Cherryvalley Bridge, [south of Newtownards Road], Comber, Co Down, BT23

The Cherryvalley Bridge is a sandstone railway bridge, built between 1848 and 1850, located south of Newtownards Road in Comber, County Down. It crosses a road and is now disused, neglected, and partially damaged, but appears structurally sound. The bridge features a single semicircular arch constructed with voussoirs, and has a brick intrados with a ‘spring’ band. Piers and curved retaining walls flank the arch on each face of the bridge, although the north face is largely hidden by vegetation. A course runs above the arch on the south face, and presumably also on the north face. The south parapet has lost much of its coping and has a modern concrete fence post against it, while the north parapet is heavily overgrown. The railway line has been removed and the track is now overgrown. The bridge formed part of the Belfast & County Down Railway, which connected Belfast, Comber, and Newtownards and opened in May 1850. The line was closed in 1953. The bridge is of industrial archaeological interest.