Lower White Water Bridge, Corcreagh Rd, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34

Lower White Water Bridge carries a minor road over the White Water River, situated just west of Packolet, in the townlands of Ballyardel and Drummanmore. The bridge is thought to have been constructed between 1820 and 1839. It is primarily of interest due to its construction of random rubble stone in contrast to the squared and coursed mid-19th century White Water Bridge further downstream.

The bridge consists of two slightly skewed segmental arches; the left arch, when viewed downstream, is wider than the arch on the right, but both are of the same height. The arches are built of random rubble with roughly dressed granite voussoirs. Angled cutwaters are present on both the upstream and downstream sides, rising to just above arch spring level, and they appear to be constructed of roughly-squared granite blocks, although they may be a later addition. The original random rubble parapets have been replaced with mass concrete, which detracts from the bridge’s original character. A section of the original walling survives on the road approach to the right arch. The river bed is pitched, with the section below the right arch raised, keeping it dry during normal river flows. The carriageway is slightly humped, and there is some vegetation overgrowth on the upstream side.

An unnamed bridge is shown at this location on an Ordnance Survey map from 1834. The 1859 Ordnance Survey map depicts the bridge with two cutwaters and indicates three arches, although the accuracy of this depiction is uncertain as no cutwaters are shown on the 1901 map. The existing bridge likely predates 1834. The current concrete parapets are probably of mid-20th century date. The bridge has notable characteristics of industrial archaeological interest.