SAINTFIELD

SAINTFIELD, or TONAGHNIEVE, a post-town and parish, in the barony of UPPER CASTLEREAGH, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 9 miles (N. W.) from Downpatrick, and 78½ (N. by E.) from Dublin, at the termination of the mail coach road branching from Dromore, by way of Ballinahinch; containing 7154 inhabitants, of which number, 1053 are in the town, which consists of one long street, intersected by a shorter one, comprising 213 houses, the greater number of which are built of stone and slated. At this place the first battle was fought in the north of Ireland during the disturbances of 1798, on June 9th, when the York Fencibles were beaten back and retreated to Cumber. The proprietor and lord of the manor, N. Price, Esq., improved the town in 1802, when he erected a large market-house and hotel, since which time Saintfield has been rapidly improving, and is now one of the most flourishing towns in the county. According to the Ordnance survey, the parish comprises 13,333¾ statute acres, 280 of which are roads and waste, and 118 bog; the land is good and nearly all arable. The weaving of fine linen cloth, cotton cords, and hosiery, gives employment to a great number of the working classes at their own houses. Here is a chief constabulary police station; a manor court is held every third Saturday in the court-house, at which debts to the amount of £10 are recoverable; petty sessions are also held in the court-house on alternate Tuesdays. Mr. Price gave premiums for the encouragement of a market and fairs, so that they rank amongst the best in the North of Ireland; the market is held every Monday, and the fairs take place on Jan. 26th, the second Thursday (O. S.) in Feb. and March, the third Thursday in April and May, June 26th, July 30th, Aug. 26th, the third Thursday in Sept., Oct. 26th, the third Thursday in Nov., and the Thursday after Christmas. The principal seats are Saintfield House, the elegant residence of N. Price, Esq., situated on elevated ground near the town, of which it commands a fine view; Mill House, of J. McBurney, Esq.; and the glebe-house, of the Rev. H. H. Wolseley; and there are several excellent farm-houses.

The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Down, and in the alternate patronage of the Earl of Carrick and Viscount Bangor: the rectory is impropriate in the proprietors of the soil. The tithes amount to £612. 2. 2., of which £175 is payable to Viscount Bangor, £147. 1.4. to N. Price, Esq., £9. 4. 7½. to Lord Dufferin, and £280. 16. 2½. to the vicar. The glebe comprises 20¼ acres, valued at £25. 6. 3. per ann.; the glebe-house is a large and handsome building, erected in 1750 at the expense of the then incumbent. The church, in the town, is a large and elegant structure in the early English style, with a square tower, and is in good repair. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising this parish and that of Killinchy, in each of which is a chapel. The parochial school in the town was built by N. Price, Esq., and endowed by him with an acre of land; there is a female school built by subscription and partially supported by the vicar; and there are 9 other public schools, in all of which are about 560 children; 11 private schools, in which are also about 560 children; and 11 Sunday schools. Hutcheson, the author of a work on Moral Philosophy, was a native of this parish.

SAUL

SAUL, a parish, in the barony of LECALE, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 1¾ mile (N. E.) from Downpatrick; containing 2119 inhabitants. St. Patrick is said to have founded here an abbey for Canons Regular, and to have constituted his disciple, St. Dunnius, or Modun, abbot thereof: the patron day is May 29th. The founder died here March 17th, 493, in the120th year of his age, and was interred with great solemnity at Downpatrick. Some years since, the ruins of this establishment were very extensive, but now only a fragment remains. The parish is situated on the south-western branch of Strangford Lough, and comprises, according to the Ordnance survey (including islands and a detached portion), 5272½ statute acres, of which 2119 are under tillage, the remainder in pasture. Walsh's-town Castle, the residence of R. Foster Anderson, Esq., is one of many built by De Courcy on the conquest of Ulster, and of twenty-seven around Strangford Lough, this is the only one now inhabited; the ancestors of the present possessor having occupied it ever since the reign of Chas. I. The living was formerly a perpetual cure and part of the deanery of Down, from which, by order of council in 1834, under the Church Temporalities' Act, it was separated, and constituted a distinct rectory, in the diocese of Down and patronage of the Crown: the tithes amount to £386. 6. The glebe comprises 6 a. 0r. 20p., valued at £30. 12. 6. per ann.; the glebe-house was built by aid of a gift of £450, and a loan of £50, in 1816, from the late Board of First Fruits. By the order in council the three detached townlands, and the tithes of Whitehill, Ballynarry, and Ballynagarrick were disunited from this parish and annexed to the adjoining parish of Ballyculter, and the clerical duties of those townlands were annexed to the adjoining parish of Kilclief, to which were also annexed the townland and tithes of Bally. woodan, separated from the parish of Saul. In lieu of such severance the townland and tithes of Ballystokes, severed from Ballee parish, and those of Raholfe and Ballintleave from Ballyculter parish, were annexed to Saul, the clerical duties of the two last-named townlands remaining annexed to Ballyculter. The church, erected about 1770, is a large plain building, without tower or spire, occupying part of the site of the abbey; the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £375 for its repair. The R. C. parish is co-extensive with that of the Established Church. There are two schools, aided by annual donations from Dean Plunket and Lady Harriet Forde, in which about 240 children are educated: about 70 are taught in a private school, and there are three Sunday schools. Mrs. Conway bequeathed a rent-charge of £3. 7. 6. per ann. to the poor of this parish; and Judge Ward gave a rent-charge of 16s. per ann. for ever out of the Castle Ward estate. Near Walsh's-town Castle stood the church of St. Mary, by some supposed to have been parochial, but it seems most probable that it was for the use of the garrison; on levelling the churchyard a few years since, coins of the reigns of Hen. I. and II., Robert Bruce, and Rich. III., were discovered.

SCARVAGH

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

SEAFORDE

SEAFORDE, a village, in the parish of LOUGHINISLAND, barony of KINELEARTY, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 1 mile (N.) from Clough, on the roads leading respectively from Downpatrick to Newry, and from Dundrum to Ballynahinch: the population is returned with the parish. This village, which was anciently called Neaghen, is small but very handsomely built, consisting of one principal street, from the centre of which a smaller street branches off at right angles. At its northern extremity is a very handsome gateway of freestone, consisting of a centre and two side openings; and near it is a chaste Grecian lodge of freestone, forming an entrance into the extensive demesne of Seaforde, the handsome seat of Col. M. Forde; the mansion, which is situated in the centre of the parish, was destroyed by fire in 1816, and rebuilt in 1819 in a style of sumptuous elegance; the demesne, which is finely undulated, comprises 1060 acres, richly planted and embellished with a large and picturesque lake. The manor of Seaforde extends over the whole of the parish, with the exception only of the townland of Clough; and a court is held every three weeks before the seneschal, in which debts to the amount of £2 are recoverable : petty sessions arc also held on alternate Tuesdays, and fairs on March 7th, June 9th, Sept 4th, and Dec. 6th. The parish church, a handsome edifice, is situated in the village; and there is a place of worship for Presbyterians in connection with the Seceding Synod, of the second class. There are also six handsome alms-houses, erected in 1828 by Col. Forde, who endowed them with £60 per ann. for six aged widows; and some schools, the particulars of which are stated in the article on Loughin-Island, which see.

SEAPATRICK

SEAPATRICK, a parish, partly in the barony of LOWER IVEAGH, but chiefly in that of UPPER IVEAGH, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, on the river Bann, and on the mail coach road from Newry to Belfast; containing, with the post-town of Banbridge, 7584 inhabitants. This parish comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 7582½ statute acres, of which (with detached portions) 3141. are in Lower and 4441½ in Upper Iveagh; the whole is rich land in a high state of cultivation. On its border is Lenaderg Cottage, the residence of T. Weir, Esq., built by his ancestor, in 1645, as an asylum for the officers of the royal army. Its connection with the flourishing town of Banbridge has rendered the parish highly important as a seat of the linen manufacture: here are numerous bleach-greens, linen manufactories, yarn-mills, and depots, with the various other branches connected therewith, which for extent and importance are not excelled in any part of the kingdom; this is mainly attributable to the river Bann intersecting the parish. Upon part of the glebe, extensive manufactories, depots, and handsome houses have been built by F. W. Hayes, Esq. Among the most remarkable gentlemen's seats may be enumerated Millmount, the residence of R. Hayes, Esq.; Brook-field, of Brice Smyth, Esq.; Huntley Glen, of Hugh Dunbar, Esq.; Seapatrick House, of F. W. Hayes, Esq.; Ballyvalley, of the Rev. J. Davis; Ballievy House, of G. and T. Crawford, Esqs.; Edenderry, of W. A. Stewart, Esq.; Banvjew, of G. Little, Esq.; the residence of F. Welsh, Esq.; and the glebe-house, of the Rev.D.Dickenson.

It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Dromore, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the rectory forms part of the union of Aghaderg and of the corps of the deanery of Dromore. The tithes amount to £390. 16. 4., of which £119. 11. 9. is payable to the vicar, and £271.4. 7. to the dean. The glebe-house is a commodious old building: the glebe comprises 111¾ statute acres, valued at £155. 5. per annum. The church, a small building on the eastern shore of the Bann, was erected in 1698 upon the site of the ancient edifice, which had been destroyed in the war of 1641 ; being incapable of accommodating one-sixth of the population, a large church has been lately built near Banbridge, under the provisions of an order in council, obtained in 1834, at an estimated cost of £2890, of which £1500 was given by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, £600 by the Marquess of Downshire (who also gave the site), and the remainder was raised by voluntary contributions. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Tullylish. Near Banbridge is a meeting-house for Presbyterians in connection with the Remonstrant Synod, of the first class; here is also a meeting-house in connection with the Synod of Ulster, of the third class, built in 1830; one in connection with the Seceding Synod, and a chapel each for the Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists. The parochial schools, with residences for the master and mistress, situated on the glebe, are endowed with an acre of land and supported by subscriptions. Near Banbridge is a large male and female schoolhouse, comprising a centre and wings, the former the residence of the master and mistress, and the latter the schools; it was built by subscription, to which the Marquess of Downshire contributed £90, and is endowed with an acre and a half of land and £50 per annum. There are also schools at Ballydown, Ballylough, and Banbridge. At Tullyconnaught is a large school-house, founded and endowed by Miss M. Mulligan, by will dated 1824, and built in 1829, at a cost of £150: the interest of the principal bequeathed having accumulated, it furnished a greater surplus than was expected, the interest of which, £15 per annum, is given to the master: it is in connection with the Board of National Education. There are also six private schools in the parish. On the Dromore road is a valuable chalybeate spring, similar in its properties to the waters of Aix-la-Chapelle, and efficacious in scurvy. Baron McClelland was born here, as was also his contemporary, Dr. Dickson, Bishop of Down and Connor.

SHANKILL

SHANKILL, a parish, partly in the barony or LOWER IVEAGH, county of DOWN, but chiefly in that of ONEILLAND EAST, county of ARMAGH, and province of ULSTER, on the mail coach road from Belfast to Enniskillen; containing, with the post-town of Lurgan, 7758 inhabitants. This parish comprises, according to the Ordnance Survey, 6584 statute acres, of which 493l½ are in the county of Armagh, and l652½ in Down; of these, 59½ acres are in lakes at Lurgan, and 362 in Lough Neagh. The lands are of good quality and chiefly under tillage; the system of agriculture is greatly improved, and the parish is generally in an excellent state of cultivation; there are some quarries of whinstone, which is chiefly used for building, and for repairing the roads. The principal seat is Lurgan House, the splendid residence of the Rt. Hon. Charles Brownlow (proprietor of the parish), a spacious structure in the Elizabethan style, beautifully situated in a richly wooded demesne with two fine artificial lakes, and embellished with timber of luxuriant and stately growth; the approach is by a handsome lodge and gateway of corresponding character, the whole of freestone brought from Scotland. The other seats are Woodville, the residence of G. Greer, Esq.; Silverwood, of Thos. Cuppage, Esq.; and Grace Hall, of C. Douglas, Esq.: there are also numerous handsome residences in the town of Lurgari. The linen manufacture is carried on to a great extent throughout the parish, in connection with the large establishments in the town; and diapers, lawns, and canibricks of very superior quality are made in great quantities. The Lagan navigation from Belfast joins Lough Neagh in that part of the parish which extends into the county of Down. Fairs are held at Lurgan on Aug. 5th and 6th. and Nov. 22nd and 23rd. There is a chief constabulary police station, and manorial courts and petty sessions are held in that town, as noticed in the article on Lurgan, which see. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Dromore, and in the patronage of the bishop: the tithes amount to £210. 16. The glebe-house, a handsome edifice, occupied by the Rev. Edw. Kent, was built in 1821, at an expense of £1384. 12. 3¾., of which £92. 6. 1¾. was a gift, and £969. 14. 7½. a loan from the late Board of First Fruits; and the glebe comprises 170 statute acres, valued at £325 per annum. The church, situated in the town of Lurgan, a handsome Grecian edifice with a lofty tower and octagonal spire, was built in 1712 and enlarged and repaired in 1828, for which purpose the late Board of First Fruits granted a loan of £800, and the Rt. Hon. C. Brownlow gave £100; it has recently been further repaired by a grant of £282 from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners: the congregation averages 600. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also parts of the parishes of Donaghcloney and Maralin: the chapel, a handsome edifice in the later English style, is situated in the town. There are places of worship for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster, of the second class, for the Society of Friends, and for Wesleyan and other Methodists. About 500 children are taught in five public schools, of which the parochial male and female schools are in connection with the trustees of Erasmus Smith's charity, who allow a salary of £20 to the master and £14 to the mistress; in the former are 120 boys and in the latter 100 girls, who are also clothed by a collection made at a charity sermon, and the incidental expenses of firing, &c., are defrayed by a subscription from the resident gentry. There are seven private schools, in which are about 230 children; and five Sunday schools. A mendicity society and a voluntary poor fund have been established, towards the support of which Mr. Brownlow contributes annually £100; and there are various other charities for the relief of the poor, to which Mr. Brownlow also contributes. The Rt. Hon. William Brownlow, ancestor of the present proprietor, and for more than 30 years a distinguished member of the Irish House of Commons till the Union, was a native of this place.

SLANES

SLANES, a parish, in the barony of ARDES, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 4 miles (E.) from Portaferry; containing 589 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the eastern coast, and comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 946½ statute acres, the whole of which is under cultivation, and produces excellent crops of corn, flax, and potatoes. Here is Slane's Point, between which and Carney Point is a cluster of rocks and shoals, one of which, called the South rock, is three miles (E. N. E.) from Carney Point, and on it there is a light-house, called the Kilwarlin Light, erected by the Corporation for the Improvement of the Port of Dublin: it is a revolving light, elevated 52 feet above the sea at high water, with 10 lamps of a bright colour, appearing once in a minute and a half: two bells are also kept tolling in foggy weather, by means of clock work, to warn mariners of their proximity to danger: the rocks and shoals extend a mile at least to the eastward of the lighthouse. Here is a coast-guard station. On the shore are the remains of a large castellated edifice, called Newcastle, which has given name to the district; from this is the communication with the light-house, and here are the residences of the keepers. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Down, forming part of the union of Ballyphilip, and of the corps of the chancellorship of Down; the tithes amount to £106. 13. 5½. There is no vestige of a church, but the burial-ground remains, where once stood an extensive edifice, traditionally said to have been a wealthy abbey: the Protestants attend divine service at Portaferry church. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Upper Ardee.

STRANGFORD

STRANGFORD, a small sea-port and post-town, in the parish of BALLYCULTER, county of Down, and province of ULSTER, 6 miles (N. E.) from Downpatrick, and 79¾ (N. N. E.) from Dublin; containing 583 inhabitants. In the year 1400, the constable of Dublin city, with divers others, fought a great sea battle at Strangford against the Scotch, in which many of the English were slain. It is situated on the western side of the channel which forms the entrance of the lough to which the town gives name; it is a very small place, having only 119 houses, among which are a chapel of ease to the parish church of Ballyculter, a R. C. chapel, and a Wesleyan Methodist meeting-house: here is also a small quay for the convenience of the fishing boats, and of the passengers crossing the strait to Portaferry. It is a constabulary police station: fairs are held on Aug. 12th and Nov. 8th. The trade is chiefly in coal and timber. A school, in which are about 200 children, is supported by the Hon. W. Fitzgerald De Roos and the Rev. Charles Wolseley. Near this place are the remains of two castles called Welsh's and Audeley's; the former has been converted into the handsome dwelling-house of R. F. Anderson, Esq.; the latter, still in ruins, is on a hill which commands a view of the lough as far as Newtown, and is supposed to have been erected by one of the Audeleys, who settled in this county under John De Courcy. The lough of Strangford was formerly called Lough Coyne: it extends from Killard Point to Newtown, a distance of about 17 miles, from north to south; in some parts it is five and in others three miles in breadth, and at its entrance not quite one. It contains a vast number of islands and rocks. Six of the islands are inhabited; namely, Castle island, in the parish of Saul, containing 118 acres of land under cultivation, and on which are the ruins of a castle; Rea island, in the parish of Tullynakill, containing 103 acres, occupied by a farmer; Wood island, also in the parish of Tullynakill, containing 16 acres, and on which are large beds of shells, from 50 to 60 feet above the level of the sea, that are converted into excellent lime by burning; Tagart island, in the parish of Killyleagh; Islandbawn, in the parish of Killinchy, containing 30 acres of land; and Maghea island, in the parish of Tullynakill, containing 137 acres of land: it has a small quay, to which brigs can come up, and on it are the ruins of a castle, formerly the summer residence of the Knox family. Strangford Lough is a safe and deep harbour, admitting vessels of the largest draught, but, owing to the great rapidity of the tides and the rocks near its entrance, on which the sea breaks violently, it is not prudent for a strange vessel to attempt to enter. There are two passages to it, divided by a reef nearly in the centre of the channel, and half a mile long, called Rock Angus, corrupted into "the Rock and Goose," on which is a stone beacon, and at the south extremity a perch called the Garter, which is dry at half ebb; south-westward from this perch, at a cable's length, are the Pots rocks. The passage on the south side of Rock Angus has 2½ fathoms of water, and is navigable only for small vessels. The tide runs in and out of the lough with such velocity as on some occasions to carry vessels against the wind. Strangford gives the title of Viscount to the family of Smythe.