The Story of Belfast’s Long Bridge

Published by P&P on 22 February 202522 February 2025

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Early Belfast

The town of Belfast grew up on a marshy spur of land between the rivers Farset and Blackstaff as they entered the River Lagan and Carrickfergus Lough (now Belfast Lough]. Although not an ideal location due to flooding, but it was easily defensible, good for shipping and most importantly it was the lowest fording point between the counties of Antrim and Down.

The route north over the Lagan led to the principal coastal town of Carrickfergus avoiding a long land journey.

At this point the Lagan could be crossed on foot at low tide. However, this was not always easy. In winter weather the rivers running down from the surrounding mountains would swell the Lagan and flood the low-lying ground.

The Ford of Belfast - R.M. Young, Old Belfast, 1896 — The Ford of Belfast – R.M. Young, Old Belfast, 1896

In 1573 when Walter Devereux, 1st earl of Essex tried to cross the Lagan at Belfast the water level was described as “being high and swollen with rain and a northerly wind, they could not pass at the ford”. Of course, Essex’s policy of deforestation only increased the problem (see link to post on The Blackstaff River below).

Ramsay - Map of the Ford — Ramsay – Map of the Ford

Also, the Lagan is a tidal river, the salt water reaching as far inland as Stranmillis. The Irish name ‘An Sruthan Milis‘ translates as ‘sweet stream’ marking the point where the river is fresh water. In 1575 Lord Deputy Henry Sidney of London wrote of the ford

“By reason of the tide’s extraordinary return our horses swam, and the footmen in the passage waded very deep”.
Lord Deputy Henry Sidney of London

A ferry service was established in 1624 between Belfast and Ballymacarrett, but this could be an arduous crossing.

It is said that travellers would visit the little ‘Capella de Vado’ (the site of today’s St George’s Church) on the banks of the Farset to pray for a safe journey. However, these little boats were suitable only for passengers and were impractical for trading purposes.

“’The Church of the Ford’ was the little Catholic Church built for the accommodation of travellers passing that way, who, entering the Church, said a prayer for a safe passage during the dangerous crossing of the Ford of the Lagan at that point”
Cathal O’Byrne As I Roved Out 1946

The Lagan then was much wider than it is today, with marshy ground and sandy banks on either side, still recalled in the name Short Strand today.

The Long Bridge

The solution to the problem was a bridge and this is exactly what was proposed in 1680.

Belfast Sovereign (mayor) and businessman, George Macartney, suggested the construction of a bridge across the Lagan that would connect County Antrim with County Down. With the support of the 3rd Earl of Donegall, Arthur Chichester, the Grand Jury awarded £500 towards the project. The deficit would have to be raised by local gentry and interested parties.

Belfast Map 18th Century - Ramsay — Belfast Map 18th Century – Ramsay

The Long Bridge Design

The foundations of the ‘Great Bridge of Belfast’, more commonly known as the Long Bridge, were laid in 1682 and it was completed in 1685. The resulting 21-arched bridge spanned the river, measuring 2,562 feet and must have been an impressive sight!

“We proceeded to Belfast, in the county of Antrim, where there is a bridge, under which the Lagan empties itself into Carrickfergus Bay, and it is one of the most stately in the Kingdom….”
The Compleat Irish traveller 1788

The Long Bridge - S. Shannon Milne, Additional Sidelights on Belfast History,1938 — The Long Bridge – S. Shannon Milne, Additional Sidelights on Belfast History,1938

Captured in Poetry – Belfast Telegraph 30 Jan 1930

Indeed, the bridge at Belfast was even ‘immortalised’ in verse by a Mr Percy, although a certain poetic license was employed in one instance…

“Descending thence at once we have in view
The great Long Bridge with arches twenty-two.

At at the bottom was his note:

“It has only twenty-one arches, but for the sake of the rhyme I had to add another.”
Belfast Telegraph 30 Jan 1930

Construction of the Long Bridge

The Long Bridge was composed of County Down freestone from Scrabo Hill, near Newtownards.

Within the construction of the bridge were engraved sandstone blocks, two of which are held in the Ulster Museum in Belfast. One bears a coat of arms and the other an inscription.

Technically 3 of the arches stood in County Antrim and the rest in County Down. The width of the bridge itself was only 22ft. There was no pavement but there were recesses above some of the arches where pedestrians could safely stand to let horses and carts past.

“The breakwater or pier between some of the arches was carried up to the retaining wall, and formed little angular recesses, which people sometimes had to step into when two conveyances were passing. Two of such niches are still to be seen on the old Saltwater Bridge, Sandy Row.”
Thomas Gaffikin, Belfast Fifty Years Ago, 1875

Unforeseen Challenges

However, the construction was soon severely put to the test.

“The Long Bridge of Belfast, the foundation of which was laid in 1682, had a somewhat chequered career during its existence of a century and a half”
S Shannon Millin, Additional Sidelights on Belfast History, 1938

In 1689 the 1st Duke of Schomberg and his army and heavy artillery marched across the bridge ‘en route’ to Belfast from Groomsport in County Down. Born on 6th December 1615, Freidrich Hermann von Schomberg from Heidelberg, was second-in-command of the Williamite forces. The weight of cavalry, infantry and cannons considerably weakened the integrity of the bridge.

“This was the Long Bridge, which was commenced in 1682, and completed just in time to be seriously damaged by the passage of Schomberg’s artillery”
Robert M Young, Town Book of Belfast, 2008 edition

Schomberg's Troops Crossing the Long Bridge - R. M. Young, Old Belfast, 1890 — Schomberg’s Troops Crossing the Long Bridge – R. M. Young, Old Belfast, 1890

In 1692 several of the arches collapsed. An eye witness account was recorded by John Abernethy, author and Presbyterian minister

“At Belfast (about 1692) he was diverting himself with a servant who attended him, upon the great bridge, by which that town is joined to the county of Down; they stood upon the bridge for a considerable time; but Mr Abernethy, happening to cast his eye upon something at a distance which catched his fancy, they ran off on a sudden; &, the moment they removed, the arch, upon which they had been standing, fell down; so they very narrowly escaped being crushed to pieces”
John Abernethy, Sermons on Various Subjects, Vol 1 1748

In October 1696 further damage occurred during a storm when a ship was blown against one of the bridge’s supports. The burgesses of the town met to discuss the situation and put in place new legislation to prevent similar incidents.

“Ordered, upon presentment of ye grand Jury for preventing ye doing damage on ye new bridge, that hereafter no vessel ly at anchor to ye southward of ye Dock and that such as are on ye north side of ye Dock be well moored on pain of forty shillings at tide fine for ye preservation of ye bridge for ye future”
Long Bridge Regulation, 22nd October 1696

The Long Bridge - The History of the Town of Belfast by George Benn — The Long Bridge – The History of the Town of Belfast by George Benn

Commerce

As large ships could no longer go further up the Lagan than the Long Bridge, commercial activities were concentrated at the mouth of the Farset, with the resulting construction of quays in the area.

However, the town council could not prevent the vagaries of nature and in 1744 the Long Bridge was further weakened after severe flooding.

“In the year 1744, Mr Harris speaks of the injuries which it had sustained in the winter floods, and the danger which attended several large chasms in the arches”
George Benn History of the Town of Belfast 1823

However, we are told that in 1750’s to promenade along the Long Bridge was ‘the place to be seen’ for the local gentry. A visitor wrote

“The bridge over which we pass into the town is the longest in his Majesty’s dominions…….This bridge is the mall where all the company of Belfast take the air on a summer’s evening”
Mr Edward Willes 1759

Unfortunately, the bridge could also be the setting for some anti-social behaviour. Thomas Pottinger, a wealthy businessman (see link below to post ‘Pottinger’s Entry – One of Belfast’s Oldest Streets’) whose County Down estate ran down to the banks of the Lagan, complained

“Whereas it has been a most notorious and common practice for several idle and disorderly persons to shoot off the Long Bridge of Belfast, by which several ladies, gentlemen and passengers, in carriages and a-horseback, have met with accidents, and have thereby been put in danger of their lives, and as the publick in general, have made great complaints against such a pernicious and dangerous custom, therefore, this is to give notice, that they will be most severely prosecuted according to the law”
Thomas Pottinger

Thomas Gaffikin in his lectures on the history of Belfast delivered in 1875 recalls an interesting Belfast character named Tantra Barbus. This intrepid gentleman, for a copper, would swim the width of the Lagan alongside the Long Bridge to the encouragement of onlookers. Apparently, his only difficulty was getting someone willing to carry his clothes and possessions to the opposite bank.

“Failing such assistance, he, of course, swam all the way back again – the bridge being out of the question”
Thomas Gaffikin, Belfast Fifty Years Ago, 1875

Replacement of the Long Bridge

By the turn of the 19th century Belfast’s Long Bridge was in desperate need of extensive repair or replacement.

“ A report upon oath, having been made, November 1817, by Mr Larkin, as surveyor to the general Post Office, of the total insufficiency of this bridge, and the danger attending it –“

As is often the case, decision-making and funding took more time than expected, especially as there were lengthy discussions are to the benefits of an iron bridge versus one of stone.

Long Bridge Stone v. Iron - Irish Builder 15 September 1885 — Long Bridge Stone v. Iron – Irish Builder

It was not until 1841 that the old Long Bridge was demolished and work on its replacement begun.

The new bridge of Newry granite was designed by Charles Lanyon (this was Lanyon’s first commission in Belfast) and John Frazer. It was constructed by Francis Richie & Sons at a cost of £27,000. It had 5 arches each with a span of 50ft. The gap between the parapets was 40ft.

It is recorded by the local historian J Marshall that the contractor Mr Richie repurposed some of the stones of the old Long Bridge to build a tunnel from his house at Mount Pottinger to his stables on Mount Street. This existed till nearly the end of the century.

“In the summer of 1894, in the course of some alternations and improvements, this tunnel has been partly thrown down and demolished, thus scattering even the materials of which this famous structure was built”
John J Marshall, Old Belfast, 1894

The Queens Bridge

The new bridge over the Lagan opened to traffic in 1843. However, it was not officially named ‘Queens Bridge’ until the visit of the English Queen Victoria to Ireland in 1849.

The Royal Visit - London Illustrated News 18 Aug 1849 — The Royal Visit – London Illustrated News 18 Aug 1849

“A line of vessels extended on the side opposite the Royal landing-place, and included five large steamers, and about forty merchant vessels, the decks and yard-arms of which were black with human creatures. The fine wide bridge was impassable for the crowd of people”
Illustrated London News, 18th August 1849

The vast increase in traffic however, necessitated the widening of the Queen’s Bridge in 1885. The breadth of the bridge was increased by 20ft including cantilevered pavements for pedestrians.

The designs were by architect Josiah Corbett Bretland, who also designed St George’s market in the town (see link below to the post ‘St George’s Market – Belfast’s Victorian market’). The decorative lamp-posts, made in Glasgow, were also added at this time.

Queen's Bridge Lamps — Queen’s Bridge Lamp-posts

Conclusion

Of course, today, Belfast has several bridges crossing the Lagan to enable transport and ‘ease congestion’ in the sprawling city. However, it is the Queen’s Bridge on the site of the old Long Bridge that bears most witness to the history and development of the town and its people. It is humbling to think of the many generations of folk who have made this crossing in times past.

The Queen's Bridge Today — The Queen’s Bridge Today

The Farset – Belfast’s Hidden River

Chichester Quay, High Street c. 1830 - A.C. Stannus — The Farset gave Belfast its name (originally Béal Feirste, ‘mouth of the sand-bank ford) and was at the heart of Belfast’s industrial success.

The Blackstaff River – Recreation, Pollution, Flooding and Death

View of Belfast and the Blackstaff River from Joy's Paper Mill, 1803 — For centuries Belfast lay on low-lying land between two rivers, the Farset & the Blackstaff. Taming the Blackstaff proved very difficult

From Capello de Vado 1306AD to St George’s Church, Belfast

Pottinger’s Entry – One of Belfast’s oldest streets

Pottinger's Entry Sign — The small alleys known as “the entries” are at the heart of historic Belfast. Pottinger’s Entry is one of the best known.

St George’s Market – Belfast’s Victorian Market

St George's Market bicycle & flowers — Built in 1890, St George’s Market remains a thriving market and with over 300 traders. In 2019 it was named the UK’s Best Large Indoor Market.

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