All Lewis entries for Aghaderg

AGHADERG

AGHADERG, or AGHADERRICK, a parish, partly in the barony of LOWER but chiefly in that of UPPER IVEAGH, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, on the road from Newry to Belfast; containing, with the towns of Loughbrickland and Scarvagh, 8981 inhabitants. This place formed part of the grant made by Queen Elizabeth, in 1585, to Sir Marmaduke Whitchurch, who built a castle on the shore of Loughbrickland, which was dismantled by Cromwell's army, and remained in ruins till 1812, when it was taken down and a dwelling-house erected on its site. In 1690 William III. encamped here with his army from the 14th to the 25th of June, on his march to the Boyne: vestiges of the camp may still be traced, and Dutch coins are frequently found in the neighbourhood. The parish, according to the Ordnance survey, comprises 13,919 statute acres, of which 119- are covered with water, and 11,772 are applotted under the tithe act; of waste and bog there is one acre to every twenty of arable land, and the pasture land is in the proportion of one to every five acres in tillage. The land is extremely fertile, and under a highly improved system of tillage: the bog is very valuable, being estimated at 32 guineas per acre. Great quantities of clay-slate are raised here for mending the roads and for building purposes; and slate quarries have been formerly worked, but are now discontinued. The Newry Canal, in its progress to Lough Neagh, forms the western boundary of the parish and the county. There are two lakes; Loughbrickland, which forms the summit level of the canal, is skirted on its western shore by the road from Dublin to Belfast; Loughadian, near the western boundary of the parish, is rendered highly picturesque by the beautiful grounds and rich plantations of Union Lodge, the seat of W. Fivey, Esq. Among the other gentlemen's seats are Scarvagh House, the handsome residence of J. Lushington Reilly, Esq.; Loughbrickland-House, of N. C. Whyte, Esq.; Lisnagrade, of E. H. Trevor, Esq.; and Woodville House, of R. Boardman, Esq. The manufacture of linen is carried on to a considerable extent, many persons being employed at their own houses in weaving damask, diapers, drills, shirtings, and sheetings, for the Banbridge manufacturers. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Dromore, and in the patronage of the bishop; the rectory is united, by charter of the 7th of Jas. I., to the rectories of Seapatrick, Drumballyroney, and Tullylish, and part of those of Drumgooland and Magherally, together constituting the corps of the deanery of Dromore, in the patronage of the Crown. The tithes amount to £746. 14. 3., of which £497. 16. 2. is payable to the dean, and £248. 18. 1. to the vicar. The gross annual value of the deanery, as returned by the Commissioners on Ecclesiastical Revenues, is £1483. 19. The church is a large handsome edifice, in the early English style, erected in 1688, and a lofty square tower surmounted by an octagonal spire of hewn stone was added to it, for which the late Board of First Fruits, in 1821, granted a loan of £500. The glebe-house is a handsome residence; the Board, in 1801, gave £100 towards its erection, and also purchased a glebe of 24 acres for the vicar. The R. C. parish is co-extensive with that of the Established Church, and is the benefice of the Vicar-general; there are two chapels, one in Loughbrickland, a large and handsome edifice, and a smaller at Lisnagead. There are three places of worship for Presbyterians, one near the lake in connection with the Synod of Ulster, another at Glascar with the Seceding Synod, and a third at Scarvagh, all of the first class; one for Covenanters near Scarvagh, and one for Primitive Methodists at Loughbrickland. There are two public schools, in which are about 100 boys and 70 girls; and eleven private pay schools, in which are about 400 boys and 290 girls. Some remains of an ancient church exist in the townland of Drumsallagh; and about half a mile to the south-west of Loughbrickland are three upright stones, called "the three sisters of Greenan," apparently the remains of an ancient cromlech: they are situated on a gentle eminence, and near them is a fourth lying in a ditch. In 1826, a canoe formed out of a solid piece of oak was found in Meenan bog; and in a small earthwork near it were found several gold ornaments, earthen pots, and other relics of antiquity. At Drummillar is a vast cairn of loose stones, 60 feet high and 226 feet in circumference.-See LOUGHBRICKLAND and SCARVAGH.

LOUGHBRICKLAND

LOUGHBRICKLAND, a post-town, in the parish of AGHADERG, barony of UPPER IVEAGH, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 8 miles (N. E.) from Newry, and 58- (N.) from Dublin, on the road from Newry to Belfast ; containing 618 inhabitants. This town, which is prettily situated on the lake from which it takes its name, owes its rise to Sir Manmaduke Whitchurch, to whom Queen Elizabeth, in 1585, granted the adjacent lands. Sir Marmaduke built a castle on the shone of the lake, for the protection of a pass where three roads united, and soon after a church and a mill, and laid the foundation of a town, in which a Protestant colony was settled, for which he obtained the grant of a market and two fairs. In 1641 the castle was dismantled and the town and church were destroyed by fire ; in this desolate condition it remained till 1688, when the church was rebuilt and the town began gradually to improve. It consists of one principal street, from which two smaller streets branch off, and contains 123 houses, most of which are well built and of handsome appearance ; the whole town has a cheerful and thriving aspect. The lake, which is supposed to have taken its name from the speckled trout with which it is said to have formerly abounded, comprises an area of about 90 Irish acres, and is bordered on its western side by the road from Dublin to Belfast ; it forms the summit level of the Newry canal, to which its waters are conveyed through Lough Shark, and is itself supplied from a spring within, its superfluous water escaping through a sluice at the north-western extremity. Fairs are held here on the third Tuesday in every month, for horses, cattle, pigs, and pedlery. There are several handsome seats in the immediate neighbourhood, which are noticed under the heads of their respective parishes. The parish church, a handsome edifice, with a square tower and octagonal spire, is situated in the centre of the town ; and nearly opposite to it is the R. C. chapel, in the later English style, built at an expense of £1700 on a site presented by N. C. Whyte, Esq., who also gave £400 towards its erection, There are also places of worship for Presbyterians and Primitive Methodists. On the shone of the lake is a modern house, erected in 1812 on the site of the ancient castle, which was then taken down. The Danes, who had ravaged the north of Ireland, were defeated here by the Irish under Mac Lorniagh, in 1187. -See AGHADERG.

SCARVAGH

SCARVAGH, a village (formerly a market-town), in the parish of AGHADERG, barony of UPPER IVEAGH, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 2 miles (N. W.) from Loughbrickland, on the road to Tanderagee ; containing 220 inhabitants. During the civil war of 1641, this place was the scene of many sanguinary struggles : it finally fell into the hands of Gen. Monk, who erected a castle on the summit of a gentle eminence to command the pass, where a garrison was kept for several years. Here the army of Wm. III., under Duke Schomberg, first rendezvoused after landing in Ireland, the camp extending in two lines from Loughbrickland to Scarvagh pass and to Pointz pass ; a venerable oak in Scarvagh demesne is still shewn as that under which the royal tent was pitched. In 1783 a battle was fought at Lisnagade fort, between the "Hearts of Steel," and the "Break-of-day Boys," when several of the former were killed. The village, containing about 50 well-built houses, was founded about 1746 by the late John Reilly, Esq., who obtained a charter for a market and fairs. It is situated on the canal between Newry and Lough Neagh, having a small dock and quayage for lighters ; a considerable trade is carried on, particularly in coal and turf, supplying a populous neighbourhood and numerous bleach mills and manfactories with fuel. The market has long been discontinued ; but fairs are still held on March 21st, June 19th, Sept. 5th and Nov. 14th, and are well attended. Scarvagh House is the seat of J. Lushington Reilly, Esq. ; Union Lodge, of Wm. Fivey, Esq. ; and Lisnagade House, of E. H. Trevor, Esq. : the two former are situated in extensive demesnes, on which is some very fine timber ; the last is on a lofty eminence, close to the ancient fort from which it is named. Here is a beautiful lake called Loughshark ; and not far distant was one more extensive, called Loughadian, which was drained in 1760 by W. Fivey, Esq. ; part of it is cultivated, and the remainder is bog. Here is a male and female school, erected and supported by Mr. Reilly, and also a neat and commodious meeting-house for Seceders. In the vicinity are numerous vestiges of antiquity, which appear to have had some connection with the passes through the bogs, lakes, and forests, which formerly abounded here, although this is now one of the most fertile and beautiful districts in the North of Ireland, In the demesne of Scarvagh is the "Danes' Cast," by the native inhabitants known by the name of Gleann na muck duibhe, or "the glen of the black pig ;" it is principally composed of earth, and resembles the Roman wall in Scotland, and Offa's dyke in North Wales ; its course is nearly north and south : in some places it consists of a single foss and rampart, in others the rampart is divided by a deep foss, which gives the appearance of a double foss and rampart. It is supposed to extend from Lough Neagh to the sea, near Dundalk, but it is no where so well prcserved and unbroken as in this neighbourhood : it traverses south-ward through the demesne of Union Lodge, where it is a single rampart and foss, the rampart being here faced with stone, and it so continues to the reclaimed ground of Loughadian ; northward it extends towards the fort of Lisnagade, terminating at a stream that forms the boundary between the townlands of Scarvagh and Lisnagade. Lisnagade, or "the fort of a hundred," is one of the most extensive and best-preserved of its kind : it consists of treble ramparts and intrenchinents ; the entrance is from the east, leading into an extensive circular enclosure, whence are obtained prospects of the entire country for many miles around, and a great number of forts or raths are seen, from which circumstance it is supposed this fort took its name, being the chief or centre of a hundred others : the fosses on every side are very deep, and it is remarkable that they are all paved at the bottom with rounded pebbles set in clay. In cleaning the fosses, in 1832, Mr. Trevor found a great many silver coins, a brass cauldron, spear-heads, and other relics of antiquity. Great numbers of arrow and spear-heads of flint, stone and brass celts, and other military weapons, have been found in almost every part of the "Cast." In 1807 the head and antlers of an enormous elk were found, which are carefully preserved at Scarvagh House : several others were found in the bog marl near Union Lodge ; and in draining Loughadian, part of a tiara of gold, brazen swords, skeans, and spear-heads, were discovered, all of which are in the possession of W. Fivey, Esq., of Union Lodge. The greater portion of the ancient castle or tower yet exists at Pointz Pass ; some fragments of that at Scarvagh are still seen above the village, and in the centre of Lisnagade fort are the remains of another of the same kind ; the floor was discovered entire in 1832, constructed of baked tiles.