Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB19/10/007

Address :
Road over railway Bridge Ballinderry Road Lisburn Co Antrim BT 28

Townland:
Knockmore

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
14/03/2014 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:
165/6

IG Ref:
J2510 6424

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Owner Category

Central Govt

Exterior Description And Setting

Acutely skewed four-arch brick and stone bridge carrying the Ballinderry Road over the main Belfast-Dublin railway. It is aligned NW-SE across the line. The arch at the NW end spans now disused Lisburn-Antrim line. The next arch spans the ‘down’ line from Dublin to Belfast, and the one beside it the ‘up’ line from Belfast to Dublin. The arch at the SE end was never used and is blocked at both ends by a galvanized steel fence. The abutments are of roughly-faced random sandstone blocks laid to courses. Their quoins are embellished with tooled edges and topped with concrete. Similarly detailed pilasters form buttresses at both ends and rise to out-projecting piers at the ends of the parapets. The piers are of red brick construction with cement-rendered concrete ends. Each pier has a semicircular arched opening through the middle to facilitate access between the arches. The arch soffits are of skewly laid purple brick with four soldier courses forming the voussoirs. The spandrels are of roughly-faced random sandstone blocks with a rusticated/margined sandstone string course over and around the parapet terminal piers. The angled wing walls are also of roughly-dressed random sandstone blocks coped with purple brick (with rounded edges). The parapets are of red brick and upwards of 1.8m high. Their road faces are rendered with cement. Their original purple brick copings survive along the NE side but have been replaced with concrete on the opposite side. Their terminal piers are capped with cast concrete (original). The approaches are ramped up at both ends of the bridge. The curved deck carries two lanes of traffic and a footpath. Just beyond the NE and SW ends of the bridge are raised concrete platforms which were formerly associated with Knockmore Station, now closed. The SW platform was accessed along the line of the original road which crossed the line here as a level crossing. The NE platform is accessed by a tarmaced ramp just beyond the NE end of the bridge. A modern steel security fence now runs along each side of the line.

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

The Lisburn-Lurgan section of the Belfast-Dublin railway, on which this bridge is situated, was opened by the Ulster Railway in 1841. However, both the 1857 and 1900 OS maps show a level crossing over the line hereabouts. This bridge is first shown on the 1921 OS map, a short distance east of the level crossing. It therefore dates from sometime within the first two decades of the 20th century, at which time the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) were operating the line (since 1876 in fact). The reason for four arches may have been to allow stopping trains to use tracks through the two outer arches, and non-stop passenger and goods traffic the two inner arches. A third track had, in fact, been constructed in 1907-08 from Belfast to Balmoral. In anticipation of such additional trackage, the road bridges subsequently erected at Finaghy and here at Knockmore to replace existing level crossings contained extra arches. These particular bridges were probably built sometime in the 1910s. However, due to the First World War and its aftermath, these additional lines were never laid and for most of their life only the two middle arches of these particular bridges were used, by the Belfast-Dublin line. Further west of the Ballinderry Road, at Knockmore Junction, lines diverged north to Antrim from the down track, and south to Castlewellan from the up track. The latter branch closed in 1956, and the Antrim line in 1960. As it was now superfluous to requirements, this junction was also closed in 1960. In 1974, the line between Lisburn and Antrim was reopened by Northern Ireland Railways. Unlike previously, however, there was now a dedicated single-line track was laid all the way to Lisburn Station. It by-passed the original Knockmore Junction and separated traffic on this branch from that on the main Belfast-Dublin line. This was the first time that bridge’s NW arch actually spanned a railway line. Knockmore Station was also opened in 1974. Its down platform, at the SW end of the bridge, was served by Portadown-bound trains from Belfast. Its up platform, at the NE end, was served in both directions by the Lisburn-Antrim line. However, trains from Portadown to Belfast did not stop as there was no platform on what was now the middle line. In 1978, the Lisburn-Antrim line also became part of the main link between Belfast and Londonderry. When the alternative, and faster, route to Antrim via Bleach Green Junction re-opened in 2001, the Lisburn-Antrim line became defunct and was eventually closed in 2003. As Knockmore Station was now limited to Portadown-bound passengers, reduced demand forced its closure in 2005. Although the Antrim line is still closed, the track remains in place and may eventually be reopened. There are no plans to put a line through the fourth arch at the SE end. References – Primary sources: 1. PRONI OS/10/1/68/1/1 First edition OS 25-inch map, Co Antrim sheet 68-01 (1900). 2. PRONI OS/10/1/68/1/2 Second edition OS 25-inch map, Co Antrim sheet 68-01 (1921). References - Secondary sources: 1. E.M. Patterson (2003), The Great Northern Railway (Ireland), p.101 (Usk: Oakwood Press). 2. S. Johnson (1997), Johnson’s Atlas & Gazetteer of the Railways of Ireland, p.101 (Leicester: Midland Publishing).

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form F. Structural System

Historic Interest

X. Local Interest Z. Rarity R. Age S. Authenticity

Evaluation

This c.1910 four-arch brick and stone road-over-railway bridge is of both architectural and historical interest. The extensive use of brick for the arches, piers and parapets and use of non-structural concrete (albeit only on the pier ends and copings of the abutment quoins) is typical of earlier 20th century bridges. The regularity of its arches, use of both red and purple brick, and sandstone dressings add interest to its architectural form. The acutely skewed brick arches are also of structural interest and a particularly good example. The bridge is also of local historical interest in reflecting the growing volume of traffic along both road and railway during this period, necessitating the replacement of the existing level crossing. Its four arches are also a reminder of the GNR(I)’s unfulfilled intention to have four separate tracks along this section of railway. It is probably the only unaltered road-over-rail bridge with four arches in Northern Ireland (the other example at Finaghy has been widened recently).

General Comments

Date of Survey

08 February 2011