Lawrencetown Bridge, (aka The Point Bridge), Point Road, Gilford, Co Down, BT63

Lawrencetown Bridge, built c.1813, is a triple-arch masonry bridge carrying a minor road over the River Bann at Lawrencetown. The bridge is of random rubble blackstone. Arches are of segmental profile, the central arch being slightly higher and wider than those flanking (although the deck is flat). Arch voussoirs are of dressed granite, with raised keystones. Angled cutwaters at both ends of the piers, their random granite blocks rising to arch spring level, then stepping back up to the spandrels. The footings of the piers below the water line are encased in concrete to prevent scouring. The parapets are coped with dressed granite blocks. The SW terminal pier is circular and capped with granite. The SE parapet curves out to a gate screen at the avenue to a neighbouring house. The north ends of the parapets are square cut and have been truncated with the laying of the railway diagonally across the road at this end of the bridge (see below). The carriageway comprises a 1½ lane road with a footpath along each side. The NW end of the bridge is abutted by the pier of a single-track railway bridge which ran obliquely across the river immediately downstream of the road bridge. The abutment is of random rock-faced blackstone blocks with margined quoins and chamfered granite copings. Between this abutment and the river is a slender pier, and on the opposite bank another abutment, all similarly detailed. The track is long removed and its line is now difficult to determine on the ground. Walling Stone Setting The bridge is located to the south of Lawrencetown in a semi-rural landscape with agricultural land to south-east; St Patrick and St Colman's Church (HB17/02/015) to the south and a modern single storey dwelling to north.