Dernaferst Bridge

Triple-span segmental-arched limestone humpback road bridge, built c.1780, with central arch spanning narrow channel connecting two parts of Lough Gowna. Rubble stone parapets with rendered half-barrel coping. Spandrels of rubble stone, dressed arch rings of unequal sized voussoirs rising from rubble stone abutments with V-cutwaters to both elevations. Arch soffit of rubble stone, partly rendered. Rubble stone wing walls extend to connect with street embankments.

A well-composed hump backed road bridge having elegantly proportioned arches of graduated height, typical of eighteenth century bridges. Originally spanning a wider neck between two parts of Lough Gowna, the channel was altered before 1910 to pass under the central arch only, rendering the cutwaters redundant. A road now passes under one arch. The rubble limestone construction with dressed arches and cutwaters are typical of bridges built under the county Grand Jury system. The bridge gives insight into the considerable expansion of the road network in Ireland in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It is an important feature in the landscape and adds significantly to the character of its lakeside setting.