Bridge, Hospital Road, Belfast, County Antrim

Hospital Road Bridge, Purdysburn, Belfast

A three-span masonry arch bridge of the mid 18th century, carrying Hospital Road high over Purdy's Burn, a tributary to the River Lagan. The bridge is constructed entirely of rubble stone and features a central arch spanning the burn, flanked to the north by a pedestrian underpass and to the south by a coach underpass. The bridge is located adjacent to the junction between Milltown Road and Hospital Road.

The central arch is the tallest and widest of the three spans, with round-headed profiles and rubble voussoirs. The coach arch is slightly diminished in scale, while the pedestrian arch is considerably the smallest. Half-circle piers flank the central arch, rising from masonry embankments with no cutwaters. Squared buttresses to the east support the north approach. Six putlog holes are visible to the main span at arch spring level. The soffits are of rubble construction with no clear indication of widening, and the spandrels are also rubble. Modern discharge pipes have been added over the central arch. The parapets are of rubble construction, with replacement coping set in cement mortar to the east and rounded cement replacement coping to the west. Remains of iron brackets and hinges are embedded into the walling. The carriageway comprises two traffic lanes and a single narrow footpath along the west side.

The bridge appears on Skinner and Taylor's 1777 map of the main routes from Dublin to Donaghadee, shown crossing Purdy's Burn and the estate of the same name, then the property of Hill Wilson Esq. No primary evidence of its exact construction date has been found, but the Purdysburn estate was settled in the early years of the 18th century, and in 1765 Irish Grand Juries acquired powers to make presentments for the building of bridges. The road carried a major route between Dublin and Donaghadee, a significant port between 1662 and 1837.

The bridge's proportions and styling remain largely intact, though modern repairs to the coping and pointing have detracted slightly from its appearance. Despite these interventions, it represents a good and relatively rare example of its kind and is of considerable local interest and industrial archaeological significance to the area it serves.