Kilroot Bridge, Belfast Road, Kilroot, Co.Antrim

Kilroot Bridge, built around 1850, is a handsome stone bridge of formal design that spans the Kilroot River on the Belfast Road, Kilroot, County Antrim. It is considered a fine example of 19th-century engineering and is an important landscape feature within an unspoiled rural setting, reflecting improvements to infrastructure during that era. The bridge is aligned north-south and consists of three spans. The south elevation is characterized by high-quality rock-faced basalt stonework, including snecked squared stonework for the abutments, spandrels, and parapets. A stone string course marks the road level, and the parapet has heavy stone coping. The three round-headed arches, with the central arch being the largest, feature feather-edged rock-faced voussoirs and V-shaped cutwaters. The north elevation is constructed differently, using a simpler style with generally random rubble stone, including for the voussoirs, with only the piers and coping in dressed stone. There is no string course on this side. Six square pattress plates are present on each elevation. Located directly to the south is a concrete weir. The surrounding area is characterized by mature woodland and scrub embankments. The bridge was uncaptioned on the 1857 Ordnance Survey map. It is possibly attributed to Charles Lanyon, who served as County Surveyor of Antrim from 1836 to 1860. The bridge has both industrial archaeological interest and significance due to its potential authorship by Lanyon while the structure displays a pleasing style, proportion, ornamentation, and plan form, complemented by its setting.