it is an example of early Victorian bridge engineering. The segmental archway is made of brick, with four courses of brick headers laid in the same plane as the spandrels. The brickwork is vaulted and laid in diagonal courses. The bridge has undergone some repointing to the spandrels and parapets, using a light-toned mortar on both faces. The parapet coping is made of roughly hewn greystone, and the carriageway has a hump-backed profile. Splayed retaining walls with raking copings are located on either side of the abutments. The bridge was built to carry the minor road over the Dublin and Antrim Junction Railway, a branch line of the Great Northern Railway, and is visible on an Ordnance Survey map from 1857. It is situated in a rural setting of agricultural land, surrounded by trees and bushes. While generally unspoiled, the bridge is of industrial archaeological interest, although it has limited special or unusual architectural or historical significance.