Mourne Bridge, Carn Road, Castlederg, Co Tyrone, BT81 7UU

Mourne Bridge is a seven-span road bridge dated 1785, carrying Carn Road over the Mourne Beg River. The bridge is a significant example of late 18th century engineering work, situated in an unspoiled rural setting west of Castlederg.

The bridge is constructed of random rubble, with random rubble parapets and spandrels incorporating cast-iron wall-ties, and rubble coping along the parapet. It features seven semi-circular-headed arches with rubble voussoirs, and rubble V-shaped cutwaters, including flood arches to the north and two to the south. The arch soffits are cement rendered. The carriageway is approximately 6 metres wide. The parapet wall extends beyond the bridge at both the north and south ends, forming a boundary wall to the surrounding agricultural land. Minor cement repairs have been made to the parapet. A triangular-headed datestone, bearing the date 1785, is set within the west parapet.

The bridge appears uncaptioned on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1833, and is captioned ‘Mourne Br’ on the second edition map of 1853. It is located near the junction of the Mourne Beg River and the River Derg. The bridge exhibits notable characteristics of industrial archaeological interest and possesses a combination of architectural, proportional, ornamental, plan form, structural system and setting interests. It is considered to be of rarity and of Northern Ireland/International interest.