Bridge, Derryork Road, Dungiven, Co Londonderry

This is a robust, well-built bridge dating probably from the mid-19th century, located on the Derryork Road in Dungiven, County Londonderry, and crossing the Gelvin River. It is constructed of coursed sandstone and built on a slight skew. The bridge is a single segmental arch road bridge with an approximate span of 8 metres, featuring well-cut rock-faced voissoirs with tooled margins. The intrados, or inner curve of the arch, is of cut stone with inclined beds, reflecting the bridge’s skew. The battered abutments on either side of the arch are built of rock-faced ashlar sandstone. There are no breakwaters. The walls rise to form a substantial parapet finished with squared copings, with rounded ends at each extremity. The parapet walls extend for 30 metres, and the carriage width is 5 metres. The bridge sits within a pleasant agricultural landscape. Approximately 80 metres downstream, the river turns at a right angle, influenced by the railway embankment constructed in the 1880s as part of the railway line between Limavady and Dungiven. Skew bridge designs, which are not aligned at right angles to the riverbed, became more common after the development of railways in the 1830s and 1840s, often utilizing precisely curved brick or stone vaulting. The bridge holds interest as an example of industrial archaeology.