Survey Data
Reg No
41401014
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
Bridge
In Use As
Foot bridge
Date
1830 - 1850
Coordinates
272316, 335920
Date Recorded
19/03/2012
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Single-arch limestone humpback former canal bridge, constructed c.1840, over Ulster Canal, latter now disused. Closed to road traffic. Constructed with irregular block-cut limestone walls having granite copings to parapet walls and granite string course over arch. Splayed walls to approach now largely removed. Round arch with ashlar voussoirs and soffit. Towpath platform running underneath arch to north and remains of grass towing path and canal to east and west. Located east of Saint Patrick's Church and graveyard.
Appraisal
Leitrim Bridge is a fine stone bridge spanning the Ulster Canal and is a significant reminder of canal development in Ireland. The canal itself runs through Armagh, Tyrone, Monaghan and Fermanagh and was built between 1825 and 1842, from Lough Neagh to Lough Erne at a length of 74km with 26 locks. Its locks, built narrower than the other Irish waterways, prevented through-trade, and had an inadequate water supply and fell into rapid decline from the mid-nineteenth century and finally closed in 1931. Although disused and in a dilapidated state, it exhibits good-quality stone masonry and fine, crisp joints. It forms an attractive eye-catcher in the landscape.