All Lewis entries for Rathcline

LANESBOROUGH

LANESBOROUGH, a market and post-town (formerly a parliamentary borough), partly in the parish of CLONTUSKERT, barony of BALLINTOBBER, county of ROSCOMMON, and province of CONNAUGHT, but chiefly in the parish and barony of RATHCLINE, county of LONGFORD, and province of LEINSTER, 8 miles (W. S. W.) from Longford, on the road to Roscommon, and 66- (W. by N.) from Dublin ; containing 390 inhabitants. This town derived its name from Sir G. Lane, whose lands of Ballyleagh and others in the county of Long ford were erected into the manor of Lanesborough by charter of Chas. II. in the 17th of his reign ; and to whom was also granted a court baron, with jurisdiction to the amount of 40s., and a court of record for the determination of pleas to the amount of £200. The same charter constituted the town a free borough, under a sovereign and two bailiffs, who were annually elected, and of whom the former, with his deputy, was a justice of the peace ; 12 burgesses, elected by a majority of their own body as vacancies occurred ; and an indefinite number of freemen, admitted by the burgesses, by whom also a recorder, town-clerk, serjeant-at-mace, and other officers were to be appointed. The corporation continued to return two members to the Irish parliament till the Union, when the borough was disfranchised. For some time prior to the Union the corporation exercised scarcely any other municipal duty than that of returning the members to parliament, and since that period it has become virtually extinct. The town is advantageously situated for trade on the river Shannon, over which is a bridge of nine arches connecting the counties of Roscommon and Longford. The chief trade is the exportation of corn , pigs, and eggs, of which vast quantities are sent by the Shannon ; eggs are also Sent to Dublin by the Royal Canal from Killashee, near this town, to which place they are conveyed by land carriage. The market, which is abundantly supplied with agricultural produce, is on Wednesday ; and a fair is held on the 12th of February. It has a sub-post-office to Longford ; and there is a constabulary police station. About a mile to the south is Rathcline, the seat of Luke White, Esq., proprietor of the town, pleasingly situated at the base of Rathcline hill and on the shore of Lough Ree ; and on the banks of the Shannon, about the same distance from the town, is Clonbony, the seat of Capt. Davys, but now occupied by G. Davys, Esq., commanding a fine view of the river and the town. The parish church of Rathcline, of which the chancel is in ruins, is situated here ; and there are a R. C. chapel and a dispensary. Adjoining the church are the shattered remains of a large tower, which is said to have been destroyed from the opposite side of the river by the army of Jas. II. Lanesborough gives the title of Earl to a branch of the family of Butler of Newtown, in which it was revived after it had become extinct in the family of Lane.

RATHCLINE

RATHCLINE, or RATHLINE, a parish, in the barony of RATHCLINE, county of LONGFORD, and province of LEINSTER ; containing, with the greater portion of the market and post-town of Lanesborough, 3036 inhabitants. This place is situated on the bank of the river Shannon, and was distinguished for its castle at the base of the hill of Rathehine, about a mile from Lanesborough, said to have been originally built by the family of O'Quin, and to have been an object of frequent contention in the various internal wars of the country. After numerous vicissitudes it was dismantled by Cromwell's forces, and finally destroyed by fire in the war of the Revolution ; there are still considerable remains, which from their fine situation on the margin of the Shannon have a very picturesque appearance. The parish comprises 8099 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act : tIne land is of indifferent quality ; not more than one-third is under tillage, the remainder is in pasture ; the surface is tolerably level, and there is a considerable tract of bog, in which are found oak and fir trees, which are used by the poor in roofing their houses. Limestone abounds and is quarried for building and for agricultural uses, and a speckled black and white marble is also found and made into mantel-pieces. The chief seats are Ratheline, the residence of L. White, Esq. ; Clonbonney, of G. Davys, Esq. ; and Mount Davis, of the Misses Davis, The weaving of linen is carried on in several parts of the parish, and great quantities of frieze are also made ; there is a considerable trade in corn and eggs, for which the Shannon affords every facility. A very large fair for horses, cattle, and sheep is held on the 12th of February at Lanesborough. Within the limits of the parish is the small island of Inchenough, or Inchiana, comprising about 50 acres of land, with 6 houses and 35 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Ardagh, and in the patronage of the Bishop ; the rectory is impropriate in R. C. and R. Armstrong, Esqrs. The tithes amount to £393. 10., of which £262. 6. 8. is payable to the impropriators, and £131. 3. 4. to the vicar ; the glebe comprises 30 acres, valued at £45 per annum. The church, a spacious edifice, was erected at the expense of the Lanesborough family, in 1678, on part of the site of the ancient church in Lanesborough, which was called the abbey and is said to have been built by St. Patrick in the 4th century. The R. C. parish is co-extensive with that of the Established Church : the chapel is large and has a tower at the west end ; a small house is also appropriated as a chapel of ease. There are five private schools, in which are about 300 children. Near the ruins of the castle are those of the ancient church, said to have been destroyed from the opposite bank of the Shannon ; part of the steeple is yet standing, and the cemetery is still used by the Roman Catholics. In one of the walls of the castle was a marble tablet with a very ancient inscription in the Irish character ; from the hill at the base of which these ruins are situated is a very extensive and interesting view.