The Blue Bridge

Single-arch bridge, dated 1801, carrying road over unnamed stream. Gunnelled soffit. Segmental arch with tooled limestone voussoirs and projecting keystone, flanked to each side by splayed abutments to impost level, surmounted by engaged round-profile piers. Coursed tooled limestone spandrel and parapet walls. Rectangular recess flanked by oval recesses to west elevation. Cut limestone coping to parapet walls, terminating in square-plan piers having plat-band surmounted by tooled limestone cornice. Inscribed plaque to interior of west parapet wall.

This well-executed stone bridge is of historic and cultural significance, having been mentioned by Matthew Carleton in his writings, and located near the historic site of the battle of Clontibret (1595). Built by Matthew Ankatell in 1801, it is connected to a number of other sites in the area, including Ankatell Grove and Dungillick House, which were built by the same family. Square-plan piers to the parapet walls in this bridge give it a formal aspect, which is articulated by tooled limestone string courses and cornices. The recesses to the west elevation may have held plaques at one time. U-plan buttresses flanking the arch to each elevation enhance the symmetrical appearance of the bridge, and tooled stone throughout demonstrates the skill and craftsmanship of engineers and stoneworkers in the early nineteenth century.