Railway Bridge, off Saintfield Road, Ballygowan, Co. Down, BT23 6HB

This is a railway bridge dating from the 1850s, constructed of basalt rubble with sandstone voussoirs and flanking buttresses. The bridge carries the former railway line over the Ballygowan River, situated north of Saintfield Road and west of the centre of Ballygowan. Built between 1856 and 1857 as part of the Belfast County Down Railway line connecting Comber and Downpatrick (officially opened in March 1859), it is depicted on the Ordnance Survey map of 1858-60. Owing to the railway’s closure in 1950 and subsequent road widening and residential development, the bridge is now largely hidden and difficult to access. The north face is concealed by vegetation to the east of a modern dwelling, displaying a semicircular arch with sandstone voussoirs. The south face is inaccessible due to a steep riverbank and dense hedging. The structure possesses industrial archaeological interest.