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A LAND OF STORIES

Scurlogstown Olympiad ltd & Trim Haymaking Festival in partnership with Discover Boyne Valley (Birthplace Of Irelands Ancient East) invite you to the wonders of the Boyne Valley.

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Scurlogstown,Trim Co. Meath.

The 7 Arch Bridge South West of Trim, lies 1 KM from Scurlogstown's ‘spiritual home' Jack Quinns pub and is within sight of the Knightsbrook Hotel. It is perhaps unique in its structure - as untouched in terms of maintenance for about three hundred years.

With the support of land owners Tossy Harrington and Pat Conlon, Scurlogstown have in:

2008 - Researched the 7 Arch Bridge, papers are lodged with Meath Co Council Library, Navan.

2009 - Succeeded in having 7 Arch Bridge named as a listed structure.

2012 - Vegetation which was damaging the 7 Arch Bridge was removed.

2015 - With the assistance of Meath county Council, Howley Hayes report produced on 7 Arch Bridge, which concluded:

"would consider it to be a structure of national significance".

2016 - Start the process of physical restoration, with the support of Meath county Council Heritage.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Should you have in your archives old images of the 7 Arch Bridge, the swimming area known as The Basin, and images of the Knightsbrook River please feel free to forward them to us by using all the usual methods.

From Noel French & Focus

7 Arch Bridge, Freffans East, Trim.

Meetings of Scurlogstown Olympiad Ltd have been conducted in Jack Quinn’s public house, since before my arrival in Trim in 1992, as the lad would say, since Adam was a boy. On an annual basis, various topics surfaced for consideration, and among those was the state of a stone bridge on the Rock Road.

In fact, it wasn’t on the Rock Road, but off it. It was buried in Pat Conlon’s field, hidden from view by briars, ivy, elder as one drove from Jack’s to Laracor, and looked to the right. As you approached Tossy Harrington’s, coming from Laracor, to your left you would have seen, well-tended glasshouses. A bridge was not on the horizon. Eventually it was spotted, and in 2008 some research was conducted to determine its history. The only written trace found, where it was mentioned, was in the private papers of the late Bevyl Moore, where she referred to it as being a possible mass-path, which allowed access from the Rock Road area to the general area of the Maudlins. She stated its width as about 18”. In this she was incorrect, as in most instances the walkway is about 38” in width, with a further 16” of parapet wall to one side. Evidence exists of 193 packhorses and men being engaged, with financial reward, in the early 13thC. There is no suggestion that the bridge, which from 2008 has been referred to as, The 7 Arch Bridge, dated from this period. What may have been the case, was that an earlier bridge existed in the area, leading to either Brea Mount Hill or to Kilmessan, or any other quarry that supplied aggregate to the growing town of Trim. The papers from the 2008 research are lodged in Meath County Library, and much like the Book of Kells and Trinity, may well rest in their new home.

In 2009 it was suggested, with the support of the above named land owners, that the 7 Arch Bridge be declared a listed structure, and this in fact happened. Many hours of chat were expended, but with no further advances. Eventually in 2011, Tossy Harrington cleared much of the offending vegetation and suddenly a new vista was on view. About this time in 2012, Tossy also removed his glasshouses, and now the 7 Arch Bridge could be easily seen from both sides.

In the early summer of 2015 Loreto Guinan of Meath Co. Council, suggested that a small grant might be worth applying for so as to advance the cause. This was duly done and in November 2015 a wonderful outline conservational report was presented, by James Howley of Howley Hayes Architects, which among its conclusions stated:

Notwithstanding the uncertainty of age, this structure is of immense significance, for its historical, architectural, technical and possibly social importance, for which reasons I would consider it to be a structure of national significance.

A digital copy of this report has also been lodged with Meath Co. Council in Navan. It is most likely than on request the above named papers, would be available in Trim, as at all times both Libraries and Meath Co Council have been most helpful. Much of the initial research was aided by Tom French in Navan.

The task of restoring the bridge will advance, but perhaps it should not be left as the sole responsibility of Scurlogstown Olympiad Ltd. The general public can initially help, by recounting stories they may have heard, or events they experienced, in connection with this wonderful bridge. People living in the Rock, had travelled to school in Trim via this bridge. Others used it when shopping in town. A story has been told of a man sending his son to the Trim farrier, to be shod, over the bridge, as it was the easiest route. Others of you may well have swam in The Basin on the Knightsbrook River in your childhood. Swans still enjoy the river in this area. Salmon sometimes ascend the river to spawn. This is only part of my story. Let me hear yours. Drop a line to Focus, or e-mail an attachment, with photos if you have them on the form below or by emailing trimhaymakingfestival@gmail.com

THMF | THE 7 ARCH BRIDGE TRIM CO. MEATH