Wolfenden's Bridge, Ballyskeagh Road, Lisburn, Co Antrim

Wolfenden's Bridge is a nine-arch masonry bridge carrying the Ballyskeagh Road over the River Lagan just north of Lambeg Parish Church in County Antrim. Dating to the early 18th century, it is a fine example of 18th-century bridge design and ranks among the oldest surviving bridges over the Lagan between Belfast and Lisburn, second only to Shaw's Bridge.

The bridge is constructed throughout of random rubble blackstone. Nine arches of approximately equal size with roughly segmental profiles span the river and flood zones: five arches at the south end cross the river itself, while four arches at the north (all on the County Down side) function as flood arches. The voussoirs are of split blackstone, except for those on the downstream western face of the northernmost arch, which are of split Triassic sandstone. The southernmost arch soffit has been gunited, but the rubble masonry soffits remain visible under the other arches. There is no longitudinal break in the stonework, indicating the bridge has not been widened. The piers feature triangular cutwaters on both upstream and downstream ends, rising to the base of the parapets. Tie rods hold the sides of the south two arches and the northernmost arch together, with the southernmost arch containing five such ties.

The parapets are constructed of quarried rubble basalt with concrete copings and have been rebuilt from time to time, though they remain in keeping with the bridge's original character. The north end of the downstream parapet has undergone recent reconstruction. Substantial rubble basalt buttresses have been built along both sides of the north approach road. The carriageway comprises two traffic lanes and one footpath. At the north end, the approach road crosses over the now-defunct headrace to the former Lambeg Bleachworks via a secondary bridge of random rubble construction with a semicircular arch of split stone voussoirs; its south abutment is underpinned and faced with concrete.

The bridge's precise date of erection is unknown, though it was presumably constructed sometime after 1688. According to the 1837 Ordnance Survey Memoir for Lambeg Parish, William III crossed this location by ford in 1688 while travelling to Lisburn before the Battle of the Boyne, and his carriage sustained injury in the crossing. A bridge is depicted on Oliver Sloane's 1739 map of County Down and on Taylor and Skinner's 1777 road map of Ireland, suggesting the present bridge dates to the early 1700s or possibly the late 1600s. Prior to the construction of the Belfast-Lisburn road via Dunmurry in the early 1800s, the Ballyskeagh Road (on which this bridge is located) was a principal route between the two towns.

The bridge is named after the Wolfenden family, who settled in this area in the later 1600s. They occupied Lambeg House (now renamed Chrome Hill) and established the Lambeg Bleachworks in the later 1600s. The Bleachworks subsequently developed into a significant industrial concern; the mill premises have since been redeveloped as an industrial estate, and the headrace is now dry. The 1837 Ordnance Survey Memoir provides detailed measurements: nine half-circular arches with a 15-foot span each, road breadth of 18 feet, average parapet height of 2 feet 6 inches, parapet thickness of 1 foot 4 inches, bridge length of 52 yards, and parapets extending 120 yards on either side of the road.

The bridge is a striking feature of the riverscape and holds national historical interest due to its early date and scarcity. It is also of industrial archaeological interest in connection with the former Lambeg Bleachworks.