Bandon Bridge, County Cork

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Freestanding five-span road bridge, dated 1773, enlarged 1838, spanning the Bandon River. Splayed arch to southern end of west elevation. Camber-arches increasing in width towards central arch, having alternating raised tooled stone voussoirs, rubble stone soffits springing from tooled limestone block piers with V-cutwaters to east and west elevations. Limestone block and pyramidal render capping to west elevation cutwaters. Dressed limestone walls and spandrels surmounted by tooled limestone cornice and dressed limestone parapets with tooled limestone coping stones. Raised central piers with street lamp to parapets, having tooled stone commemorative plaques to interior walls. Tooled limestone terminal pier to northern end of western parapet. Rubble stone abutments with later rubble stone arched buttress to northern end of west elevation having alternating raised rusticated limestone block voussoirs and rubble stone spandrels surmounted by stone block cornice and low rubble stone parapet wall with convex tooled stone coping. Recent concrete girder bridge perpendicular to south end of side (east) elevation.

An integral part of both the local and the wider Cork wide communication network providing an important transport link over the Bandon River. Due to the importance of this transport route, the bridge was widened in 1838. Remains of the original bridge including a rubble stone abutment and springing of an arch survive to the west. It displays expert craftsmanship and fine materials with tooled stone blocks forming its main fabric. The various plaques add context and provide the names of those involved in its construction.

From the Buildings of Ireland (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) record 20844063

Places near here

Picture notes

Jonathan Thacker, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Computer-made picture. It does not show this monument.
Xx78900, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Computer-made picture. It does not show this playground.

Bandon BrBridge · 1 yd

Explorer Tom Bandon Bridge has been crossing the river since 1778, widening up in 1838 because five arches weren't enough flex. It’s got those rusticated voussoirs looking like fancy bricks that went to university. Walk past slowly, like you're in a slow-motion film noir scene.

cobbles/flags/paving/kerbing38 yd

Explorer Tom Cobbles in Gully on MacSwiney Quay are high-quality nineteenth-century paving, which means they’re basically the VIP section of the street. They’re rare now because everyone else got replaced by something uglier and cheaper. Pick a stone and name it after your worst enemy, then step on it gently to show them who’s really in charge here.

Bridge HouseHouse · 42 yd

Explorer Tom Bridge House in Coolfadda is right next to Bandon Bridge and has got sliding sash windows that probably slide a bit slower than they did back in 1820. Photo please!

Prison in CoolfaddaPrison · 44 ydComputer-made picture

Explorer Tom Prison in Coolfadda has no description uploaded yet, just bureaucratic silence from the archive unit. So we’re imagining dark cells and iron bars, but honestly, it might just be a very boring office building that smells like old paper.

Bandon Methodist ChurchChurch/chapel · 50 yd

Explorer Tom Bandon Methodist Church in Gully is showing off its Duke-funded fancy dress. The timber inside is so fancy it probably needs a hairbrush. Wave to the Duke and tell him his money bought us style, not just bricks.

Riverside HallChurch/chapel · 57 yd

Explorer Tom Riverside Hall in Knockbrogan was a Presbyterian church from 1847, now turned into apartments. It’s got lancet openings and pinnacles that are very neo-medieval. It used to be a school too, so I bet there are still chalk marks on the walls from angry teachers explaining fractions.

Allin InstituteSchool · 63 yd

Explorer Tom Allin Institute in Knockbrogan has got more mouldings than my ex had excuses. William Henry Hill clearly thought plain walls were for peasants. Give it a wink; the console keystones are definitely judging your outfit.

Seán Hales MonumentMonument · 67 yd

Explorer Tom Seán Hales Monument in Coolfadda is made of marble and limestone, commemorating a guy who got shot leaving the Dail in 1922. It’s set in an open square overlooking the bridge, so take a bow to the fallen hero and maybe make up a family tree on the spot for fun.

Bandon Post OfficeBank/financial institution · 83 yd

Explorer Tom Bandon Post Office used to be a bank, which means it’s still judging your spending habits from the bricks. It closes off Bank Place with style. Send it a stamp if you pass by!

bridge104 yd

Explorer Tom Bridge in Cloghmacsimon is the Irishtown Bridge, built in 1864 with some seriously good limestone work. It replaced an older double-arch one because the single arch was just fancier.

Earthwork in CoolfaddaEarthwork · 170 ydComputer-made picture

Explorer Tom Earthwork in Coolfadda is supposedly a Danish fort underneath a church. O’Ríordáin recorded it way back, but nobody seems to have dug it up since then. It’s just a theory buried under religious architecture and old stone slabs.

Children's playground230 ydComputer-made picture

Explorer Tom Children's playground has caught my eye in County Cork. I bet a children's playground with a name like that could keep me talking all afternoon; I'm already inventing a daft little scene for it, and I'll stop before it turns into history.

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