| DONOGHENRY, or DONAGHENDRY, a parish, in the barony of DUNGANNON, county of TYRONE, and province of ULSTER, on the mail coach road from Dublin to Coleraine ; containing, with the post-town of Stewartstown, 5364 inhabitants. It comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 7154- statute acres, including 50- in Lough Roughan : 6889 acres are applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £5261 per annum, of which 426 are bog, and 6463 arable. The land is rich and well cultivated, and there are extensive quarries of limestone, freestone, and basalt. Near the glebe-house is an extensive deposit of new red sandstone ; and in Anna hone are valuable mines of coal, which, though discontinued in 1825, were formerly worked with great advantage : they are now leased by the owner to a spirited individual, who has recommenced them, with success, upon an extensive scale. Coal, clay, and other valuable deposits exist near Coal Island (see the article on that place). The manufacture of linen and union cloth is carried on to a considerable extent. Mullantean is the handsome residence of Miss Hall ; Barahill, of W. Holmes, Esq. ; Donaghendry, of the Rev. F. L. Gore ; Anketell Lodge, of Roger C. Anketell, Esq. ; and Ardpatrick, of the Rev. W. J. Knox, near which are the remains of a Danish fort. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Armagh, and in the alternate pa tronage of Sir Thomas Staples, Bart., and E. H. Caulfield, Esq. : the tithes amount to £315. The glebehouse is a large and handsome edifice, built (by aid of a gift of £100, and a loan of £825, in 1811, from the late Board of First Fruits) on a glebe comprising 30 acres of excellent land within the parish ; the remainder of the glebe, 210 acres, being in the townland of Tamnavally, in the parish of Arboe. The church is situated in Stewartstown ; it was built, in 1694, out of the forfeited impropriations by order of Wm. III., the old building at Donoghenry having been destroyed in the war of 1641; and a lofty square tower and side aisles have been recently added. There is a chapel of ease at Coal island, lately erected by subscription. In the R. C. divisions the parish is united to that of Ballyclog, and part of Clonoe, forming the union of Stewartstown, in which are two chapels, one at Stewartstown and one at Coal Island. Here are two Presbyterian meeting-houses, one in connection with the Synod of Ulster, and the other with the Seceding Synod, both of the second class. There are nine schools in the parish, including an infants' school lately established, all aided by subscription, and a school for girls supported by Mrs. Gore ; about 550 children are taught. At Roughan are the ruins of an extensive castle, built by the Lord-Deputy Sidney, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and afterwards held by the Earl of Tyrone during his rebellion ; and in the War of 1641, by Sir Phelim O'Nial, who placed a powerful garrison in it : it was afterwards dismantled, by order of parliament, and is now a picturesque ruin. At Donoghenry is the site of the old church and cemetery, which was the burial-place of the ancient family of Bailie, whose mansion-house adjoining is now in ruins. In a field contiguous is an upright stone, one of the supporters of a cromlech, and near it is another lying on the ground, in the upper side of which is a circular cavity, or artificial basin : about a quarter of a mile westward is a large and perfect cromlech, with a table stone, weighing more than 20 tons, placed within a circle of smaller stones. Near Stewartstown are the remains of a castle built by Sir Andrew Stewart, in the reign of Jas. I., to whom the monarch had granted extensive possessions in this neighbourhood. In 1823, a small cup, or chalice, was discovered in a bog at Dunaghy, full of silver coins of the Danish princes, many of which are preserved in the collection of R. C. Anketell, Esq. In the small lake of Ardpatrick is a floating island, and around its shores human bones, camp-poles, &c., have been discovered : in t.his lake many persons were drowned in the civil war of 1641 ; and around its shores the army of Jas. II. encamped on their march to Denny in 1689.-See STEWARTSTOWN. |
| STEWARTSTOWN, a market and post-town, in the parish of DONAGHENRY, barony of DUNGANNON, county of TYRONE, and province of ULSTER, 16 miles (N.W.) from Armagh, and 82 (N. by W.) from Dublin, on the mail coach road to Coleraine ; containing 1010 inhabitants. This place, also called Steuartstown, derives its name from its founder, Sir Andrew Steuart, to whom Jas, I. granted the surrounding district ; in 1608 he erected here a strong bawn of limestone, which afterwards was converted into a castle, and laid the foundation of a village according to the conditions of the grant. The present town consists of a spacious square and three principal streets, and contains 204 houses, well built of stone and roofed with slate ; many of the houses are large and handsome, several of modern erection, and the whole place has an appearance of cheerfulness and prosperity. The manufacture of linen cloth and a fabric called unions (a mixture of linen and cotton) is carried on to a considerable extent ; and the town derives a good inland trade for the supply of the neighbourhood, and considerable traffic, from its situation on a great public thoroughfare. The market is on Wednesday ; and fairs for cattle, sheep, and pigs are held on the first Wednesday in every month (O. S.). The market-house is a handsome building in the centre of the town. A constabulary police force is stationed here ; a court is held monthly for the manor of Castlestewart, at which debts to the amount of 40s. are recoverable ; and petty sessions on alternate Tuesdays. The parish church is situated in the town, in which are also a R. C. chapel, two places of worship for Presbyterians, some large school-houses, and a dispensary. There are some remains of the old castle, but they have long been in a neglected state, and retain scarcely any traces of their original character. The country around exhibits much picturesque scenery, and is embellished with several handsome seats. About two miles from the town, in an extensive and improved demesne, with a fine park, is Stewart Hall, the seat of the Earl of Castle-Steuart, who derives his titles of baron and earl from this place. |
