Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB10/08/002

Address :
Clady Bridge Urney Road Clady Strabane Co.Tyrone

Townland:
Donnygowen

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Survey 2:
A

Date of Listing:
16/10/1987 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:
72-14

IG Ref:
H2925 9399

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Owner Category

Central Govt

Exterior Description And Setting

A nine-span road bridge, built c.1700, carrying Urney Road over the River Finn to County Donegal on an east/west axis, located to west of Clady village. Roughly coursed rubble abutments, spandrels and parapets; rubble coping to parapet (partially repaired with ashlar stonework). Nine almost round-headed arches with rubble voussoirs (two arches to west are flood arches); central arches have been repaired below carriageway; continuous structure projects forming large V-shaped rubble cutwaters to piers allowing for pedestrian refuges on carriageway. Arch soffits have been sprayed with cement render. The carriageway is approximately 5m wide. Parapet wall continues to form boundary wall to surrounding agricultural land for some distance to east and west. The bridge is located on a rural road to the west of Clady village, at the border between Co Tyrone and Co Donegal; riverbank bounded to either side by wire fencing. Roof N/A Walling Roughly coursed rubble Windows N/A Rainwater goods N/A

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

The bridge first appears on the first edition of the OS Map of 1832-1833, captioned “Clady Bridge.” It is of early appearance, dating from at least the eighteenth century, and possibly earlier. There appears to be some secondary evidence to support a seventeenth century date for the bridge: “Clady: A History of Clady Village,” unfortunately does not mention sources, but refers to a recently built bridge at the site crossed on 15 April 1689 by the Duke of Berwick, illegitimate son of James II, with 300 men and 600 horses, following a battle with the Ulster Protestant army, who had taken down an arch on the Co. Tyrone side to slow Berwick's progress. To cross, boards were placed over the collapsed arch, “which was later journeyed over by King James II,” himself. A previous bridge is mentioned on 15 April 1650 when Bishop Heber McMahon with the Catholic Army of the North crossed the River Finn at Cladyford, then the name of Clady, in pursuit of the Parliamentary army (“Clady”). Lewis’s “Topographical Dictionary of Ireland” (1837) describes the village of forty-four houses, “most of them old,” along a regularly formed street, which had two annual fairs for cattle, pigs and sheep. “Lewis also referred to the five-arched bridge and its historic associations with the wars of the seventeenth century and the fact that it was at one time a strong military post under the command of Colonel Skeffington” (“Clady”). The present span inconsistency may be attributed to Lewis’ omission of flood arches and later repair work. The settlement has early origins and makes reference to the riverside location in its name. In Irish, Clady (Claideach) has two place name meanings. The first, when used along the coast means a stony shore, however, when used inland, the word refers to the “muddy bank of a sluggish river.” The village’s name reflects this second meaning and the name predates 784 when according to the Annals of the Four Masters, it was the location of a battle between Kinel Owen (O’Neills) and Kinel Conal (O’Donnells). Sometime later, the place became a river crossing and adopted the name Cladyford (“Clady”). McCutcheon in 1980 describes the bridge as “one of the most remarkable in the Province with greatly exaggerated lateral recesses in the parapet walls continues downwards to form massive salient-angled cut-waters” (McCutcheon. Plate 12; 3). McClure, writing in 1983, ranks this bridge as “one of the top ten bridges in the Province and its historic importance should be compared with the following bridges:- "(1) the Craigmore Viaduct and (2) the Egyptian Arch near Bessbrook "(3) the Charlemont Bridge at Moy on the Backwater and (4) the Bann Bridge at Coleraine. "(5) the Glendun Viaduct near Cushendun and (6) the Randalstown Viaduct over the River Maine. "[Although] not an exhaustive list…these are the bridges against which Clady must be assessed. Clady is unique in that it pre-dates by several years (at present its date of building is not known) all the bridges listed above…. Whereas Glendun was built in 1839 and Randalstown about 10 years later and in all essentials the bridge today is exactly as it was built at least 250 years ago” (McClure, p.1). Hammond, writing in 1994, reiterates this appraisal, with an “almost certainly of the 18th century date (if not earlier)” (Hammond). Vertical cracks were reported in the projecting cutwaters in 1983 (McClure, p.1). Renovation occurred in late 1983, which laid the concrete plinths of the piers and sercured the bridge with tie rods (McCurdy, p.1). References: Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/6/9/1 -First Edition OS Map (1832-33) 2. PRONI OS/6/6/9/2 -Second Edition OS Map (1855) 3. PRONI OS/6/6/9/3 -Third Edition OS Map (1905) 4. Taylor and Skinner. “Plate 228: From SLIGO to L.DERRY.” In “Maps of the Road of Ireland.” 1778. (Included in Historic Monument and Buildings Branch File) Secondary Sources 1. “Clady: A History of Clady Village.” “Strabane-Lifford Notes.” No.6. 21 July 1982. 2. Hamond, Frederick W. “Clady Bridge, Clady, Co. Tyrone – HB10/8/2: Inspected 21-9-1994.” Belfast: Dept. of the Environment, Historic Monument and Buildings Branch Files, 22 September 1994. 3. Lewis, Samuel. “A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, Comprising the Several Counties, Cities, Boroughs, Corporate, Market, and Post Towns, Parishes, and Villages, With Historical and Statistical Descriptions; Embellished with Engravings of the Arms of the Cities, Bishopricks, Corporate Towns, and Boroughs; Of the Seals of the Several Municipal Corporations.” London: S. Lewis & Co., 1837. 4. McClure, J. “Clady Bridge – Co. Tyrone.” Belfast: Dept. of the Environment, Historic Monument and Buildings Branch Files, 16 November 1983. 5. McCurdy, John A. I. “Letter to Mr. Innis of the Historic Monuments & Buildings Branch concerning Clady Bridge, Kesh Bridge and Ardstray Bridge.” 25 November 1983. 6. McCutcheon, W. A. “The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland,” London: H.M.S.O., 1980.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

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

Historic Interest

W. Northern Ireland/International Interest V. Authorship Z. Rarity

Evaluation

A large nine-span bridge, built c.1700, carrying Urney Road over the River Finn. This early eighteenth or possibly seventeenth century bridge is well proportioned and detailed, despite some repair to the structure in more recent years. The incorporation of cutwaters into the main structure of the bridge displays an innovative method of allowing extra space for pedestrians refuges on an otherwise narrow carriageway. This bridge is considered one of the most impressive examples of its type in Ulster and its imposing scale makes it an important feature in the landscape. Its archaic refuges, large intermediate piers and detailing make it a very rare structure.

General Comments

Date of Survey

17 March 2009