Downshire Bridge, Bridge Street, Dromore, Co Down, BT25

Downshire Bridge is a two-arch masonry and brick road bridge over the River Lagan just south of the Market Square at Dromore. Its abutments and pier are of regularly coursed dressed granite blocks. The north (right-bank) abutment has been encased in mass concrete. There is a curvilinear pointed cutwater at each end of the pier, rising to arch spring level; each comprises dressed granite blocks dressed to a curve, laid to regular courses and surmounted by a granite cap. The two arches are of segmental profile and identical size. Their voussoirs are of finely-dressed granite blocks, but the soffits are of brick. The spandrels and parapets are of rock-faced and margined granite blocks. A dressed granite string course runs across the top of the arch crown, directly under the parapet. The latter are coped with oversailing, finely-dressed and chamfered granite blocks. An electricity cable is carried across the downstream (W) parapet face in a small pipe secured to the top of the string course. Set into the middle of the road face of the downstream parapet is a polished granite slab reading “Downshire/ Bridge/ 1885”. There is a terminal pier at the south end of each parapet, of regularly-laid, finely-dressed granite blocks with oversailing chamfered copings. The edge of the coping stone on the SW pier carries the inscription “W.J. Doloughan Contractor”. There are no such piers at the north end of the bridge, here occupied by buildings. The terminal pier at SE appears to have carried a lamp standard, now removed; only its fixing holes survive. The SE pier may have been relocated towards the middle of the parapet when the footpath at this end of the bridge was widened. Here the footpath is carried along part of the outside face of the bridge on a brick quarter-arch. This necessitated shortening the parapet to accommodate the widened footpath and repositioning its terminal pier where the footpath ended. Mounted on the building at the NW end of the bridge is a small interpretative plaque detailing the bridge’s history. There is some minor overgrowth on the upstream face of the bridge. Setting On one of the main streets in the town with various buildings to north and south.