The Montgomery Manuscripts 1603-1706 (pt2)

SOME EXTRACTS
FROM THE
RECORDS OF
OLD LISBURN

AND THE

MANOR OF KILLULTAGH.

-- -- -- --

Edited by JAMES CARSON.

-- -- -- --

XCIII.

-- -- -- --

THE MONTGOMERY MANUSCRIPTS, 1803-1706.

Edited, with Notes, 
by Rev. George Hill, 1869.

(Continued.)

Lisnastrain.

After the reduction of the several garrisons in Ulster in 1649, the Parliamentary commanders routed the last royalist force in this district, commanded by Viscount Montgomery, the Earl of Clanbrassil, and Sir George Monro, at a place called Lisnastrain, in the parish of Drumbeg, County of Down. Ormond had sent reinforcements to the Ulster royalists, under the command of Daniel O'Neill and Mark Trevor, but this force (which would probably have been very important, being led by such distinguished officers) came too late. Nearly all that is known of this decisive battle at Lisnastrain, near Lisburn, is contained in a tract printed in London soon after its occurrence, and entitled "Two Letters from William Basil, Esq., Attorney-General of Ireland; the one to the Right Honourable John Bradshaw, Lord President of the Council of State; the other to the Right Honourable William Lenthal, Esq., Speaker of the Parliament of England, of a great victory obtained by the parliament force in the North of Ireland, on the plains of Lisnegarvy, against the enemy there, wherein were 1,400 slain, Colonel John Hamilton taken prisoner, and seventeen more of quality. With a relation of the taking of Drumcree; and of the surrender of Carrickfergus."

Whitelock, in his "Memorials of English Affairs from Charles I. to the Restoration," has given the substance of the letters, adding one or two rumours not mentioned by Basil. Thus, he states that the Lord Clandeboy "was slain, or sunk in a bog, being corpulent," and that "Colonel Montgomery was taken prisoner." Lord Clandeboy escaped, and lived until the year 1659; and Colonel Montgomery, after having surrendered, was brutally shot.

Portmore.

Earl Conway's letters to his brother-in-law, Sir George Rawdon of Moira, express the writer's desire to introduce all useful and ornamental productions to his parks and lakes in Killultagh. Writing from Ragley, in July, 1665, he says-- "I have advised with Garrett about the hempseed, and he thinks, considering he cannot go into Flanders because of the sickness, it may be provided in England, if you desire it; and that, for the future 2 or 3 acres of that land in the Tunny Park (on Lough Neagh shore) which is newly stubbed up; would furnish you plentifully. If the cranes which you mention do live and will thrive, I intend, God willing, to have them brought over, tho' it be by an express messenger; and in the meantime, it would be convenient to employ some such person about them as would be fit to bring them over. I pray acquaint John Totnal that I desire him to get some beehives at the Tunny Park; for if ever I live to come into that country. I believe, I shall use a great deal of honey, as I do at this present, and have, I thank God, kept myself a great while thereby free from any fits of the stone, and do daily void so much gravel by the use thereof, as is hardly to be believed." On the 9th of February following he writes-- "I have got two couple of right decoy ducks and a drake, such as will fly abroad every night and return in the morning; these I will send over within a fortnight, and I will send to all the decoys in England till I have brought mine into such a condition as it ought to be." Writing from London in October, 1667, he adds this postscript to his letter:-- "I have sent a hamper with 3 boxes in it, and 2 cases with trees; the boxes have in them flowers, roots, and seeds, such as my gardner writ for from Lisburn. They cost me £14, as you shall see by the particulars; they are very choice things, and very good." In these letters the Earl also directs that cranes, dogs, frise, black and grey, and usquebagh may be sent to him in England -- the last-mentioned commonly being always supplied by his sister. Lady Rawdon. -- "Rawdon Papers."

Rev. James Mace.

James Mace, B.D., was appointed rector of Blaris, alias Lisburn, February 18, 1617. He succeeded Dr. George Rust on his promotion to the Diocese of Dromore. Mace was also appointed to the vicarage of Derriaghy, near Lisburn, same day, also vacant by the promotion of Dr. Rust. The Crown has the presentation of these a bishoprick." James Mace was probably the son of John Mace, one of the settlers in Lisburn under Sir Fulk Conway. Viscount Conway and Killulta, writing to his brother-in-law, Major George Rawdon, in June, 1638, says-- "My mother writes to me that John Mace's son intends to carry over all the rest of the children, and expects £8 of me to bear their charges, which I shall not do until I have your directions."

Sir George Rawdon.

This surname is variously spelled Royden, Rauden, Rowden, Rawden, and Rawdon. George Rawdon was the only son of Francis Rawdon of Rawdon, near Leeds, and was born in the year 1604. He was secretary to the first Lord Conway, who died in 1630. By the latter he was, probably, induced to settle in Ulster, where he obtained extensive landed property at Moira. On the breaking out of the rebellion in 1641 he gallantly held Lisburn against a large force of the Irish, under Sir Phelim O'Neill. The insurgents, in their retreat, burnt down his then recently-erected mansion at Brookhill, carrying away £3,000 worth of chattels and plate. In 1665 he was created a baronet of England; and for his many and valiant services to the Crown obtained large grants of land in the counties of Down, Dublin, Louth and Meath. His first wife was Ursula Stafford, a daughter of Sir Francis Stafford of Portglenone, who had been previously married to Francis Hill of Hill-Hall. This lady died at Brookhill in 1640, when only thirty years of age. Sir George Rawdon married secondly, in 1654, Dorothy, eldest daughter of Edward, second Viscount Conway, and sister of Edward, Earl Conway. Sir George received large dowries by both his ladies. He died in 1684, in the 80th year of his age, and was buried in Lisburn.

Sir Thomas Newcomen was a family connexion of the Rawdons of Moira, his nephew, the second Earl of Granard, having married the sister of Sir Arthur Rawdon. He was very anxious that the latter should not be drawn away with the other Northern Protestants to oppose James II. On this subject he wrote several letters to Lady Rawdon, evidently intended to work on her ladyship's fears. In one of these letters, dated 17th January, 1688, he says -- "Since my last to you, madam, I am glad to know that, tho' 'twas debated whether the gentlemen I talked of should be proclaimed traytors or no, 'tis resolved to defer anything of that nature till further provocation is given; therefore, my serious advice to Sir Arthur, and the rest mentioned in my last, is, that they do no act that may rise up in judgment against them; for I assure you that the King is expected here in person . . . I do advise all Protestants to behave themselves, so as to give no offence to the Government, till the King's pleasure is known; but if the Protestants in that country go about to disarm Catholics, 'twill be the means to draw down forces thither, foot, horse, and dragoons, that may bring the rabble and their to an account . . . If your husband was advised by me, he would do as he did in Monmouth's rebellion: offer to raise men to serve the King, and by that means entitle himself to Mulgrave and Seymour's estates in Ireland, out of which, he was so notoriously wronged." In the concluding sentence Sir Thomas appeals in a cunning way to the lady's selfishness, and through her to her husband, Sir Arthur Rawdon, who was nephew of Earl Conway, then lately deceased. The latter had been induced, by some means, to leave his estate of Killultagh to the Seymours, which, of course, was a great disappointment to the Rawdon family, who were more nearly related to him. Lady Rawdon appears to have listened favourably to Sir Thomas's suggestion, and even to have supplied him with important information respecting the movements of Northern Protestants. In reply to one of her letters Sir Thomas writes as follows, in January, 1688:-- "I am bound, madam, to give your ladyship my hearty thanks for your last message received by an express at the head of my men near Dromore; and as for the 7,000 rabble, they did not come at me, and if they had, I would have given them as hearty a reception as I could; and in acquittal of your ladyship's kindness I thought it my duty to let you know how matters go here in relation to our King's affairs . . . My serious advice is that your husband (for the memory of whose parents I retain all the respect imaginable) forbear rendezvouzing hereafter, in imitation of his cunning neighbour, Sir Robert Colvill, who obeyed my Lord Tyrconnel's summons in coming up to town; and let me tell yon there are false brethren in that country, for instance Mr. Waring of Clonconnel, who writ up lately that he was afraid some hot headed young men of his religion and neighbourhood would ruin themselves and others." Sir Thomas was smarting, when he wrote this letter, under a rather ludicrous discomfiture which had befallen him at Lisburn. The "rabble" of which he speaks formed part of the unarmed Protestant forces levied in Down, who had determined to seize the arms of Tyrconnell's troops at Lisburn, Belfast, and, Carrickfergus. Those appointed to do this work at Lisburn, where Sir Thomas Newcomen commanded, actually accomplished it, but hearing that their brethren had failed (or rather refused to proceed with it) at Belfast and Carrickfergus, they returned the arms they had taken from Newcomen's men, subtracting, however, from his small force 150 Protestants, which so alarmed and weakened him that he was compelled to beat a hasty retreat to Dublin.

Sir Arthur Rawdon was one of those excepted from mercy by Tyrconnell's proclamation of March 7, 1688, "in regard," as therein stated, "he had been one of the principal actors of the rebellion, and one of those who advised and fomented the same, and inveigled others to be involved therein." He died in 1695, aged 33 years. His wife, Helena, granddaughter of William, Earl of Monteith and Airth, is said to have been a woman of exquisite good sense and taste, and of unwearied charity to the poor. She was also a great heiress, her mother being Isabella, eldest daughter of John Bramhall, Archbishop of Armagh. Lady Rawdon also inherited the estates of her brother, Sir John Bramhall, of Ruthmullyan (now Rathmolynon), County of Meath.

(Next Week: Bishop Jeremy Taylor.)


(This article was originally published in the Lisburn Standard on 26 July 1918 as part of a series which ran in that paper each week for several years. The text along with other extracts can be found on my website Eddies Extracts.)

The Montgomery Manuscripts 1603-1706

SOME EXTRACTS
FROM THE
RECORDS OF

OLD LISBURN

AND THE

MANOR OF KILLULTAGH.

-- -- -- --

Edited by JAMES CARSON.

-- -- -- --

XCII.

-- -- -- --

THE MONTGOMERY MANUSCRIPTS, 1603-1706.

Edited, with Notes, by Rev. George Hill, 1869.

The Montgomery Manuscripts were written by William Montgomery, of Rosemount, in the County of Down, between the years 1696 and 1706. They consist of memoirs of various members of the Montgomery family, and constitute a valuable contribution to the history of Ulster during the seventeenth century. The notes supplied by Mr. Hill are voluminous, illuminating, and interesting, and from them the following extracts are taken. The volume consists of almost 500 pages.

Killultagh.

Killultagh or Killulta was anciently known as Coill-Ulltach, "Wood of Ulster." It was not, strictly speaking, a part of Clannaboy, north or south, but was generally regarded as a territory or district per se. It is now included in the County of Antrim, and (with the small additions of the parish of Tullyrusk, three townlands of Derriaghy, and the east portion of the parish of Camlin) constitutes the present barony of Upper Massereene. Dr. Reeves defines Killulta as containing the present parishes of Ballinderry, Aghalee, Aghagallon, Magheramesk, Magheragall, and the portion of Blaris north of the river Lagan. --  Eccles. Antiquities. An account of the boundaries of Killulta and a list of its townlands are to be found in the Inquisition of 1623; also, Calend. of Pat. Rolls.

Woods of Killultagh.

In the year 1625 there was issued a decree signed "Longford, Master of the Rolls," in a suit between Hugh, lord viscount Montgomery, and "Dame Amy Conway, widow and administratrix of Sir Foulke Conway, deceased," confirming to the lady Amy permission to cut trees and woods, mentioned in a certain order of the Court, for the use of her iron works, and all manner of woods and underwoods growing on the lands of Slutt McNeale.

The iron works referred to were situated in Malone, probably, at the place called New Forge. These works were rented by a Mr. Stevenson in 1633; he was succeeded by Mr. Robert Barre before 1638. In 1641 Mr. Lawson held them, and sustained a very heavy loss by their destruction during the rebellion of that year. A commission was appointed in 1625 to inquire what waste had been committed in the woods in the territory or country called Slutt Neales, by lord viscount Montgomery, lord viscount Clannaboy, sir Foulke Conway, and the late Amy Conway, widow of sir Foulke. This commission reported that there were then standing on the lands, of the size of six inches at the butt, 8,883 trees; and that there had been cut on the lands, of oak of the same size, 11,631. The commissioners also found that there had been cut for the use of lord Chichester, for the building of his houses at Knockfergus and Belfast, 500 oaks. One Adam Montgomery, for two summers, with three or few workmen, cut forty trees; master Dalway cut three score trees; Anthony Cosleth, who was tenant of sir Moses Hill, cut 127 trees on the land of Blaris. The commissioners also stated that the roofs of the churches of Grey Abbey and Cumber, and a store of timber for the lord of Ards' buildings at Newtone and Donaghadee, had been taken from the woods; and a great store, far the manufacture of pipe staves, hogshead staves, barrel staves, kieve staves, and spokes for carts.

Edward Conway.

Sir Fulk Conway, the founder of the Hertford family in Ulster bearing this surname, died in 1624, and was succeeded by his brother Edward, who was then 50 years of age. The latter had been knighted by the earl of Essex, in the year 1596, at Cadiz, where he was in command of an infantry regiment. The same year in which he succeeded to his brother's vast estates he was appointed one of the principal secretaries of state, and created baron Conway of Ragly, in Warwickshire. In the following year he was created, by Charles I., viscount Conway of Conway Castle, in Wales. Although twice appointed to the office of secretary, James I. used to say of him that he could "neither read nor write,", and Clarendon wrote of him that he had performed the duties of that high trust "with notable insufficiency." He died in 1630, and was succeeded by his son, also named Edward, the second viscount, who died in 1655. The son of the latter, also Edward, was created earl of Conway in 1679, and died in 1683.

Edward Conway was appointed by Ormond to the command of the English regiment in Ulster from which his father had been removed by the committee of the Parliament. His father, the second viscount Conway, objected to the covenant, and refused to sign it, on the grounds that its acceptance was not one of the original articles agreed to between the Government and the officers of the British forces in Ulster. The parliamentary committee appointed the second lord Blaney as colonel of the regiment in his stead; but the officers of the regiment refused to accept the latter, preferring to have Edward Conway, son of their former leader. The father, although refusing to take the covenant, became quite pliant to parliamentary rule for the sake of preserving his estates, and recommended his son to adopt the same course. The following extract is taken from a letter addressed to his son on this point, and dated London, September 24, 1645:-- "I did once think not to have written, for he that brings this to you knows most perfectly all that concerns this place and these times; but I have heard something which makes me think it most necessary for me ti write to you. Sir Patrick Weames is come to London from Dublin, and sayeth that Lieut.-Colonel Jones is in Dublin, and that you have received a commission for the regiment from my Lord of Ormond, and the result of this is you and the officers of the regiment are not to be trusted; if the Parliament believe this, they wil have cause to dispose of the regiment, so as they may be assured of it. The commissioners that do now go into Ireland are very honest gentlemen. Mr. Onslowe and Sir Robert King I know very well, and you shall do well to address yourself to them, that they may make good report of you hither. I have spoken with Ned Burgh at large when he was here; you shall do well to speak with him; take heed to yourself, and keep the good opinion of this place. There was one that answered to that, that you had a commission for the regiment sent from the Marquis of Ormond; that you were not to be blamed because that he might do it without your seeking; but it was certain that the Parliament was sent to, and desired to give you a commission. I have answered for Lieut.-Colonel Jones all that I could; you shall do well to speak with him, and I hope that he will satisfy the commissioners. If there be any officer whom you know to be disaffected to the Parliament, so that the putting of him out may be a good service, you shall do well to put him out, having told the commissioners of him." -- Rawdon Papers. The concluding sentence of this extract contains but a scurvy advice from a father to his son, and especially as the former had himself been "put out" of the same service not long before the date of this letter. The son became a wise man -- a philosopher, in fact -- and never hazarded the loss of his estates by any reckless adhesion to political conventions.

Gamester's Fort.

"Lisnagarvy, Lios na g-cearbhach, 'the gamester's fort,' is the present name of a townland adjoining Lisburn, and was also the name of the town until the middle of seventeenth century. In 1635 it was written Linsley Garvin. The MS. account of the battle of 1641 in the old Vestry Book is headed 'Lisnegarvey, 28th Nov., 1641.' The town may have changed name after its burning in that year. In the, charter of Charles II., 1662, it Is called Lisburne, alias Lisnagarvie. In Jeremey Taylor's 'Works' are 'Rules and Advices to the Clergy of the Diocese of Down and Connor, given at the Visitation of Lisnegarvey.'" In Story's "True and Impartial History" we have the following account of the tradition then prevailing (1691) in reference to the origin of this name:-- "And then on Monday, the second of September, we marched beyond Lisburn; this is one of the prettiest inland towns in the North of Ireland, and one of the most English-like places in the kingdom; the Irish name is Lishnegarvey, which they tell me signifies the Gamester's Mount; for a little to the north-east of the town there is a mount moated about, and another to the south-west; these were formerly surrounded with a great wood, and thither resorted all the Irish outlaws, to play at cards and dice: one of the most considerable among them having lost all, even his cloaths, went in a passion in the middle of the night to the house of a nobleman in that country, who before had set a considerable sum on his head; and in this mood he surrendered himself his prisoner; which the other considering of, pardoned him; and afterwards this town was built, when the knot of rogues was broke, which was done chiefly by the help of this one man; the town is so modern, however, that Camden takes no notice of it."

(To be Continued.)


(This article was originally published in the Lisburn Standard on 19 July 1918 as part of a series which ran in that paper each week for several years. The text along with other extracts can be found on my website Eddies Extracts.)

Hidden History Returns for New Series

BBC Radio Ulster's Hidden History which brings local history to life by examining events, personalities, architecture and landscape has returned for a new series.

In the first program Dr Éamon Phoenix goes to County Down, journeying from Dundonald village to Greyabbey – and from the Stone Age through Norman times, the Plantation of Ulster, the settlement of the Ards Peninsula and the 1798 Rebellion.

You can download or subscribe to the podcast from www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/hidden

Origin and Characteristics of The Population in The Counties Down and Antrim (pt3)

SOME EXTRACTS
FROM THE

RECORDS OF

OLD LISBURN

AND THE

MANOR OF KILLULTAGH.

-- -- -- --

Edited by JAMES CARSON.

-- -- -- --

XCI.

-- -- -- --

ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POPULATION IN THE COUNTIES DOWN AND ANTRIM

Ulster Journal of Archaeology, 
Vol. 1, 1853.

(Continued.)

English Settlements in Antrim and Down.

The property of the Marquis of Hertford comprises the two territories or "manors" of Killultagh and Derryvolga, and includes either the whole or the greatest portion of eleven distinct parishes. The most northern of these are Camlin and Tullyrusk, but those first reached in the line which the settlers of the Plantation followed are Lambeg and Derriaghy. Both of these, the former especially, are wholly English in their character; and it is probable that they were settled by Sir Fulke Conway at the same time as Lisnegarvey. The current statements respecting him are very incorrect, people being misled by his name. His family had been resident at Bodrythan in Flintshire, and no doubt derived their name from the town of Conway. His father and grandfather were distinguished soldiers, and the former was Governor of Ostend in 1586; but there is not the slightest evidence that "the town of Conway was the property of Sir Fulke." The assertion is equally gratuitous that the first settlers in Lisnegarvey were Welsh; for the names of the first British settlers (fifty-two in number) are still preserved, and the list comprises only four Welsh names. These are Morgan, Edwards, Ap Ritchard and Ap Hugh.

The maternal grandfather of Sir Fulke Conway was Sir Fulke Greville, descended front "the flower of Woolstaplers," and ancestor of the Earls of Brooke and Warwick. Lady Greville, who possessed large estates in Warwickshire, was doubly an heiress, representing both Lord Brooke and Lord Beauchamp of Powyk. Connected as the family was, therefore, with the County of Warwick, both by relationship and occasional visits, it is not surprising that Sir Fulke's father purchased the manor of Ragley there, in the close of Queen Elizabeth's reign. When Ireland became the laud of adventure and promise, and the Conway family became interested in it, the tenantry and other inhabitants of both properties sought a settlement in that country; but they came almost exclusively from Ragley, and no doubt sailed from Bristol. When Sir Edward succeeded to the representation of the family, he continued to prosecute the designs of Sir Fulke; and the important position which he occupied in public affairs afforded him opportunities of doing so with success. In 1622 he succeeded Sir Robert Naunton as one of the Secretaries of State; and about a year before the death of James I. was created Baron Conway of Ragley. On the accession of Charles I. he was reappointed Secretary of State, and continued so till 1630; but in the meanwhile he had been elevated to a higher grade of the English peerage as Viscount Conway of Conway Castle, and also to the Irish peerage as Viscount Killultagh. The manor of Ragley is situated on the right bank of the classic Avon, where the shires of Gloucester and Worcester join that at Warwick; and hence it is highly probable that the additional men required to plant the new districts, extending finally to Lough Neagh, came from those counties also. Lady Conway was a native of Gloucestershire, and and the second Vicountess came from Somerset. The tradition of the people is, too, that their fathers came from "the apple counties" of England; and some of them can even name the offices which their ancestors of English birth held under the first and second Lords Conway.

Edward, the second Viscount, also extended the plans of Sir Fulke, and was vigorously engaged with them during the brief visit of Sir William Brereton. "From Belfast to Linsley Garven," says that writer, "is about 7 miles, & is a Paradise in comparison of any part of Scotland. Linsley Garven is well seated, butt neither the Towne nor the Countrie there-abouts well planted. This Towne belongs to my L. Conoway, who hath there a good hansome House, butt farr short of both my Lo: Chich. Houses, & this House seated uppon an Hill, uppon the side whereof is planted a Garden & Orchard, & att the Bottome of wch Hill runnes a pleasaunt River wch abounds wth Salmon. Here-abouts, my Lord Conoway is now endeavoureing a Plantation; though the Land here-boutes bee the poorest & barrenest I have yett seen, yett may itt bee made good Land wth labour & chardge." The "house" which the writer mentions was afterwards called the Castle of Lisburn; and it is probable that it was improved and strengthened after the disasters of 1641, for it is spoken of as a building of strength and respectability in 1707, when it was accidentally burned along with the town.

About the middle of the Protectorate another Edward Conway succeeded as the third Viscount. He was the fourth individual, and the third generation of his family, that had been connected with Killultagh; and passing beyond Lisburn, he selected for his residence a point of extreme beauty at the opposite extremity of his possessions. On the eastern bank of the little lake of Portmore an ancient castle of the O'Neills occupied a gentle elevation. To the west, the situation commanded a view of all the lake below and the greater part of Lough Neagh; to the north and east, the eye rested for miles on the beautiful lands of Glenavy and Ballinderry, with the tower of Ram's Island rising from a curve of the lake; and to the south, across the bogs of Aghagallon, appeared the County Armagh.

This spot, which is held in great veneration by the rustic inhabitants, will surely be not less interesting to the more intelligent, for here the learned, pious, and accomplished Jeremy Taylor resided, who taught mankind both how to live and how to die. On a little island in the smaller lake, now known as the Sally Isle, was an arbour erected by his patron, Lord Conway; this was the favourite scene of his studies, and there he put the finishing hand to his "Doctor Dubilantium." At the Restoration, as is well known, he became Bishop of Down and Connor, and in 1661 Bishop of Dromore also.

In 1664 the castle of Portmore was rebuilt on a scale of great munificence; and here Lord Conway, now an Earl, continued to dispense his generous hospitality for nearly twenty years. The splendour of the castle may be inferred from the quality of the out-buildings; and the provisions which were made are a commentary on the condition of society at the period. The stables constituted a sort of cavalry barracks, with the most ample accommodation for two troops of horse. They were 140 feet long, 35 broad, and 40 high; and water was supplied by pumps to a series of marble cisterns. When the Lords Conway became extinct, and the new proprietors did not feel inclined to make Ireland a place of residence, the glories of Portmore departed. The castle and other buildings were removed about 1761, and the only vestige that now remains of them is a portion of a wall. The garden and terrace are still entire under the name of "the Bowling Green," but the decoys for wild ducks, such as are well known in Lincolnshire, and used to be common in Lancashire, have disappeared. The beautiful deer-park, said to have contained 2,000 acres, is now changed to corn and pasture fields; and of the gigantic oaks, that were the pride of the neighbourhood and the wonder of all who saw them, not one remains. The great oak of Portmore was blown down about 1760. To the first branch from the ground was 25 feet, and the circumference 14 yards. A single branch was sold for £9; the stem for £97; of the remainder, bought for £30, built a lighter of 40 tons burthen. Many articles of furniture were made of it, and are held still in great estimation. The church, which had been removed by Lord Conway from Templecormac to Portmore, was superseded by a new one at the Restoration, near the village of Upper Ballinderry; and, though the burial-ground of this is still used, it has been superseded in turn by another church about half a mile distant, erected in 1827. Thus, the single parish of Ballinderry contains four parochial burial-places, and has had as many churches, all of which were need since the commencement of the seventeenth century. The majority of these facts are less known than the contemporary history of other portions of the two counties; they form, however, an interesting illustration of the English settlement in Ulster, and are some proof of its extent and importance.

Among the prominent men of the Plantation period was Sir Moses Hill, said to be descended from, a Norman family, of which branches are still seated in the shires of Devon and Stafford. He had served under two successive Earls of Essex, during the rebellion of O'Neill in Elizabeth's reign; and had been governor of the castle of Olderfleet, of Larne. He had also served under Lord Deputy Chichester; had represented the County of Antrim in Parliament; and when numerous offences and disorders required the pœna prœsens of martini law, he was appointed provost marshal for all Ulster. One of the first portions of property which he acquired was situated at Carrickfergus; there Captain Hill obtained a "whole share" of the corporation land in 1600. Arthur Hill was one of the three trustees for the corporation in 1637, and in 1811 the Marquis of Downshire was one of five (out of a large number) whose family name still coincided with that of the original grantee. All this portion formed part of a district then thoroughly English.

To the south of Belfast also Sir William Brereton noticed the labours of Sir Moyses during his brief visit. "Near hereunto" (Belfast), he says, "Mr. Arthur Hill [son and heir of Sir Moyses Hill] hath a brave plantation, which he holds by lease, which still is for thirty years to come; the land is my Lord Chichester's, and the lease was made for sixty years to Sir Moyses Hill, by the old Lord Chichester. This plantation, is said, doth yield him a £1,000 per annum. Many Lanckashire and Cheshire men are here planted, with some of them I conversed. They sit upon a rack-rent and pay 5s or 6s an acre for good ploughing land, which now is clothed with excellent corn." The clause in brackets, though practically true, is literally an error, for in 1635 Peter Hill, Esq., was the son and heir of Sir Moyses, and was seated still further inland at a place which he called Hill-Hall.

Arthur, the younger son, who was born in 1600, and died in 1663, not only succeeded by inheritance to the lands of Peter, but in 1656 had so added to them that his estate lying in Antrim, Down, and Louth was excelled by few in the kingdom. In 1635 Sir William Brereton found the country "almost all woods and moorish [from Linsley Garven] until you come to Drum-moare;" and in 1657 Arthur Hill received from the Protector and his Council, for "services done in Ireland, a grant of more than 3,000 acres, of which 912 are described as "wood, and bogg." All this was in the "territory of Kilwarlin, and County of Down," and this account of it confirms the view already given of the state of the country. Some portions of the grant are enumerated in the confirmation of 1662, as Culcavy, Cromlyne, &c.; though the fort which he had erected at his own cost, commanding an important point of communication, again embodied the family name, and gave origin to the town of Hillsborough. The manor of Hillsborough was composed of two more ancient ones, Hillsborough and Growle; the latter of which was named from what is now an obscure townland in the parish of Dromore. So early as 1669 a village had sprung up on a distant portion of his property called Carcullion or Carquillan. Its distance from Newry, and the fact that a bridge there crosses the Bann, gave to it the English name of Eight-mile-bridge; but the family name was applied a third time, and the name of Hilltown has become prominent.

The portion of the manor of Hillsborough which was colonised by natives of England is that adjacent to Killultagh. They spread up the valley of the Lagan, on the right as well as on the left bank, but did not establish themselves among the hills by which the valley is here bounded. The town of Hillsborough, and the whole western portion of the parish, lie within the area of the English plantation; but in the eastern portion very few established themselves, and those only by slow degrees.

Further inland, and later in point of settlement, was Sir George Rawdon, a native of Rawdon, near Leeds, in Yorkshire. His connection with the North of Ireland may be traced to the fact that in early life he was secretary to the first Lord Conway while his lordship was Secretary of State, and indeed till his death. He afterwards became more intimately related to the Conways by marrying in the decline of life, as his second wife, the daughter of the second Lord, sister to the Earl. In 1641 Sir George was one of the most active in defending Lisburn and the adjoining country against Sir Phelim O'Neill, and some years after he was the Earl of Donegal's deputy as governor of Carrickfergus, the County Antrim, and adjacent parts. In 1666 he had grants of land in Down, as well as in two other counties, under the acts of settlement; and other lands were assigned to him from time to time, in lieu of arrears of pay for services in the reign of Charles I.

The Moyra estate is now the property of Sir Robert Bateson, Bart., and since the commencement of the present century the history of the Rawdon family belongs to England. They have been identified with several parts of the County Down, greatly to its advantage; and the earldom of Moira, conferred in 1762, is one of the numerous peerages possessed by the Marquis of Hastings. There is a tradition among the tenantry that a small portion of the estate adjoining the churchyard in Moira was reserved, when all the rest was alienated, lest the title Earl of Moira should pass away; and the belief is an interesting illustration of the hold which baronies by tenure practically possess on the popular mind.

The English colonists did not stop at the verge of this country, but pressed on across Armagh. Bankes, in speaking of Lugarn [Lurgan), says: "The town, from the similarity of its general figure, of the language, manners, and dispositions of its inhabitants, to those of the English, hath for many years acquired the name of Little England." Leaving the bogs of Oneiland to the right, the planters passed from Seagoe, Shankill, and Magheralin, across to the Blackwater at Killyman and Charlemont; and large numbers settled in Dungannon and the parishes immediately surrounding it. Thus, from the tides of the Channel at Carrickfergus to the base of the Pomeroy mountains in Tyrone, across a considerable portion of four counties, and independent of smaller numbers scattered at other points, the English portion of the plantation existed in an unbroken line.

(Next week: Montgomery Manuscripts.)


(This article was originally published in the Lisburn Standard on 12 July 1918 as part of a series which ran in that paper each week for several years. The text along with other extracts can be found on my website Eddies Extracts.)

Origin and Characteristics of The Population in The Counties Down and Antrim (pt2)

SOME EXTRACTS

FROM THE

RECORDS OF

OLD LISBURN

AND THE

MANOR OF KILLULTAGH.

-- -- -- --

Edited by JAMES CARSON.

-- -- -- --

XC.

-- -- -- --

ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POPULATION IN THE COUNTIES DOWN AND ANTRIM

Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 1, 1853.

(Continued.)


Condition of the County Before the Plantation of Ulster.

At the close of Queen Elisabeth's reign, and beginning of that of James I., various causes had contributed to reduce the North of Ireland, and not the North only, to a pitiable condition.

One valuable authority, accessible to every reader, is Camden, whose "Britannia" was first published in 1586. He had less assistance from previous writers, in the materials for his account of Ireland, than for those of England and Scotland; he, therefore, took advantage of the latest official information, and, no doubt, sought personal intercourse with those who were minutely acquainted with the scenes of which he treated. His account of our own district has not been always received as correct, but it has been confirmed in the most satisfactory manner by a totally independent authority, the MS. of Dean Dobbs, published by Dubourdieu in 1812. This is supposed to have been written about 1598, and, from internal evidence, it is clear that that date is now much in error.

Bankes, whose immense folio was issued about 1786, says of the whole County Antrim, "it consists chiefly of bogs and marshes, but those parts which are cultivated are tolerably fertile." We cannot reasonably doubt the correctness of the former statement, from what we know of the present condition of the county; especially when we consider what a large amount of bog was converted into arable land, in one of the very best parts of it, and since the commencement of the present century. The character of the County Down is not very flattering either, for at a late period also -- viz., in 1691 -- Laurence Eochard writes of it, that "it is very fertile, though in some places encumbered with woods and bogs."

The whole of that which is now Upper and Lower Massareene, part of Upper Belfast, and the northern part of Lower Iveagh, form an extensive tract of great fertility and beauty at the present day; but the waters of the Lagan and its tributaries, not being confined within convenient limits, naturally produced mashes and bogs, and the natural fertility of the soil covered the greater part with timber. Accordingly, the description of it is contained in such expressions as the following: "Much incumber'd with woods and boggs;" and "a very fast woodland."

Speed's map of Ulster, which was engraved in 1610, was one of great merit in its day.

Killultagh is represented in 1598 as "as bordering upon Lough Eaghe and Clandbrassil;" and in Speed's map it occupies the position of the modern Aghalee, Aghagallon, and Ballinderry, between the Lagan river and the lake. In 1691 it is enumerated as one of the baronies of Antrim, to which it then belonged; and both Upper and Lower Masserene are omitted; it is evident, therefore, that it was then co-extensive with them. Its official existence is now merely as a manor, the general extent of which is coincident with the Marquis of Hertford's estate. It includes the town of Lisburn, and possesses some peculiar privileges connected with it. The district which gave origin to the name is now a townland of less than 700 acres in extent, in the parish of Ballinderry. Its formal name is Derrykillultagh, though popularly abridged; and a respectable mansion, now a farmhouse, commanding an extensive prospect, is known as Killultagh House. This district gave the Irish title of Viscount to Sir Edward Conway in 1626; but it and other honours expired at the death of his grandson, Earl Conway, in 1683. Popham Seymour and his brother Francis, who were cousins to the Earl through their respective mothers, inherited the estates in succession, in accordance with the will of the late Earl, greatly to the annoyance of those who possessed naturally the blood of the Conways, as did Sir Arthur Rawdon, Bart., grandfather of the first Lord Moira. Francis Seymour having assumed the name and arms of Conway, was created a peer both of England and Ireland in 1703; the title in the latter case being Baron Conway of Killultagh, now merged in the superior dignify of Marquis of Hertford.

Kilwarlin is frequently spoken of in connection with Killultagh. It was "bounding upon Killulto," the Lagan river flowing between; and according to Speed it had the modern Lough Beg on its west. He has, however, misplaced the lake of that name, which lies on the parochial boundary between Glenavy and Ballinderry (not the Lough Beg at Toome, north of Lough Neagh); and under the name of Lough Ryle reaches it till in a straight line between Donochelon (Donaghcloney) and Blare (Blaris)! In 1598 Kinelarty lay between Kilwarlin and Le Cahell;" the district must therefore have embraced the greater part of Lower Iveagh. During the contested county elections in the close of the last century it was regarded as co-extensive with Lord Downshire's home estate, and the term "the Kilwarlin estate" is still occasionally heard. Within the last thirty years the understanding was that Kilwarlin corresponded with the Downshire property west of Hillsborough; and a Roman Catholic chapel built just within those limits is called, in the Report of the Commissioners for Public Instruction, 1834, the chapel of Kilwarlin. At the present day very few would recognise the property of the name. It is now popularly almost confined to five contiguous townlands; three in the parish of Hillsborough, one in Moria, and one in Blaris. This district is mentioned in two inferior titles of the Marquis of Downshire, whose ancestor was created Baron Hill of Kilwarlin in 1717, and Viscount Kilwarlin in 1751.

The Plantation of Ulster.

Before the death of Queen Elisabeth, King James of Scotland, in anticipation of the union of the crowns, had turned his attention anxiously to Ireland. He had succeeded in quelling the fierce spirit of the Border people, and he hoped, no doubt, to be able to increase peace and prosperity in Ireland also. This was impossible without good laws; but laws themselves, unless they are obeyed, are of little avail. Sir John Davis, whose service in Ireland began in 1603, published his "Discovery of the True Causes, &c.," in 1612, in which he traces former errors and contemporary misfortunes to their true source. He shows that the nominal possessors of land were too few in number, "all Ireland having been cantonised among ten persons of the English nation;" and that the Irish customs or law -- such as elective chieftainship, and the arbitrary division of the lands among all the males by the chief -- were difficulties quite insuperable in the way of progress. "This is the true reason," he adds, "why Ulster and all the Irish counties are found so waste and desolate at this day; and so would they continue to the world's end if these customs were not abolished by the law of England."

Though the plan of the plantation was agreed upon in 1609, and Sir John Davies reports in 1610 that a certain part of it had been carried into effect, the King and the more intelligent people of the nation continued to attach considerable importance to it. This is evident from the institution of the Baronetcy, in England in 1611, and in Ireland in 1619. The Letters Patent rehearse that it was "to promote the plantation of the Kingdom of Ireland, and chiefly of the ample and celebrated province of Ulster, and to establish that it should more and more flourish, not only by the sincere culture of religion, civil humanity, and probity of morals, but also from the affluence of riches, and plenty of every thing that can either adorn or make happy a commonwealth.

The plantation of Ulster is commonly said to have embraced only six counties -- Cavan, Fermanagh, Armagh, Donegal, Tyrone, and Derry -- because almost the whole of these had been forfeited in consequence of the previous rebellion. Probably the settlement of Monaghan, by the Lord Deputy in person, in 1607, was regarded as sufficient for that shire. At all events, the Counties Down and Antrim are not prominently mentioned in connection with the plantation scheme; though it is, also, evident that they were net excluded from it.

In Down the forfeited lands extended from Clanbrassil on the west, across the territories of Kilwarlin, Iveagh, Kinclarty, and South Clandeboy, and embraced also the greater part, if not the whole of the Ards.

In Antrim, in like manner, the forfeited lands included Killultagh, North Clandeboy, Island Magee, Brian Carrogh's country, and a portion of the Route.

From this date the districts which had been the worst became the best. They were filled with a population of Anglo-Saxon origin; and though the original fountain had sent forth two streams, each of which possessed qualities of its own, their confluence in this new land was unattended by shock or disaster, but tended, on the contrary, to diffuse wealth and prosperity.

(To be Continued.)


(This article was originally published in the Lisburn Standard on 5 July 1918 as part of a series which ran in that paper each week for several years. The text along with other extracts can be found on my website Eddies Extracts.)

Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919

Some time ago I was given several booklets entitled Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-19.

Published in 80 parts by His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) in 1921 on behalf of the War Office, with each part usually relating to a single regiment, Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-19 covered "other ranks" including Privates, Lance Corporals, Corporals, Sergeants etc. and contained the details of almost 662,000 men.

It was one of two sets published on those who died during the Great War, the other being "Officers who died in the Great War" which gave the details of almost 42,000 oficers.

Details recorded include: Name; Place of Birth; Where Enlisted; Residence; Regimental Number; Rank; Cause, Place and Date of Death and in many cases Decorations awarded.

While these details are avavilable on some other sites I have decided to transcribe that for the Royal Irish Rilfes and hope to eventually record all those from the Irish Regiments on my web site Eddies Extracts.

I have made some amendments to the printed copy in relation to some spellings and to the layout by trying to present the place of birth in a way that might be more useful.

It should be noted that the details recorded in Soldiers Died in the Great War were not always correct. If you have any information that can correct the details given please contact me and I will gladly make a note against the entry.