Oldtown Bridge, County Donegal (40503214)

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Triple-arch bridge carrying road over the River Swilly, built c. 1720. Possibly incorporating fabric from an earlier bridge to site (or close to site), built c. 1620. having V-profile cutwaters to central piers to both the upstream and downstream elevations (east and west). Modern water pipes to either side elevation. Segmental-headed arches having roughly dressed rubble stone voussoirs; cement rendered lining to arch barrels. Modern reinforced concrete underpinnings to central piers. Rubble stone construction to piers, abutments, spandrels and parapets; rubble stone coping to parapets with modern repairs in places. Rubble stone wing walls to either end of parapets (north and south) splayed\stepping out from bridge. Tarmacadam deck with footpath to the east side. Located in the rural countryside to the north-east of Ballyshannon. Modern footbridge to the west elevation. Located to the south-west of the centre of Letterkenny.

Although altered and repaired, this appealing triple-arched road bridge retains its early character and form, and is an appealing feature in the streetscape to the south-west of Letterkenny town centre. It is robustly-constructed in local rubble stone masonry, and its continued survival and use stands as testament to the quality of its original construction. This bridge probably originally dates to the first half of the eighteenth century and is one of the earliest surviving bridges in the Letterkenny area. The V-profile cutwaters are a feature of many eighteenth century bridges in Ireland. A bridge appears to be marked here on Moll’s map of 1714 although it is difficult to ascertain if this bridge is the structure depicted. A bridge depicted as 'The Bridge' on the Down Survey (1655-6) barony map on, or close to the location of the present bridge over the River Swilly. This is probably the bridge that was apparently built by Sir George Merbury (close to his house) c. 1620. This seventeenth century bridge may have been have been either replaced or incorporated into the present Oldtown Bridge. This bridge was wing walls that stepped out from the bridge alignment to either side, a common feature of many of the larger multi-arched bridges in Donegal. This fine bridge has acted as the main gateway into Letterkenny from the south for around 300 years, and is an integral element of the built heritage and extensive transport heritage of County Donegal.

From the Buildings of Ireland (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) record 40503214

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Photo credits

National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Maker not stated on source page, au.pinterest.com
Humphrey Bolton, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
Kenneth Allen, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
Kenneth Allen, Wikimedia Commons
Maker not stated on source page, za.pinterest.com
Maker not stated on source page, fi.pinterest.com
Balloholic (talk), Wikimedia Commons
Humphrey Bolton, Wikimedia Commons

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