Survey Data
Reg No
15310086
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Social, Technical
Previous Name
Saunders Bridge
Original Use
Bridge
In Use As
Bridge
Date
1800 - 1810
Coordinates
244354, 252231
Date Recorded
20/07/2004
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Single-arch canal bridge carrying road over Royal Canal, built c.1806. Constructed of ashlar limestone with ashlar limestone detailing including a projecting string course at parapet base level/road level. Concave side walls to bridge. Located to the southeast of Mullingar. Rubble limestone walls run away to the east.
Appraisal
A typically well-built canal bridge, which is a valuable part of the architectural heritage of Westmeath and the industrial heritage of Ireland. Although humble in form, this structure has a simple and functional elegance with the concave profile of the side walls a notably feature. It is robustly built in fine stone masonry, which is testament to the long term ambitions of the Royal Canal Company at the start of the nineteenth century. This form of this bridge contrasts appealingly with the rusticated form of the later railway bridge to the west (15310087), illustrating changing design trends in engineering as the nineteenth century progressed.