Ballykeel Bridge Mill Road Ballykeel Mullaghbawn Co. Armagh BT35 9UA

Ballykeel Bridge is a stone-built road bridge constructed around 1800, carrying the Mill Road over a tributary of the Forkhill River, located immediately north of Ballykeel Mill, approximately 2 miles north of Mullaghbawn, County Armagh. This vernacular hump-backed bridge is constructed of roughly dressed rubblestone laid in uneven courses, featuring carefully shaped voussoirs and large individual cut stones for coping to each parapet.

The bridge comprises two semi-circular arches of asymmetric proportions, with one arch considerably larger than the other. Stone cutwaters are positioned between the arches on each face; the cutwater on the east side has concrete added to its top. The arch soffits have been sprayed with gunnite or similar material. At approximately 20 feet at its widest point, the bridge is more substantial in width than typical narrow rural bridges of the 18th century, reflecting the style of bridge-building prevalent in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The bridge does not appear on Rocque's 1760 map of County Armagh, though an 'intended road' is shown in the vicinity of the present-day Mill Road without crossing the river. It appears for the first time on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1835, uncaptioned, and is subsequently captioned as 'Ballykeel Br.' on the 1862 second edition and all subsequent editions. The bridge likely dates to the closing decades of the 18th century, when the 'intended road' may have been rerouted to become the Mill Road, necessitating this crossing. The semi-circular arch design, requiring minimum side thrust to abutments and piers, represents a simpler construction method suitable for less experienced bridge builders.

The bridge retains historic character and authenticity in its original roughly dressed rubblestone and asymmetric semi-circular arches. Despite alterations including gunnite spraying to the arch soffits and concrete additions to the east cutwater, it remains a good example of a rural road bridge. Its association with the adjacent Ballykeel Mill and its role within a group of mill buildings that pre-date the 1835 Ordnance Survey map contribute to its local interest and industrial archaeological significance.