White Water Bridge, Benagh Rd, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34

This is a mid-19th century bridge, built sometime between 1840 and 1859. It carries a minor road from Mill Bay to Cranfield over the White Water River. The bridge is a good example of a utilitarian design, featuring minimal embellishment and contrasting with the earlier Lower White Water Bridge located upstream.

It consists of three equally sized segmental arches. The structure is built of finely dressed granite for the abutments, piers, and voussoirs, with roughly squared and coursed granite blocks used for the soffits and spandrels. A projecting platband runs just above the crown of each arch. The parapet is constructed from granite and Silurian rubble, laid in courses, and finished with chamfered granite copings. Angled cutwaters are present on both the upstream and downstream sides, rising to arch spring level and constructed of ashlar granite. A small rectangular niche is set into the outside face of the upstream parapet, likely intended for a datestone, though no trace of it remains. The riverbed is pitched.

An earlier wooden bridge was situated just upstream as shown on an Ordnance Survey map from 1834. The bridge began to be identified as ‘White Water Bridge’ from 1859 and is believed to be the present structure. The bridge holds local historical interest and is also of industrial archaeological interest.