Bridge, Clyda, Co. Cork

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Bridges & Crossings

Bridge, Clyda, Co. Cork

At first glance, the bridge carrying the road over the River Clyda in north Cork looks straightforwardly old, the kind of structure you cross without slowing down.

Look more carefully, though, and the stonework tells a more complicated story. The bridge is nearly thirteen metres wide, which is unusual for a rural crossing of this age and setting, and the fabric itself shows clear signs of at least two distinct phases of construction, with the differences in the masonry still legible if you know what to look for.

The structure carries the hallmarks of eighteenth-century bridge-building: three segmental arches, each spanning around six metres, built with dressed limestone voussoirs, the wedge-shaped stones that lock an arch together and distribute its load. On the downstream side, tall pointed cutwaters project from the piers, a practical feature designed to split the current and reduce pressure on the bridge during high water. The base of the piers is built in ashlar limestone, though the stonework there is now considerably worn. What complicates the picture is the apparent widening of the bridge, probably by around six and three-quarter metres along the north-east side, which would bring the total width to just under thirteen metres. The widened section uses dressed voussoirs and pointed breakwaters consistent with deliberate expansion rather than repair. More recent interventions are visible too: the central and south-east arches have been patched with cement, and the parapet coping, the capping stones along the top of the low walls, has been repaired and raised using rough stonework that sits noticeably apart from the earlier dressed finish below it.

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Pete F
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