Queen's Bridge is a B+ listed Victorian stone arch

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It opened to traffic in 1843 and is named after

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

Long Bridge

The previous bridge on this site was the Long Bridge, which began construction in 1682, supposedly on the site of an ancient ford. It had 21 arches, with a total span length of and a width of , although its long approach from the east made it almost a mile long. The bridge was rebuilt several times over the years, such as in 1692, when seven arches collapsed due to Williamite troops transporting their cannons over it. By 1830, traffic volumes were increasing and a wider bridge was required, so the intention to build a new bridge was announced. The Long Bridge was not demolished until work on the new bridge began in 1840, and it is shown on the 1833 Ordnance Survey map. A piece of granite from the Long Bridge is embedded in the pavement at the junction of Castreagh Street and Albertbridge Road in East Belfast.

Construction

The contract for the construction of the new bridge was given by the Board of Works to Francis Ritchie & Son, with a tendered price of £27,000. The bridge was designed by Thomas Jackson and John Fraser, in their respective roles as county surveyors of Antrim and Down (the river is the county boundary). However in 1836, Jackson was replaced as Antrim county surveyor by

Charles Lanyon Sir Charles Lanyon DL, JP (6 January 1813 – 31 May 1889) was an English architect of the 19th century. His work is most closely associated with Belfast, Northern Ireland. Biography Lanyon was born in Eastbourne, Sussex (now East Sussex) in ...

, and so he supervised the construction with Fraser. By March 1841, preparations were being made for the foundations of the bridge, however it had not yet been decided whether the bridge would have a higher central arch to reduce the overall approach gradient, or if it would have a horizontal deck. By July 1842, one of the arches had been keyed in, with the horizontal deck design having been chosen. The bridge opened in January 1843, to budget but slightly late. In 1849, it was named Queen's Bridge in honour of Queen Victoria's visit to Belfast, during which she officially opened the bridge.

Structure

Queen's Bridge is a five arch stone bridge, with each arch having a width of and a rise of . The arches are dressed with Newry Granite. The bridge deck originally had a width of . This was widened in 1885 to by the addition of cantilevered segments on either side. 16 ornate gas lamps (now electric) were also added. They carry their maker's name ("Gregg, Sons & Phenix/ Iron Founders/ Belfast"), and the Belfast Corporation coat of arms on their pedestals.

References

Bridges in Northern Ireland Buildings and structures in Belfast Bridges completed in 1843 1843 establishments in Ireland Grade B+ listed buildings {{Coord, 54, 35, 58.8, N, 5, 55, 13.93, W, region:GB, display=title

Long Bridge

Construction

Structure

See also

References