BUSH BURN BRIDGE, BALLYPATRICK TL, Glenshesk, Ballymoney, CO.ANTRIM

Bush Burn Bridge is a masonry road bridge built in 1834, carrying the Cushendall to Ballycastle section of the A2 road over the Bush Burn near Glenshesk in County Antrim. Though modest in scale, it demonstrates high-quality construction and craftsmanship.

The bridge is built in squared rubble mica schist brought to courses, with contrasting sandstone embellishments. Its semicircular arch is accentuated with rock-faced and vee-jointed sandstone voussoirs. Both faces of the arch are reinforced with shallow buttresses that sweep down and away from the bridge, their quoins picked out in margined sandstone blocks. A sandstone string course of half-circle profile runs across the bridge just above the arch crown. The abutments are distinguished by elegant curved forms, an unusual refinement for a bridge of this size, and are embellished with rock-faced and margined sandstone quoins. The low parapets are coped with sandstone blocks, rock-faced and margined with slightly raised square blocks at each end. An original sandstone plaque set into the downstream (east) parapet reads "Bvsh Bvrn / 1834", with a crow's foot benchmark to its left. Short rubble masonry approach walls continue beyond the bridge parapets.

The bridge retains its original fabric in an unaltered state except for a small section of parapet coping immediately above the datestone, which has been replaced with cast concrete. The coping at the south end of the upstream parapet has been replaced in sandstone. The approach wall copings have been replaced with cast concrete. The masonry was recently entirely repointed in lime mortar.

The bridge was constructed as part of the Antrim Coast Road scheme, the largest civil engineering project in Ireland at its time. This route was built between 1832 and 1842 by Scottish engineer William Bald for the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, extending from Larne through Cushendall to Ballycastle. Although this bridge dates to 1834, the section was not fully completed until autumn 1835. The road and its associated bridges significantly improved social and economic networking throughout the region.

The bridge has group value with neighbouring structures along the same route: Craigacat Bridge, Corratavey Bridge, Altheela Bridge (located a short distance to the south), and Altadreen Bridge. Its surroundings, originally open moorland, are now planted with conifers by the Forestry Service.