Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB24/16/029

Address :
Bridge, off Ballygowan Road (near Ballywilliam House), Comber, Co. Down BT23 5PG

Townland:
Ballywilliam

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
27/02/2004 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Bridge

Former Use
Bridge

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
Yes

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
148/14

IG Ref:
J4443 6794

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Owner Category

Private

Exterior Description And Setting

Small bridge, carrying the former main entrance drive to Ballywilliam House over a former mill race, to the E of the Ballygowan Road roughly a mile SE of Comber. The bridge is in random rubble and has a hump (or hog) back. There are two semicircular arches and a central cutwater. Both faces of the bridge are partly covered in greenery. The parapets ascend to a point at both sides and have concrete coping. The drive over the bridge is rough and muddy. The bridge does not appear to be totally sound structurally and there is a notice near by alerting drivers to this. To the W of the bridge are two sturdy gate pillars with the remains of simple wrought iron gates.

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

A bridge is shown on this site on the OS maps of 1834 and 1858 which probably corresponds to the structure still standing. The bridge carried the entrance drive to what was then known as Farm Hill (a house which later evolved into the present Ballywilliam House), over a mill race. This race served a flax mill to the south, which was in possession of the owners of Farm Hill, the Boyd family, at the time of the 1st and 2nd valuations in 1834 and c.1863. The Boyds appear to have been resident at Farm Hill since at least 1781, so conceivably the mill race, and hence this bridge, could have late 18th century origins. For more historical information on Farm Hill/Ballywilliam House see HB24/16/028. References- Primary sources 1 PRONI D.654 Londonderry Papers. [This collection contains documents concerning the townland of Ballywilliam which was once part of the Londonderry estates.] 2 PRONI OS map 1st ed. 1834, Down 10. 3 PRONI VAL1B/316C, p.49 1st valuation Comber parish 1834. 4 ‘Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Vol.7: Parishes of County Down II’, ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1991), p.39. 5 PRONI OS map 1st rev. 1858-60, Down 10. 6 PRONI 2nd valuation Comber parish c.1863. 7 EHS OS map 148-14 (1:2500) 1970.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style H-. Alterations detracting from building J. Setting

Historic Interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Small hump-backed bridge of probable pre 1834 origin, carrying the former main entrance to Ballywilliam House over a former mill race.

General Comments

Date of Survey

19 January 1999