Storied Homes of Ulster – Hillsborough Castle

 The following is part of a series of articles which appeared in the Belfast Telegraph in 1953 under the pen name 'Fina'.

 

Hillsborough Castle

ALL ROADS LEAD to Hillsborough, that ancient town in the heart of the county were once stood the stronghold of the Magenisses. On this site the first-born of Sir Moyses Hill, that gallant soldier who served the first Elizabeth, built a castle.

Now, here is the home of the Governor of Northern Ireland, representative in Ulster of Queen Elizabeth the Second. How strangely interwoven are the strands which bind us to our past!

The dwelling itself is full of the grace of its period, its friendly rooms making for an intimacy unusual in an official residence. When our beloved Queen begins her Royal progress through Ulster she will find at Hillsborough an atmosphere of warmth and homeliness. Throughout the castle there is that subdued colour that bespeaks exquisite taste.

The soft beige carpeting, the old rose brocades of the drawing-room, the delicate colours of the walls — all these things make a wonderfully soft yet colourful background for brilliant dresses and uniforms, whilst the white ceilings, gold ornamented, give just sufficient sharpness to clarify the whole picture.

I was privileged to stand, a few days ago, in the marble hall where Her Majesty will enter the castle. Should the Queen turn, she will be able to see right through the Courthouse to the old fort where King William stayed.

So, very soon the beautiful drawing-room where the long windows overlook terrace and gardens, will be filled with the brilliance of this Royal occasion. In the turquoise-hung Throne Room, where Her Majesty will receive distinguished guests, the gold lions guard the empty crimson thrones, the little gilt chairs await their occupants, and everywhere there is an air of expectancy.

A small drawing-room leads from the Throne Room and here, if the Queen so wishes, she can rest, for here there is no panoply of State. The intimate photographs of King George VI. of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and other members of the Royal Family, lend to this room an aura of tranquillity. One feels the quiet comer will give its occupants a blessed period of rest.

Just beyond the double doors of this little drawing-room lies the dining-room, where the State dinner will he held. It is here that the thoughts of Mrs. Rushworth, who has been in charge of Lady Wakehurst's kitchen for many years, have been centred, for in her competent hands has been the supervision of the banquet. The gleaming modern kitchen that one enters so surprisingly from a cavernous passage, has been the centre of much ordered activity these last days.

As the company dines in this long room with its fine Sheraton pieces, they will look out across the green lawns to a pleasant garden that is just now ablaze with Summer colour. This is the garden made by the Earl and Countess Granville when they were in residence.

The Royal suite, with its Chinese blue satin hangings and shining dark furniture, overlooks the same garden. These rooms, which will be used by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, lead from a corridor that reminds one of the Dutch interiors so beloved of the Masters. The simple and elegant staircase descends to a hall that is itself elegantly simple.

Their Excellencies the Governor and Lady Wakehurst are very graciously permitting the public to view Throne Room, drawing-room and dining-room on Saturday, July 4, in addition to the wonderful and extensive gardens.

It is hard to believe that Belfast is so close to this peaceful place. Amongst the great limes that border the Linden Walk leading, like the Yew Tree Walk, to the little Temple beyond the lake, all ia quiet. Nothing stirs in the rose garden beyond the terrace save a swallow darting behind the dark yews, across the yellow roses and up beyond the roof. Castle and gardens are ready, as indeed is all Ulster, to welcome our beloved Queen.

FINA

Next Week – Killymoon Castle

Belfast Telegraph, 1 July 1953.

An Old Hillsborough Murder - 1828

About the year 1828 there was committed at Hillsborough a murder whose mystery was never cleared up. This was the murder of Miss Nancy Stott, a member of the Society of Friends, and her maidservant, a tragedy which has passed into the ballad poetry of the province. They lived alone in a house in Moira Street, but the old lady -- she was about fifty -- was in the habit of going away on her business -- a curious occupation for a woman -- as a leather merchant, taking her servant with her. On Monday evening 5th December, the man who usually attended to Miss Stott's cows left her house at about six o'clock. He was not to return until Wednesday. On Tuesday morning Miss Stott's window shutters and doors were observed to be closed. Her neighbours believed that she had gone to a meeting of Friends, which was holding that day in Lurgan. It was Miss Stott's custom to take her maidservant with her on all journeys. Everything appeared correct about the house, and therefore, no suspicions were entertained of anything being wrong. On Wednesday forenoon the man came, according to agreement, to look after the cows. He found the concern closed up, and the cows were lowing for food. A boy was put upon the yard wall, and he observed something resembling a bloody cap lying at the kitchen door.

An alarm was raised, and Mr. Moore, of Eglantine, with the police, broke into the house, where both women were lying dead, the heads battered by some blunt weapon. In the eloquent words of the reporter of the time:-- "The alarm ran through Hillsborough with the speed and the effect of a terrible hurricane. The people rushed from their homes and looked at each other with a bewilderment in their gaze and a horror in their countenance which can better be conceived than described. They ran to the scene of blood, from that back to their homes, and from thence grouped themselves in the streets, not knowing what to say or do. A well-designed murder had been committed in the heart of a civilised town, in the bosom of a peaceful country, unattended by robbery, for nothing appeared disturbed in the house -- silver spoons were lying about, bank-notes in a counter drawer, and the front and back doors all locked and the keys removed." A large reward was offered, a hue-and-cry was raised, a former servant girl (who benefitted by Miss Stott's will) was arrested, but there was not a tittle of evidence against her, and the tragedy of the murder remains a mystery to this day.

There used to be recited in the country a ballad containing ten verses, by one Patrick Reynolds, of Kilwarlin, who seemed to produce a poem in celebration of everything that happened. Of course the murder was drawn in, and duly portrayed in poetic language:--

"Poetic bards and sages, why silent in these ages,
To see malign outrages and base sorrocide strike Christiandum with terror and fill each mind with horror.
My mentals grieve with sorrow the subject to describe?
'Tis of a brutal action which some of Cain's extraction
In Hillsborough committed upon two females dear.
Who savagely were battered and barbarously slaughtered,
And hurried for to face their God without remorse or fear."
"Each heart with grief was panting, some tender Christians fainting,
The scene was so lamenting to see them in their gore;
Their clothes as if it rained with human blood were stained,
That from their wounds had teemed was frozen to the floor!
The maid was dreadful handled, was fractured, tore, and mangled;
'Twas thought she had wrangled her precious life to save,
But forced for to give over, never more to recover,
All by the deadly blows that her vile assassin gave.

(This article was originally published in the Lisburn Standard on 17 January 1919. The text along with other extracts can be found on my website Eddies Extracts.)

The Making of the Ulsterman (pt5)

SOME EXTRACTS

FROM THE

RECORDS OF

OLD LISBURN

AND THE

MANOR OF KILLULTAGH.

-- -- -- --

 Edited by JAMES CARSON. 

-- -- -- --

CXVIII.

-- -- -- --

THE MAKING OF THE ULSTERMAN.

By Rev. Dr. J. S. MacIntosh.

From "The Scotch-Irish in America." 1892.

(Continued.)

The Ulsterman's sense of uttermost wrong grew month by month more strong and fiery, until the old, long-surviving loyalty to England died out, and was replaced by the calm, settled, and fearful hatred felt toward the oppressor by the robbed and outraged man whose active, educated conscience told him that he had "his quarrel just."

When his righteous anger was, in the opening years of the eighteenth century reaching its whitest heat, Holland began to call upon him, but more movingly still the stirring American colonies. The transplanted Scot is now ready to become afresh a colonist as the transplanted Scotch-Irishman. What a changed man is he, however. Before, he leaves the shores of Antrim, and the hills of Down, and the shadow of Derry walls, for the Forks of the Delaware, the woods of the Susquehanna, and the hills and dales of Virginia and Tennessee, let us plant him over against the Lowlander that still was the untransplanted Scot.

How like, yet how much unlike! How like; in both Lowlander and Ulsterman is the same strong racial pride, the same hauteur and self-assertion, the same self-reliance, the same close mouth, and the same firm will -- "the stiff heart for the steek brae." They are both of the very Scotch, Scotch. To this very hour, in the remoter and more unchanged parts of Antrim and Down, the country-folks will tell you: "We're no Eerish, bOt Scoatch." All their folk-lore, all their tales, their traditions, their songs, their poetry, their heroes and heroines, and their homespeech, is of the oldest Lowland types and times.

In both Lowlander and Ulsterman there is the same shrewd hard-headedness, the same practical sagacity in affairs, the same tough purpose, the same loyalty to friends, the same moral firmness, the same stiffness in religion. In both there is the same grim caustic humour, reflective and suggestive, rather than explosive or broadly told; the same cool self-measurement and self-trust -- each clearly and honestly knowing just what he can do and going quietly to the doing, neither asking nor wanting help. But the dour Scot and the sturdy Northern have grown to be two distinct men. Yes! the Ulsterman is best called by our own phrase, the Scotch-Irishman; he lays his hands on both, yet stands on his feet apart from the Scot and the Celt. He has the toughness of the one and the dash of the other; but while the Scot has the toughness of the oak -- breaking, not bending -- the Ulsterman has the toughness of the yew; he has the dash of the Celt, but while the dash of the Celt is the leap of the wild horse, the dash of the Ulsterman is the rush of the locomotive -- there's a hand on the lever.

Than the Transplanted Scot --

The Ulsterman has larger versatility. He is more plastic. He adapts himself more quickly to strange places and folks. There is in him more "come and go." The Scot is dour; he is sturdy. He has gained through his exportation and his enforced fight for existence in an alien mass strangely large powers of self-adaptation. He is more thoroughly and speedily responsive to outside influences; the environment tells more rapidly, and completely on him. In a few years the Ulsterman will become the Londoner, New Yorker, or Philadelphian; but the Lowlander is Scot often for life.

The Ulsterman is less insular; he is less the man of a land -- he is the man of a nation; he is less traditional, less provincial; he is not an islander, but an imperialist -- not Scotch nor Irish, but rather British; he is cosmopolitan rather than countrified.

He is more human, less clannish: more genial, less reserved; more accessible, less suspicious of strangers; more neighbourly, less recluse. He has more "manners" than his Scotch cousin, though he makes no pretensions to the polish and suavity and fascination of his Celtic neighbour, whom the dogged Northern thinks "too sweet to be wholesome." He has more fun than the Lowlander, but he dislikes the frolics of the Celt. While the Scot is stern, he is sedate; while the Irishman is poetical, he is practical. The Scot is plain; the Celt is pleasing; the Ulsterman is piquant.

He is more fertile in resource; his colonist life taught him to be ready for any thing; he is handy at many things; he is the typical borderer, pioneer, and scout. He will pass easily from one work or trade or business to another; to-day farmer, to-morrow shop-keeper, and third day something else. But with all his readiness to change, he is ever firm, "locked and bolted to results," with a singularly large gift and power for organization and association.

He is more the man of common sense than a metaphysical subtlety, practical rather than severely logical; he studies use rather than reasons, faces common things more than philosophies, deals with business more than books.

He is democratic rather than monarchical, loyal to principal rather than to persons, attached to institutions rather than families or houses; he sees through the Stuarts quickly, and follows the new house of Orange because it will serve him in his political struggle.

His pugnacity is defensive rather than offensive; his heraldic device is rather "the closed gates" of the threatened town than the old Scot's "spurs and bared blade."

And as he was found at Derry, Enniskillen and the Boyne, and as he is to be found still in the broad lands of Ulster, so to-day and forever when his country, wherever that may be, calls, he will be found, the first to start and the last to quit.


Next Week -- Lisburn Linen Industry.

(This article was originally published in the Lisburn Standard on 17 January 1919 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.)

Kilwarlin and Hillsborough, 1866.

SOME EXTRACTS

FROM THE
RECORDS OF
OLD LISBURN
AND THE
MANOR OF KILLULTAGH.

-- -- -- --

Edited by JAMES CARSON.

-- -- -- --

LII.

-- -- -- --

KILWARLIN AND HILLSBOROUGH,

1866.

This little volume of 32 pages was published in Liverpool, and the cost of publication defrayed by the Downshire family. It is set forth that it was "Privately printed, for presentation only," and the author signs himself "A Former Resident."' The volume is the result of a large amount of careful research and observation. The first 21 pages deal with Kilwarlin, and. the author Las taken considerable trouble to define accurately the past and present boundaries of the territory. The remainder of the book contains a history of the Hill and Downshire family, with a poem entitled "Hillsborough Town," describing the festivities that took place in that town on the occasion of the marriage of the Marquis in 1837.

Mr. George Allen, the Estate Office, Hillsborough is the possessor of a copy of this book, which contains in addition to the printed matter valuable and copious manuscript notes from the pen of Mr. Smyth, of the same office, dealing with the genealogy of the Downshire family. J. W. Kernohan, M.A., Presbyterian Historical Society, also possesses a copy of the volume.

The following note is printed at the foot of page 23:--

"Some years ago the writer compiled a Pedigree History of the Earls Conway of Lisburn, showing the descent of blood, property, name, family honours, &c., with illustrations. It was intended to follow it up by tracing in like manner the family history of James Hamilton, Earl of Clanbrassil and Viscount Clanboye; but the former was not printed, and the latter was never completed."

EXTRACTS.

Kilwarlin was one of the great territories of the County of Down, some of which have become modern Baronies. Dymmok's Treatise on Ireland, 1600, refers to it as "Mac Roris Cuntry."

Killultagh, or Derry-Killultagh -- the oak-wood of Ulster -- was described in 1515 as "the great, forest Keylultagh."

In 1586, Lord Burghley in his Description of Ulster says:-- "Kilwarlyn, boundinge uppon Kilultagh, is a very fast a woodland, the capten thereof by sirname is a McGenis, called Ever McRorie." The Irish Inquisitions, 1631, No. 29, state that it comprised forty-five townlands, but the Maze was said to contain two and a half.

Killultagh in the County of Antrim includes tho Parishes of Crumlin, Glenavy, Ballinderry, Aghagallen, Aghalee, Magharemesk, Lisburn, Magheragall, Tullyrusk, and part of Derriaghy.

In the early part of the Seventeenth century, old Bryan McRowry Megennes lived at Edenticullo, probably in a part of that which is now the Large Park. The Large Park appears to have been formed out of portions of three townlands Edenticullo, Crumlin, and Clogher. The Small Park is taken wholly out of Crumlin or Hillsborough. The Large Park contains 985 acres and the Small Park 68. Griffith's Valuation, 1839.

Bryan McRowry Magennis alienated in 1611 to Colonel Moyses Hill seven townlands. His son and grandsons in the following 25 years alienated the remainder of the property. Irish Inquisitions, Nos. 31, 54, 59, 60.

In the Down Survey by Sir William Petty, 1655, the name Kilwarlin is restricted to a parish. The Chapelry of Crumlin had formerly been a portion of the large parish of Drumbo, but in Petty's time it was the parish of Kilwarlin or Crumlin, now Hillsborough. Larcom's History of the Down Survey.

Drumbo -- The hill of the cow.
Crumlin or Camlin -- The crooked glen.
Ballykeel -- The place of the wood.
The Maze -- The place of the plain.
Bally-keel-agh-ardtifinny -- The place of the wood at the white hill.
Carnbane -- The white stone heap.
Carnreagh -- The royal stone heap.
Carnalbanaugh -- The stone heap of the Highlanders.

Spencer's Bridge is so called from, the house of Captain Henry Spencer, which stood on the Antrim side, and is mentioned by Petty. He was a contemporary officer in Queen Elizabeth's army with Sir Fulke Conway and the governor of the Fort of Innisloughlin.

Barrack Hill was a street of Hillsborough in which there were barracks; the Warren Gate originally led to a rabbit warren, and at the Union locks the Lagan blends with the canal. The Hollow Bridge is over a defile so deep that there is a descent even; to the crown of the arch, and such names as McKee's Bridge, Halliday's Bridge, &c., are derived from neighbouring residents. Rock's Hill, the hill with projecting rocks, is often improperly pronounced Rogue's Hill; and there is a Gallow s Burn at the entrance to Dromore, where executions formerly took place.

Speed's map of Kilwarlin is dated 1610.

The term "Hillsborough" referred originally to the town, not to the parish. Harris in his History, so late as 1744, calls it Crumlin Rectory, "the Chappel of St. Malachy at Hillsborough." The term Hillsborough seems to have been first applied to the Manor 1651, then to the Fort 1661, yet still there was no town, or even village. When Sir Wm. Brereton -- Brereton's Travels, by Hawkins -- passed it by in 1635 he found nothing to notice.

The visit of King William III. to Hillsborough is referred to. Authorities -- Diary of Dean Davies, by Caulfield; Three Months' Royal Campaign in Ireland, 1690, by Samuel Mullenaux, M.D.; A True and Impartial History, 1691, by Rev. George Storey.

The ancient family mansion appears to have stood just to the south of the limits of the Small Park. Harris records that it was destroyed by fire, and that barracks were erected on its site. The remains of these were visible up to 1825, and the street which led past them on the way to Moira was called Barrack Street or Barrack Hill. It contained the residence of Mr. Hugh McCay, attorney, and of Miss Stott, who was murdered along with her maidservant in 1825. In it also was the Quaker Meeting House, which on the Ordnance map 1837, is represented as standing alone. About 1826 the street was obliterated, the Moira road being made to diverge southward from its contact with the park wall. The triangle included by Barrack Hill and its continuation, the new piece of road, and the line to Dromore, was added to the private grounds. Near the bridge at the bottom of Barrack Hill stood the old church of Crumlin, and its graveyard, or "God's Acre," formed part of the present Small Park and of the pleasure grounds attached to the house. The ruins were visible in 1744, but the church had been removed to its present site in 1662 by Colonel Arthur Hill. The present beautiful structure, however, was not erected till 1773. It is a becoming memorial of the munificence of the first Marquis. There was a large willow tree, sometimes called the Kate Rush Tree, which marked the site of the old graveyard. It was blown down in the great storm of 6th January, 1839, when portions of human bones were exposed amongst its roots. There is a tradition that the tree was named after a "simple" girl named Kate, who wandered about the country. She amused herself by constantly plaiting rushes, till her proper surname was almost forgotten. She also walked on foot to Crumlin with all the funerals of the neighbourhood. On the day when she was carried to her own last resting-place, about 1792, a young man stuck at the head of her grave a willow twig, which grew into a great tree, hence the name the "Kate Rush" Tree.

It would appear from Harris that the lower part of the town was first built, and the upper portion not much more than a century ago. Between them was a hill so precipitous before it was cut that the wonder is why it was made the street of a town, or why people thought of erecting houses at its sides.

Harris further refers to the intention of Lord Hillsborough to build a new mansion house and a new town -- the town to be built in the form of a large square, with a stately market-house in the centre. A very expensive brewery, with malt-houses, consisting of two large squares, was erected by the late Lord contiguous to the town, which hitherto had not been converted to that use.

Prior to 1800 there were frequent contentions between the Broomhedge men and Hillsborough or Kilwarlin men over the right to get turf from the Maze Moss. They usually fought with quarterpole and singlestick. In 1775 some bayonets stolen from Hillsborough Fort were used. David Gray, of Broomhedge, was stabbed. Tom Bulger, of Hillsborough, was executed for the murder.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

'TWAS PRETTY TO BE IN BALLINDERRY.

This beautiful ballad is from the pen of Alfred Perceval Graves. It appears in his "Irish Poems" -- Countryside Songs and Ballads -- 1908, and is set to music in "Songs of Old Ireland." Padric Gregory considered it worthy of a place in his "Modern Anglo-Irish Verse," 1913. Mr. Graves was the son of the Protestant Bishop of Limerick. He has produced numerous poems, songs, and ballads. "Father O'Flynn" was written by him. He was an Inspector of Schools, from which position he retired in 1910.

'Twas pretty to be in Ballinderry,
     'Twas pretty to be in Aghalee,
'Twas prettier to be in little Ram's Island,
     Trysting under the ivy tree!
               Ochone, ochone!
               Ochone, ochone!
For often I roved in little Ram's Island,
Side by side with Phelimy Hyland,
And still he'd court me and I'd be coy,
Though at heart I loved him, my handsome boy!

"I'm going," he sighed, "from Ballinderry.
     Out and across the stormy sea,
Then if in your heart you love me, Mary,
     Open your arms at last to me."
               Ochone, ochone!
               Ochone, ochone!
I opened my arms, how well he knew me,
I opened my arms and took him to me;
And there, in the gloom of the groaning mast,"
We kissed our first and we kissed our last!

'Twas happy to be in little Ram's Island,
     But now 'tis as sad as sad can be:
For the ship that sailed with Phelimy Hyland,
     Is sunk for ever beneath the sea,
               Ochone, ochone!
               Ochone, ochone!
And 'tis oh! but I wear the weeping willow
And wander alone by the lonesome billow,
And cry to him over the cruel sea,
Phelimy Hyland, come back to me!

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

THE RETURN OF PHELIMY HYLAND.

This sequel to "'Twas Pretty to be in Ballinderry" was written by James N. Richardson, author of "O'Neill of Munster," 1880; "The Baron's Dream," 1887; "Reminiscences of Friends in Ulster," 1915; "The Quakri at Lurgan," 1887; "The Quakri at Lurgan and Grange," 1899. Mr. Richardson is a member of the Society of Friends, is closely related to several well-known Lisburn families, was born in 1846, represented the County of Armagh in the Imperial Parliament, 1881-1885, and resides at Bessbrook, Newry.

'Twas pretty to be at Ballinderry,
     'Twas pretty to be at Aghalee,
'Twas prettier still at bonnie Ram's Island
     Trysting under the ivy-tree.
And oft I've been in bonnie Ram's Island,
Side by side with Phelimy Hyland,
And there he'd court me and I'd be coy,
Tho' I always loved him, my handsome boy.

"I'm going," he sighed, "from Ballinderry,
     "I'm going," he sighed, "from Aghalee,
     "Out and across the stormy sea.
So if in your heart you love me, Mary,
     Open your arms and come to me.
I opened my arms, how well he knew me,
I opened my arms and took him to me,
And there as the sun was falling fast
We kissed our first and we kissed our last.

'Twas happy to be in bonnie Ram's island,
     'Twas happy in Aghalee,
     But now 'tis as sad as sad can be,
For the ship that carried Phelimy Hyland
     Is sunk for ever beneath the sea.
And 'tis I that wear the weeping willow
And wander alone by the lonely billow,
Calling over the cruel sea--
Phelimy Hyland, come back to me.

The long years rolled o'er Ballinderry,
     The long, long years o'er Aghalee,
And the boys and the girls again were merry
     Trysting under the ivy tree.
But I never went to bonnie Ram's Island
Since the day I parted Phelimy Hyland--
Phelimy Hyland, mine no more
Till perchance we meet on the farther shore.

One winter's day to Ballinderry
     I tramped in the rain from Aghalee,
When I heard a voice behind me, "Mary,
     Open your arms and come to me."
I opened my arms, how well he knew me,
I opened my arms and took him to me,
For sure but it was Phelimy Hyland
Back from years on a desert island,
Grey with sorrow and salt with sea,
True and faithful and back to me.

And there we blessed the Name together
     Twist Ballinderry and Aghalee,
In the lone-end damp, in the wintry weather,
     He bared his head and I bowed my knee.
And the word passed round of Phelimy Hyland,
Up and down unto far Rathfriland,
Of him who was saved from the cruel sea,
True and faithful and back to me.

And we sent for the priest to Ballinderry
     Because there was none at Aghalee,
And again my heart grows light and merry
     And again I visit the, ivy tree.
Set in the waves of wild Lough Neagh,
And again I go to bonnie Ram's Island,
Side by side with Phelimy Hyland,
And Phelimy Junior on my knee.

(Next week: The Town Parks of Lisburn, 1829.)


(This article was originally published in the Lisburn Standard on 12 October 1917 as part of a series which ran in that paper each week through 1917 and into 1918. The text along with other extracts can be found on my website Eddies Extracts.)

Hillsborough, 1824.

SOME EXTRACTS

FROM THE

RECORDS OF

OLD LISBURN

AND THE

MANOR OF KILLULTAGH.

-- -- -- --

Edited by JAMES CARSON.

-- -- -- --

XLIV.

-- -- -- --

PIGOT & CO.'S

CITY OF DUBLIN AND HIBERNIAN PROVINCIAL DIRECTORY.

1824,

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

HILLSBOROUGH

Is a small market town in the County of Down, agreeably seated on an eminence upon the mail road from Dublin to Belfast, 70 miles north of the former and 10 miles south of the latter. It is neat and modern built, and possesses a very good market, principally for linen yarn. The public buildings here are very handsome, and give an air of respectability not usually possessed by a small town. The church is a very elegant building, consisting of a nave and cross aisles; the tower is 110 feet high, and the steeple 100, forming together a most beautiful piece of workmanship, which may be discerned at a considerable distance; there are also two smaller towers at the sides. The interior corresponds with the exterior, every window being adorned with stained glass; it has a good organ, and a monument by Nollekens to the memory of Archdeacon Leslie is well worthy of attention. The market and courthouse is a large stone building adorned with a clock and vane, and admirably calculated for the purposes of its erection. The other public buildings are the shambles, and two neat schools; but the meeting-houses are situated at some distance from the town. The charitable institutions are a dispensary, open every Wednesday and Saturday, and a school for children of both sexes, conducted on the modern system of education, founded by the Marquis and Marchioness of Downshire, supported by subscription, and attended by about 80 boys and 50 girls; Mr. Francis Ford is the master, and Mrs. Margaret Ford the mistress. There is also an extensive Sunday School patronised by the Marquis and Marchioness. In the adjoining parish of Annahilt is a school founded by Thomas Jameson, a merchant of Belfast, for the benefit of this his native parish; he liberally endowed it with £l,000, which are placed out at interest upon landed property, and the noble Marquis granted four acres of land, upon which the school house stands; 130 boys and 90 girls upon an average attend; Mr. Robert Forsyth is the master, and Mrs. Margaret Forsyth the mistress. Hillsborough contains the noble mansion of the Marquis of Downshire, to whose family this town gives the title of Earl; the Marquis is the proprietor of this place, and also possesses vast estates in the neighbourhood. This town was a borough before the union, and sent two members to the Irish Parliament. Here is a small ancient castle, still kept in repair, of which the Marquis is governor. The quarter sessions are held here; the market day is on Monday, and there are fairs on the third Wednesday in February, and the third Wednesday in May, the third Wednesday in August, and the third Wednesday in August, and the third Wednesday in November. The population is about 1,200.

Post Office.

Post master, Mr. Edward Conkey. The mail from Dublin arrives at eight in the morning, and leaves at half-past six in the evening. The mail from Belfast arrives every evening at half-past six, and departs every morning at eight.

Nobility, Gentry, and Clergy.

Archer, Wm., Esq., Rocks-hill.
Clarke, Lieutenant, Shamrock-vale.
Corry, Colonel Marcus, Homra-house.
Cowan, Andrew, Esq., Ballylintogh.
Downshire, the Most Noble the Marquis of.
Forde, Rev. Wm. B., Annahilt Parsonage.
Hawkshaw, Colonel, Blain's-lodge.
Moore, Hugh, Esq., Eglantine.
Reid, Christopher, Esq., Belleview.
Reilly, Wm. Edmund, Esq., agent to the Marquis of Downshire.
Scott, John, Esq., Wellington-lodge.
Stannus, Lieutenant; Ballynock.

Places of Public Worship.

Parish Church of Hillsborough.
Rector, the Venerable and very Rev. Robert Alexander, Archdeacon of Down.
Curate, the Rev. Mr. Hill.
Organist, Mr. James Stephenson.
Parish Clerk, Alex. M'Connell.

Presbyterian Meeting-house, Annahilt.
Minister, the Rev. William Wright.

Seceding Meeting-house.
Minister, the Rev. Wm. Moorhead.

Roman Catholic Chapel.
Parish Priest, the Rev. Edward M'Carten.
Curate, the Rev. Hugh Dempsey.

Merchants, Tradesmen, &c.

Professional Gentlemen.

M'Kay, Hugh, attorney.
M'Lorn, Ranny, surgeon.
Moorhead, John Nesbitt, physician.
Paxton, John Cowan, surgeon.

Inns and Hotels.

Corporation Arms (posting inn), Samuel Waring.
Downshire Arms, James North.

Publicans.

Dawson, Thos'.  Harrison, Wm.
Fletcher, Thos. Scandrett, A.
Fraser, David. Standfield, James.
Halliday, Wm. Tate, John.

Shopkeepers and Traders.

Andrews, Edward, baker.
Bradshaw, H., brewer and malster.
Bradshaw, Margaret, grocer, and timber and iron stores.
Brownless, Hugh, grocer.
Burnett, Jas., baker.
Carleton, S. A., grocer and linen draper.
Carrothers, John, grocer.
Connor, Foster & Jas., grocers, haberdashers, and earthenware and glass dealers.
Crogan, John, grocer.
Druitt, E., grocer and hardwareman.
Ellis, Valen., grocer and leather cutter.
Henderson, John, miller, Agnes-ville.
Jefferson, J., grocer and butter merchant.
M'Conkey, Edward, grocer.
M'Leavy, Robt., grocer.
Roberts, John, saddler.
Robinson, Richd., grocer.
Trail, F. & M., haberdashers, and straw plait and straw hat makers.

Coaches.

BELFAST, the Royal Day Mail every evening at half-past seven, from the Corporation Arms, through Lisburn, and returns-every morning at half-past six.

BELFAST, the Royal Night Mail, every morning at eight, from the Corporation Arms, by the same route, and returns every evening at half-past six.

BELFAST, the Fair Trader, every evening at seven, from the Downshire Arms, by the same route, and returns every morning at seven.

BELFAST, the Shamrock, every Tues., Thurs., and Sat. evening at half-past seven, from the Coach and Horses, same route, and returns Monday, Wed., and Friday, at 40 minutes past five.

DUBLIN, the Royal Day Mail, every morning at half-past six, from the Corporation Arms, through Dromore, Banbridge, Loughbrickland, Newry, Dundalk, Castle-Bellingham, and Drogheda, and returns every evening at half-past seven.

DUBLIN, the Royal Night Mail, every evening at half-past six, from the Corporation Arms, by the same route, and returns every morning at eight.

DUBLIN, the Fair Trader, every morning at seven, from the Corporation Arms, by the same route, and returns every evening at seven.

DUBLIN, the Shamrock, every Monday, Wed., and Friday morning, at twenty minutes before six, from the Coach and Horses, and returns every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evening at half-past seven.

Carriers.

BELFAST, a Caravan every Wednesday and Saturday, at seven in the morning, takes goods for Lisburn, from the Corporation Arms.

BELFAST, a Waggon every Tuesday and Friday, from Mr. Harrison's, and takes goods for Lisburn.

DUBLIN, a Caravan goes every Monday, and Thursday afternoon, at half-past four, from the Corporation Arms, and takes goods for Dromore, Banbridge, Loughbrickland, Newry, Dundalk, Castle-Bellingham, and Drogheda.

DUBLIN, a Waggon every Monday and Thursday, from Mr. Harrison's, takes goods for the same places.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

KING WILLIAM III. AT HILLSBOROUGH.

By Richard Lilburn.

On the evening of the 19th of June, 1690, William and the Williamite forces arrived in Hillsborough, nothing remarkable having occurred during the march from Lisburn. The town, which, was then, and still is, the property of the titled family of Downshire, whose name it bears, was incorporated by charter of 14th Charles II., and the Corporation was styled "The Sovereign, Burgesses, and Free Commons of the Borough, and Town of Hillsborough." Its political history is very interesting to the loyal men of Ulster. There the Council of the Antrim Association met at stated times, in 1688, and deliberated in regard to the means to be adopted for the defence of the lives, liberties, and properties of the Protestants of the North. There, also, had been Schomberg and his army, on Tuesday, the 3rd of September, 1689, on their way to Loughbrickland. And a weary way it was; for what the Protestants spared in the flight from their homes the Jacobites destroyed, so that in the district not a sheep nor a cow was to be seen; the track of Schomberg and his men was through ruin. Now the King himself and his forces had arrived. As already stated, the castle had been prepared to receive and accommodate his Majesty. It was a magnificent structure, built by Sir Arthur Hill in 1641-2, and consisted of four bastions. Bonnivert describes it as "a great house belonging to the King, standing on a hill on the left hand of the road;" and in a certain sense the Frenchman was right. The site was chosen so that the fort might command the Pass of Kilwarlin, the chief road between Belfast and Dublin. Accordingly, it was strongly fortified within, and had the additional strength afforded by a trench. At the close of the year 1660 it was made a Royal garrison, and placed in command of a Constable, who received 3s 4d a day, having under him twenty-four warders who pay was each 6d a day. The constableship was vested in the Hill family for ever.

As might be expected, the old Castle in the demesne is much venerated by loyal men. There his Majesty remained two days, and strangers are still shown relics of the Royal visit. They have pointed out to them the apartments he occupied; the chair on which he sat; the table on which he wrote his Orders; the window opposite which chair and table stood; the bedstead on which he slept; the stable in which his horse was put up; the situation of the gardens, and the direction in which he walked -- in fact, everything is to be seen but the King himself. More interesting than the silent witnesses is the testimony borne by the successors of the original warders. They are regularly on duty at the new Castle of Hillsborough, wearing the uniform, somewhat modernised, of the Dutch Guards -- blue coat with red lappels; cocked hat trimmed with white lace, and for plume a red feather; white breaches and gaiters.

From the Court at Hillsborough his Majesty issued two important documents. One was a Royal Warrant, addressed to Christopher Carleton, collector of customs at Belfast, authorising the payment of £1,200 yearly to the Presbyterian ministers of Ulster. This is understood to be the origin of the grant called "Regium Donum." The pension was inserted in the Civil List and made payable out of the Exchequer.

- - - - - - -

George Story, chaplain to the Earl of Drogheda's Regiment, relates in his "Impartial History" that -- "On Tuesday, 3rd September, 1689, Schomberg's army marching through Hillsborough, a place where the enemy before our coming had kept a garrison, near which, on the highway side, were two of our men hanged for deserting. That night we encamped at Dromore."

(Hillsborough to be continued.)


(This article was originally published in the Lisburn Standard on 17 August 1917 as part of a series which ran in that paper each week through 1917. The text along with other extracts can be found on my website Eddies Extracts.)

Some Works Dealing With Hillsborough and Co. Down.

SOME EXTRACTS

FROM THE

RECORDS OF

OLD LISBURN

AND THE

MANOR OF KILLULTAGH.

-- -- -- --

Edited by JAMES CARSON.

-- -- -- --

XLIII.

-- -- -- --

SOME WORKS DEALING WITH HILLSBOROUGH AND CO. DOWN.

The Ancient and Present State of the of County of Down, by Walter Harris. 1744.

Topographical and Chorographical Survey of County Down, by Walter Harris. 1740.

History of County Down, by Alexander Knox, M.D. 1875.

Statistical Survey of the County of Down, by Rev. John Dubourdieu, Rector of Annahilt. 1802.

Ireland Exhibited to England (volume 1), by A. Atkinson. 1823.

Ulster Journal of Archæology.

Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory. From 1882.

The House of Downshire, by Hugh M'Call. 1881.

Pigot's Provincial Directory. 1824.

Reports from Commissioners on Municipal Corporations in Ireland. 1833.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

PRINTING IN HILLSBOROUGH.

From the "Ulster Journal of Archæology," 1901.

1786 -- Six Anthems performed in Hillsborough Church. The music composed by Michael Thomson, Mus.D. "Hillsborough: Printed for the Author, January 2nd, 1786. Pr. 15s."

1790 -- Anthems, &c, as performed in Hillsborough Church. The music composed by Michael Thomson, Mus.D., and others. (Words only.) 32 pages. No place or printer is given.

1790 -- A letter from Lord de Clifford to the Worthy and independent Electors of the Town of Downpatrick, with pertinent Queries to the Electors of the County of Down. (Charles Price.) 24 pages.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

LINEAGE OF THE DOWNSHIRE FAMILY.

Colonel Moyses Hill of Devonshire was founder of the House of Downshire. He entered the army of Queen Elizabeth in 1575. Come, to Ireland about 1590. Received for his services some forty thousand acres of land in Down and two thousand in Antrim. He was knighted, died in 1630, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Peter Hill. Peter's only son, Francis, resided at Hill Hall, and died without male issue. Arthur Hill, younger son of Sir Moyses, then succeeded, and was created constable of Hillsborough Fort in 1660. Moyses Hill, son of Arthur, succeeded his father, and married his cousin, daughter of Francis Hill of Hill Hall, dying without male issue. Next in succession was William Hill, half-brother of Moyses. He married as his second wife Mary, eldest daughter of Sir Marcus Trevor, who was created Viscount Dungannon in 1662 for his signal gallantry in wounding Oliver Cromwell at Marston Moor. William died in 1693, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Michael. He married the daughter and heir of Sir John Trevor of Brynkinalt, Co. Denbigh. Next in succession was Trevor Hill, born 1693, died 1742, first Viscount Hillsborough, created in 1717 Baron Hill of Kilwarlin, and Viscount Hillsborough. Wills, only son of Trevor, born 1718, died 1793, was created Viscount Kilwarlin and Earl of Hillsborough in 1751, enrolled amongst the peers of Great Britain in 1756 as Lord Harwich, Baron of Harwich, in the County of Essex, and advanced to a British viscounty and earldom in 1772 by the titles of Viscount Fairford, County Gloucester, and Earl of Hillsborough. Created Marquess of Downshire 1789. His son Arthur, second Marquess of Downshire, succeeded; bora in 1753, died 1801. Arthur Blundell Sandys Trumbull, third Marquess, born 1788, died 1845. Arthur Wills Blundell Sandys Trumbull Windsor, fourth Marquess, born 1812, died 1868. Arthur Wills Blundell Sandys Roden, fifth Marquess, born 1844, died 1874. Arthur Wills John Wellington Trumbull Blundell, the sixth and present Marquess, was born in 1871. He married in 1893 Katherine (from whom he obtained a divorce in 1902), daughter of Hon. Hugh Hare, Berks; issue, two sons and one daughter. Married secondly (1907) Evelyn Grace Mary, daughter of E. Benson Foster. Clerver Manor, Windsor.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

INSCRIPTIONS ON MONUMENTS.

To commemorate the public and private virtues of the Most Honourable Arthur Wills Blundell Sandys Turnbull Hill, third Marquis of Downshire, Lieutenant of the County of Down, Colonel of the Royal South Down Regiment of Milita, and Knight of the Most Illustrious Order of St. Patrick. Alike distinguished for patriotism, rectitude of principle and honesty of purpose, upholding his station with becoming dignity. He was also mindful of the wants of others, and practised those duties with benevolence and humility, which won the regard of every generous mind, adding lustre to his exalted rank. Those who best knew his worth and admired the rightness of his character and conduct in the several relations of life have erected this monumental column as a token of their friendship and esteem. 1848.

-- -- --

The Fourth Marquis.
"The Big Marquis of Downshire."
In honour of Arthur, "4th Marquis of Downshire,
Born 6th August, 1812,
Died 6th August, 1868.
Erected by his friends and tenants.

Mural tablet in the Presbyterian Church:--

Erected in memory of Revd. Galbraith Hamilton Johnston, by the members of the congregation of Hillsborough, who laboured among them for years.
He was an earnest preacher, a devoted pastor, and a true and faithful friend. Installed 30th September, 1858:

               Died 6th June, 1894.
         "He rests from his labours."

-- -- --

Sir Robert Hart, of Chinese fame, was connected with Hillsborough, having lived there during, his early boyhood. According to Juliet Bredon, his biographer, he was born in Dungannon Street, Portadown, in 1885, and when two years of age his parents removed to Hillsborough.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

REPORTS FROM COMMISSIONERS ON MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS IN IRELAND, 1833.

Extracts.

King Charles II., by charter 1662, granted to Arthur Hill, that the lands in that charter named should be a Manor by the name of the Manor of Hillsborough, and by the same charter ordained that 100 acres of land, in the town and lands of Hillsborough, should be a free borough and corporation, and be called the Borough and Town of Hillsborough, "the said town already built, or to be built, erected, and made in the most convenient place of the said 100 acres."

These 100 acres have not been set out, but are supposed to be the 100 acres lying in a circle round the Market House of the borough, as a centre.

There is a book in the hands of the Sovereign of Hillsborough containing entries of the proceedings from 1773 to the present year, 1833.

The corporate name is "The Sovereign, Burgesses, and Free Commons of the Borough and Town of Hillsborough."

The corporation, by the charter, consists of a Sovereign, 12 burgesses and freemen.

The "Recorder and Town Clerk" is the only inferior officer appointed.

The Sovereign is elected annually on the Monday after the Feast of Saint John the Baptist, and holds for one year, from the Monday after the Feast of Saint Michael next ensuing.

The right of election is placed by the charter in the entire body. The Sovereign is to be elected out of the burgesses.

The election to the office of burgess is exercised in point of form by the remaining burgesses, but, in truth, all are the nominees of the Marquis of Downshire, the heir of Arthur Hill.

The Marquis of Downshire is the "patron" of the corporation, and received the compensation for the disfranchisement of the borough at the period of the Union, amounting to £15,000.

The office of burgess is considered of little importance. They are not sworn on admission.

The entire number of the burgess is kept up. Only two of tho burgesses are resident.

There are not at present any freemen, except Lord Talbot and a few of his friends.

No Roman Catholics have been admitted into the corporation; indeed, the notion seems to exist that Roman Catholics are not yet admissible by law into corporations, although the disabilities were removed in 1793.

The Sovereign is made coroner within the borough. He also acts as justice of the peace "within the bounds and lymitts of the sayd town and precinctes thereof" during his term of office and for the space of one whole year thereafter.

There is no salary or emolument of any kind attached to the office of Sovereign. The Marquis of Downshire gives twenty guineas annually to the Sovereign to entertain the burgesses upon the days of election and swearing-in.

Two places called "Black Holes" have been used as temporary places of confinement; a district bridewell is in process of building.

There are also notes on privileges and rights of other members of the corporation. Court Leet, Seneschal, Manor Courts, Quarter Sessions, Petty Sessions, Constabulary, the Streets, Schools, Weighmaster and fee, &c., &c.

Fairs to be held in Hillsborough on the first Wednesday of every month, between the 1st March and last of November; and a market every Thursday, with a court of Pie Poudre.

Population in 1831 -- 1,453.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

THE POST CHAISE COMPANION OR TRAVELLERS' DIRECTORY THROUGH IRELAND, 1803.

This volume (660 pages) is very meagre and uninteresting in its references to Lisburn and district. It mentions that "Lisburne gives the title of Earl to the noble family of Vaughan." The Vaughans were an ancient Welsh family tracing in direct line back to the year 1200. Viscount Vaughan was created 1776 Earl of Lisburne and Lord Vaughan.

The following reference to Hillsborough is the only extract worth quoting:--

HILLSBOROUGH is pleasantly situated and almost newly built, much in the style of an English town, on a healthy, gravelly soil, in view of Lisburn, Belfast, the bay and town of Carrickfergus, and commanding an extensive prospect of a well-improved country. The Mase course is a mile north of the town, near the banks of the Lagan. A rising hill in the middle of the course, about two miles in circumference, affords a full view of the whole field. The Church of Hillsborough is magnificent, and cost the first Marquis of Downshire near £15,000. The spire is as lofty as that of St. Patrick's, Dublin, and much more elegant; it has also seven painted windows. There is a small castle or fort at Hillsborough, in perfect repair, in which were deposited the arms of the county. A very thriving manufacture of muslins has been introduced into this town under the patronage of the first Marquis of Downshire. The present Marquis has a fine demesne and neat villa here.

(Hillsborough to be continued.)


(This article was originally published in the Lisburn Standard on 10 August 1917 as part of a series which ran in that paper each week through 1917. The text along with other extracts can be found on my website Eddies Extracts.)

Ireland Exhibited to England, 1823 - Lisburn and Hillsborough. (part 2)

SOME EXTRACTS

FROM THE

RECORDS OF

OLD LISBURN

AND THE

MANOR OF KILLULTAGH.

-- -- -- --

Edited by JAMES CARSON.

-- -- -- --

XXX.

-- -- -- --

IRELAND.
Exhibited to England in a Political and Moral Survey of her Population.
By A. ATKINSON.

1823.

(Continued.)

Redhill.

This villa, the residence of Mr. Robert Garratt, is another of those valuable improvements, which give to the Hertford estate so distinguished and respectable a position on the map of Antrim. It comprises a neat dwelling-house, and about 60 acres of an improved farm, commanding a pleasing prospect to the towns of Hillsborough, Lisburn, and Moira, to Eglantine, the seat of Hugh Moore, Esq., and to the lofty mountains of Sleibgh-crube and Sleibgh-donard, in the county of Down, which bound the landscape in front of this concern. In this capacious landscape, the neat cottage and plantations of Mrs. Young (in the plain beneath Redhill) present themselves to the eye of the benevolent stranger, as no mean specimen of the system of improvement which pervades this estate, in common with the surrounding country; and by which the province of Ulster is raised high in the scale of civilized and social life, above the general level of the other provinces.

Redhill stands on the road last noticed, 72 miles north of Dublin, and two from Lisburn, which is the post-town to it.

Carleton House.

This seat of Mr. Cornelius Carlton is also a feature of improvement on the Hertford estate. It comprehends a good new built house, and 140 acres of a light sandy soil, of which 30 acres are very profitably occupied under a warren or rabbit-borough.

The soil, though light and sandy, as we have noticed, in wet seasons will produce tolerably good crops of potatoes, oats and rye.

This farm stands on a road which opens a communication with the road from Lisburn to the Maze (a celebrated race-course) 73 miles north of Dublin, and three miles from Lisburn, which is the post-town to it.

Brookmount.

This also stands on Lord Hertford's estate. It comprises a neat mansion house in the villa style, and 173 English acres of demesne, enriched with eleven acres of wood, and some young plantations of an ornamental character. The upper soil, which stands on a substratum of limestone gravel, though light,  produces wheat of good quality, and tolerable crops of every other species of grain. In point of prospect, Moira wood and the parish church of Aghalee, are the best objects in its view. This seat stands on a county road, which opens a communication between Lurgan and the county of Armagh, and Lisburn in that of Antrim, 70 miles north of Dublin, 14 south of Belfast, and two miles from Moira, which is the post-town to it. Whether the Hertford estate is indebted for this improvement to the present resident, Mr. Gorman, or to his predecessors our information does not enable us to decide; but, as improvement is a gradual work, each party has, in all probability, contributed his quota of assistance to its present aspect.

Lambeg.

Lambeg is the name of a small, but interesting village on the Hertford estate, situated, between Lisburn and Belfast, on the great northern road. It has been distinguished by a woollen manufactory, whose history we have given in a subsequent part of this work (under the head, "Trade of the county") and a handsome seat and bleach-yard in its immediate vicinity, founded, we believe, by a branch of the Hancock family. This village is also the seat of a cotton factory, the property of Mr. Robert Gemmill, a native of Scotland, in which the raw cotton is spun and manufactured into muslin and calico, and afterwards bleached and finished for the public market; so that the whole process of the cotton trade is carried on here in high perfection. Several thousand pounds have been expended by Mr. Gemmill, on this property, on a very short, but we shall not say uncertain, tenure, since the confidence reposed by Lord Hertford's tenantry, in the justice and honour of his family, has so far been fully justified by his lordship's conduct. Lambeg cotton factory and farm is situated on the banks of the river Lagan, in a section of the country emphatically distinguished for its pre-eminence of beauty and improvement. Five hundred of the labouring population are said to derive employment and support from this establishment, the products of which, composed of brown and white muslins and calicoes, are chiefly disposed of in the home market. Water twist (the strongest class of spun cotton) the produce of this house, has also been disposed of by one of its agents in Glasgow for the Russian market, where, we learn, that large quantities of English spun cotton are regularly consumed.

Lambeg is situated two miles north of Lisburn, which is the post-town to it, five south of Belfast, 75 north of Dublin.

Plantation.

This is the seat of a thread manufactory, established by Mr. Barbour, a native of Scotland, who has the merit of founding this branch of trade, on the Hertford estate, where he continues to conduct it with success. Hitherto, to the great discredit of our country, Ireland has been a depot for Scotch thread; but, if Mr. Barbour's example shall be followed up with spirit, in the north of Ireland, we shall not be long dependant on a foreign market for a supply of this useful article. Here, about 200,000 hanks of native yarn are spun annually, into threads of all classes; in the manufacturing and bleaching of which, 122 of the population of this neighbourhood find daily employment.

Whether, therefore, we regard this factory, in its relation to the trade of Ireland, or as an establishment conducing to the improvement and prosperity of the Hertford property (through which we are now passing) in either of these relations it has a just claim to public notice; and should our brief exhibition of its history remind other great landed proprietors, of the interest which they have in encouraging useful manufactures on their estates, and diminishing the dependence of their country on foreign markets, we shall not lament the insignificance of the auxiliary instrument, by which so useful an object is kept afloat in the public mind.

The demesne of Plantation, including the bleach yard, which is its most useful and picturesque feature, comprehends 78 English acres of a light gravel soil, situated on a country road, which communicates between the villages of Ballynahinch and Saintfield, at the distance of one mile from Lisburn, which is its post-town, and 74 miles north of Dublin.

Having now given our readers some valuable specimens of improvement on the Hertford property, we shall conclude our visit to this rural kingdom, with the following brief review.

The Hertford Estate.

This property (which includes the town of Lisburn in its dominion) is bounded on the west and south by the river Lagan, and by lands of the Belfast estate, in the opposite direction. It is said to contain 75,000 English acres, and to be let for the short tenure of one life or 21 years. In this estimate are probably included 8 or 900 acres of bog, which the proprietor has reclaimed, at an expense of £2,546, producing, in the first letting, an annual increase to the value of this property of between 3 and 400 pounds sterling, (upwards of 12 per cent, for the money expended) and was expected to advance considerably in value, 10 or 12 years since, when this improvement was completed. What a valuable work was this, taking it in every point of view. A large sum expended in the employment of the poor. A large tract of land reclaimed from a barren waste for their accommodation. The face of the country beautified; and the proprietor amply repaid for his improvement by the gratitude of his people, the increased value of his estate, and a liberal addition to his present, income.

The Hertford estate with the exception of gentlemen's seats, is let in farms of various extents, say from 5 to 60 English acres, at an acreable rent of from 20 shillings to two guineas. The first of these prices (considering the highly improved district in which this property is situated, and its proximity to the best markets in Ulster) is low. The last, as produce now sells, would be considered a very high rent by the mere farmer; but, as our information was collected several year's since, when land and its produce rated high in this country, two guineas for an English acre of land in such a district, and with such a market as Belfast for the sale of its produce, was then in a ratio, with the value of its productions, and with the comfort and convenience of the occupier. At the prices which farming produce brought at that period, we are certain, not only that the farmer could pay his rent with ease, but, that on a well managed farm of 50 or 60 acres, he could lay something handsome by, as a provision for future contingencies. The scene, however, has since taken an awful shift, and the farmer's interest is labouring under the pressure of a national calamity, we do not think that Lord Hertford's tenantry will be the worst off. This conclusion we think ourselves justified in drawing, from the premises with which the Hertford estate furnished us. There, Lord Hertford's name was mentioned with universal respect as that of a good landlord:-- there, the aspect of his lordship's rural territory precluded the suspicion of oppression -- there, contentment appeared to reign, and there both the plough and the loom flourished. We could not hear that Lord Hertford, when renewing a lease, had in any instance, taxed his tenant's farm, with the value which it derived from his own industry, or that of his progenitor. If, therefore, our information of two guineas for an English acre of land has been correct, we may safely presume, that the native soil of that acre, abstracted from all the artificial improvements of the tenant, was, during the recent prices of produce, a good bargain at that rent; and, we conclude without information, that, in such a time of depression as the present, when agriculture and manufactures deeply languish , that reductions to those who are exclusively dependent on the soil and on the loom, will be made, in a manner quadrating with the circumstances of the times, on a property governed by those just and equitable principles, which appear to us to form, not the accidental and occasional accompaniments, but the essential principle and basis of the Hertford social code.

It is possible that some may object to this eulogy, on the principle, that a tenant presuming to assert his political independence, by an opposition to his landlord's parliamentary interest, would be made to feel the rectitude of that policy by which the Hertford property is governed, when he came to renew his lease. That Lord Hertford would not be likely to renew for such a tenant, we have no doubt, and, we have as little, that very few will try his lordship's temper in that way, (for we only heard of one solitary example) but as this objection is equally applicable to almost every landlord the dependence which it censures, is inseparable from the the present order of things, we do not feel that social policy of the Hertford estate, which we have noticed with approbation, in the least affected by this objection. Against that absentee system, however, which the Marquis of Hertford sanctions by his example, we do protest, as being of material injury to  Ireland; although the truth of history obliges us to confess, that, we have not seen the prosperity of any Irish estate, less affected by the absence of its proprietor, than in this instance. To Lord Hertford's official situation in the King;s household, his perpetual absence from Ireland, may be attributed; but whatever may have been the cause, his character, as a landlord, stands unimpeached; and although we know his lordship only by report,and have seen no other portrait of his character, than that which sparkles in the living features of his estate, yet in this we have seen enough to command our unpurchased admiration, and, in the same disinterested spirit in which we do it justice, we recommend it to the notice and imitation of those absentees, (or presentees, no matter which) that have the honour to govern an ignorant and starving population.

From Hertford property we proceeded to Belfast, through that beautiful section of the Belfast estate, which is situated between Lisburn and this rising sea-port.

-- -- -- --

"Ireland Exhibited to England " -- 1823 Counties of Antrim and Down. Those Supplies a fairly comprehensive list of Country Seats and Residences in the falling within the postal districts of Lisburn and Hillsborough are "extracted" and given here. Some 20 pages of this book are devoted to Hillsborough.

Lisburn

Ashmount -- Mr. John Hall.
Brook-hill -- James Watson, Esq.
Broom-mount -- Stafford Gorman, Esq.
Ballydrain -- J. Younghusband, Esq.
Ballylesson -- Rev. Marcus Faloon.
Belvedere -- Andrew Durham, Esq.
Broom-hedge -- Mr. John Bennett.
Colon -- Mr S. Waring.
Carleton-house -- C. Carleton, Esq.
Demi-villa -- William Shaw, Esq.
Deneight -- John Hall, Esq.
Dame-ville -- Mr. William Shaw.
English-town -- Mr. M'Clune.
Edenderry -- Alex Wilson, Esq.
Grier's-town -- Mr. Arthur Grier.
Hilden -- Rev James Norwood.
Hall's-town -- Mr. Joseph Hall.
Hamoro -- Major Gayer.
Harmony-hill -- R. and J. Wolfenden.
Hill-hall -- Mr. John Turner.
Kilrush -- Dr. Crawford
Knockmore -- Mrs. Patten.
Larch-field -- D. Mussenden, Esq.
Lakefield -- Mrs. Stewart.
Moss-vale -- ------ Agnew, Esq.
Mullagh-carton -- Rev. William Whitlaw.
Murusk -- Mr. James Wright.
Myrtlefield -- Thomas Carlton, Esq.
Pear-tree-hill -- Thomas Lamb, Esq.
Plantation -- John Barbour, Esq.
Pine-hill -- C. Casement, Esq.
Red-hill -- Robert Garrett, Esq.
Rose-vale -- Lieutenant Patten.
Seymour-hill -- Robert Johnston, Esq.
Shamrock-vale -- Lieutenant Clarke.
Springfield -- Major Haughton.
Stoney-ford -- James Boyes, Esq.
Stream-ville -- Rev. C. Patten.
Trummery -- Mr. J. S. Condron.
Trench -- William Malcolm, Esq.
Trooper-field -- Mr. Robert Oliver.
Will-mount -- John Stewart, Esq.
White-hall -- Mr. John Boomer.

Hillsborough.

Agnes-ville -- Mr. John Anderson.
Blaris-lodge -- Sir George Atkinson.
Ballylintagh -- Samuel Cowan, Esq.
Ballyknock -- Mr. George Stannus.
Ballyworfy -- Mr. William May.
Blundel-hill -- Mr. Thomas Leathern.
Carnbane-house -- Joseph Pollock, Esq.
Clintagh -- Rev. Thompson
Culcavey -- Nathaniel Monk, Esq.
Carnbane -- R. J. Fowler.
Corcreeny -- Mr. John M'Elevey.
Cuppage-hall -- Mr. John Green.
Eden-vale -- Rev. T. M'Clure.
Eglantine -- Hugh Moore, Esq.
Flat-field -- Mr. James Megarry.
Growell -- Andrew Cowan, Esq.
Homra-house -- Marcus Corry, Esq.
Holiday's-bridge -- Mr. James Woods.
Loughaghry -- Mr. William Magill.
Maze -- Captain Craig.
Maze-course -- Mr. Samuel Bradberry.
Mill-vale -- Mr. Arch. Henderson.
New-port -- Mr. J. Harvey.
Orr-field -- W. and J. Orr.
Oglesgrove -- Mr. George Davis.
Rocks-hill -- Mr. William Archer.
Rose-hill -- George Crickhard, Esq.
Spire-hill -- Lieutenant William Cowan.

(The 1859 "Revival" next week)

(This article was originally published in the Lisburn Standard on 11 May 1917 as part of a series which ran in that paper each week through 1917. The text along with other extracts can be found on my website Eddies Extracts.)