Survey Data
Reg No
11901501
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Historical, Social, Technical
Original Use
Bridge
In Use As
Bridge
Date
1790 - 1800
Coordinates
295611, 228201
Date Recorded
--/--/--
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Single-arch squared rubble stone hump back road bridge over canal, dated 1796, with dressed stone voussoirs, cut-stone stringcourse, rubble stone parapet walls, squinch and cut-granite date stone/plaque. Rubble stone walls. Cut-stone stringcourse. Rubble stone parapet walls. Cut-granite date stone/plaque. Cut-stone coping. Rubble stone splayed walls to wings. Single round arch. Dressed stone voussoirs. Squared rubble stone soffits with traces of render over. Sited spanning Grand Canal with grass banks to canal.
Appraisal
Henry Bridge is a fine stone bridge that forms an imposing feature on the Grand Canal and is one of a group of bridges on the section of that canal that passes through County Kildare. The construction of the arch that has retained its original shape is of technical and engineering merit. The bridge exhibits good quality stone masonry and fine, crisp joints. An unusual feature of the bridge is the squinch that distinguishes the structure amongst its counterparts. The bridge is of considerable historical and social significance as a reminder of the canal network development in Ireland, which brought about many technical advances and encouraged the development of commercial activity in the late eighteenth century.