Russells Bridge, Downpatrick Road, Drumnaconagher / Raleagh, Ballynahinch, Co Down

The structure is a rubble-built road bridge, likely dating to the 1840s, which carries the Downpatrick Road over the Ballynahinch River. Located approximately 2.5 miles east of Ballynahinch, the bridge has a slightly humped back and is constructed from random fieldstone rubble. It features two roughly semicircular arches with a cutwater between them, and buttresses close to the banks on each side. The lower portions of the bridge have been reinforced with concrete, and the parapets are now rendered. An iron pipe spans the north face of the bridge, and the road surface is covered in tarmac.

An earlier bridge, labelled 'Armstrong’s Bridge,' appears on an Ordnance Survey map of 1834 at this location. It seems slightly longer than the current structure, and its buttresses are more widely spaced. However, the 1858 revised Ordnance Survey map depicts a bridge resembling the present structure, suggesting a potential rebuilding occurred between these dates. This rebuilding theory is supported by the name change to 'Russells Bridge' during that period. The bridge exhibits characteristics of industrial archaeological interest.