bridge

Single-arch railway bridge, built c.1855, carrying Great Northern Railway over accommodation crossing. Round arch, having rock-faced rusticated and margined stone voussoirs, and random rubble stone soffit. Tapered projecting buttresses flanking arch to abutments, continuing to form curved wing walls, terminating in square-plan piers. Rock-faced rusticated stone to spandrel walls, abutments and buttresses, with limestone to parapet walls and sandstone to remainder. Dressed stone plat-bands at impost level and running over arch-ring, continuing to form coping to wing walls. Coursed rock-faced rusticated stone to parapet walls, terminating in projecting piers and having render copings.

This bridge is an aesthetically-pleasing feature in the landscape, its tall round arch and curved wing walls providing a sense of symmetry, while the different colours of the limestone and sandstone enhance the horizontal flow of the structure. It is articulated by tooled stone plat-band, which provides a pleasing contrast to the rusticated stone of the spandrel and parapet walls. The Dundalk and Enniskillen Railway, later the Great Northern Railway, reached Clones in 1858 and provided a transport link in this area which was indicative of both the commercial productivity of the area and increased communication and interdependence throughout the country at the time. An integral component part of this network, this bridge is a reminder of the transport history of the area.