Ballagh Bridge (old), Ballagh, Newcastle, Co Down, BT33 0LA

This is a small, roughly constructed bridge likely dating to the early 18th century, or potentially the 17th century, making it one of the earliest surviving bridges in the province. It originally carried the Newcastle to Kilkeel road over the Crock Horn Stream.

The bridge is built of rounded granite fieldstones and split Silurian rubble. The arch springs directly from the bedrock on the left bank and from a low abutment on the right side. Two distinct phases of construction are visible in the arch’s interior: the upstream section is 2.3 metres wide, while the downstream side is 4.6 metres wide. The downstream voussoirs (the wedge-shaped stones forming the arch) are made of split Silurian rubble, while the upstream side uses dressed granite, indicating a later extension. Projections of the timber falsework used during the arch construction are visible on the right bank at springing level. The parapet (low wall along the edge) on the upstream side is in a ruinous state, and the downstream parapet is completely missing. The structure is heavily overgrown and neglected, and the left bank on the downstream side has been pitched with granite blocks and concrete. The bridge now provides access to fields.

The bridge was identified as Ballaghanery Bridge on Moll’s map of Ireland in 1714 and is also shown on the 1834 Ordnance Survey six-inch map. A new road appeared to the south of the bridge in 1859, and by 1901, this road had been extended north over a new bridge (HB16/01/043), superseding the older structure sometime in the second half of the 19th century. The bridge is considered to be of both local historical interest and of industrial archaeological interest, and its construction demonstrates a stylistic contrast with the later bridge nearby. It is noted as derelict.