White Bridge, Stramore Road, Gilford, Craigavon, Co Armagh, BT63

White Bridge is a rare four-span cast-iron girder road bridge over the River Bann, built in the mid-19th century and one of only two surviving cast-iron bridges spanning the Upper Bann. The structure is of exceptional architectural and historic interest, though its original appearance has been compromised by later alterations.

The bridge carries a single-lane road and comprises three cast-iron I-beams per span. The two outer beams are tied together with metal tensioning rods running beneath the middle beam. Gunited brick jack arches run longitudinally between the beams, with small seepage drainpipes projecting at regular intervals. The cross-sections of the principal girders are of particular interest: unlike typical I-beams where both flanges are equal, here the bottom flange is significantly wider to support the brick jack arches between the beams. The outside faces of some girders bear the legend "Courtney Stephens & Co Engineers Dublin"; the girder at the north-east additionally bears the date "1856". The deck is finished with tarmaced concrete.

The bank ends of the girders rest on three columns packed with rubble masonry for stability. The spans across the river are supported by three sets of triple columns, each set tied across their tops with a flat metal plate and additionally with steel diagonal and horizontal braces (later insertions). Some columns bear the legend "Courtney Stephens & Co Dublin".

Along the bridge's outside edges, replacement box-section steel posts have been bolted at regular intervals. A replacement welded steel balustrade is affixed to the inside faces of the posts, comprising box-section steel with vertical square-section bars between top and bottom members. Circular pieces embellish the connection between the top member and handrail. Steel terminal posts at the balustrade ends are topped with ball finials. The entire bridge is painted white, from which it derives its name.

Ribbon-pointed rubble masonry approach walls continue for a short distance beyond the bridge itself. The north-west approach wall has a gap to enable fishermen to access the river bank. The setting comprises shallow river banks with rough grassland flood plain, sporadic trees, fields, and a gravel carpark area adjacent to the bridge. The southern approach is tree-lined.

The current cast-iron bridge replaced an earlier wooden structure cited on the 1833 Ordnance Survey six-inch map as "Wooden Bridge" and described in the 1834 Ordnance Survey Memoir as "Moyallen wooden bridge, erected partly by the county and partly by subscription". The ironwork was cast in 1856 by Courtney, Stephens & Co of Dublin, though the bridge was probably not actually erected until the 1860s, as the 1860 OS map still captions it as "White Bridge (wooden)". It is cited as "White Bridge" on the 1903–04 OS map and subsequent editions.

The brick jack arches were strengthened with gunite in 1985. When surveyed in 1994, the bridge still retained its original cast-iron balustrades and masonry approach walls. These features were removed during refurbishment in 2009, following an accident, as part of Health and Safety measures. The original cast-iron balustrades, which featured closely-spaced semi-elliptical designs, were replaced with steel railings of different character with vertical bars. The masonry approach walls were similarly replaced with new stonework of different character, particularly noticeable in its coursing and coping. The structure is of particular industrial archaeological interest.