WARINGSTOWN

WARINGSTOWN, a post-town, in the parish of DONAGHCLONEY, barony of LOWER IVEAGH, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 2 3/4 miles (S. W.) from Lurgan, on the road to Gilford; containing upwards of 1000 inhabitants. The ancient name of this place was Clanconnel, which was changed into that by which it is at present known by Wm. Waring, who settled here in 1667 on lands purchased by him from the dragoons of Cromwell's army, who had received a grant of forfeited lands in this quarter. The new proprietor immediately built a large and elegant mansion, which is still the family seat. In the war of 1688 he was driven out by the Irish army, who kept possession of the house as a military station till the arrival of Duke Schomberg, who remained here for two days on his march to the Boyne. Mr. Waring, who had escaped to the Isle of Man, was outlawed by the parliament of Jas. II. Samuel Waring, a descendant of the same spirited individual to whom the place owes its existence and its name, was the founder of its manufacturing prosperity in the reign of Queen Anne. Having acquired a knowledge of the processes for making diaper during his travels in Holland and Belgium, he introduced them into his own country, and the first piece of cloth of this description made in Ireland was the produce of his estate. He also, when abroad, procured drawings of wheels and reels in Holland, and with his own hand made the first of the wheels and reels now in general use, before which all the flax made in the country was spun by the rock and spindle. The linen manufacture thus introduced and patronised became the staple of the district and is now carried on to a very great extent in all its branches, there being scarcely a family in the town and neighbourhood which is not more or less employed in some department of it. Petty sessions are held in the town every Monday: it is a constabulary police station, and has a sub-post-office to Banbridge and Lurgan. The town was made the site of the parish church of Donaghcloney by an act of parliament in 1681, and divine service has been celebrated here since that period in the church in this town, which had been previously built by Mr. Waring at his own expense for the use of his family and tenantry. It is a large and handsome edifice in the Elizabethan style, to which a tower and spire were added in 1748: the interior is very elegantly fitted up, but is most remarkable for its roof of carved oak resting on 18 carved corbels of the same material: the pulpit, communion table, railings, and pews are all of oak: in 1832 the church, being found too small for the congregation, was enlarged by the addition of a northern transept, which is finished in its roof and all other parts to correspond with the original building, at which time the pulpit and communion table were richly ornamented with carvings and pierced work of wreaths, festoons, and other similar embellishments, executed by the hand of the Rev. Holt Waring, proprietor of the estate, and by him presented to the parish. The bell of the old parish church of Donaghcloney, after having lain for nearly a century in the river Lagan, was raised, and hung in the tower of Waringstown church: engraved on it in rude characters is the inscription "I belong to Donaghcloney." Waringstown House, the mansion of the proprietor, is in the immediate vicinity of the town, surrounded by a demesne richly planted with ancient and flourishing forest trees; the pleasure grounds, gardens, and shrubberies are extensive and kept in the best order. Demesne, the residence of James Browne, Esq., is also near the town. The surrounding land is very fertile and in a high state of cultivation, with numerous houses of the gentry and wealthy manufacturers interspersed. The Waringstown male and female school, in which are 147 pupils, with residences for the master and mistress, were built by subscription and are in connection with the London Hibernian Society. Henry McLeary, who greatly improved the machinery for diaper-weaving and invented a slay for expediting the process, for which he received a premium of £100 from the Linen Board, was a native of this place.

WARRENPOINT

WARRENPOINT, a sea-port, post-town, and district parish, in the barony of UPPER IVEAGH, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 5 miles (S. E. by S.) from Newry, and 55 1/4 (N.) from Dublin, on the road from Newry to Rostrevor; containing 2428 inhabitants. A castle was built near this place in 1212, by Hugh de Lacy, to protect the ferry across the channel where it narrows, and thence called Narrowwater castle: it was destroyed in the war of 1641, and was rebuilt by the Duke of Ormond in 1663. The site of the present town was originally a rabbit warren, whence it has received its name. In 1780 it consisted only of two houses, with a few huts for the occasional residence of the fishermen during the oyster season: it now comprises several respectable streets diverging from a square on the sea side, and containing 462 houses, many of them large and well built. This rapid increase has been principally owing to the extraordinary beauty of its situation, commanding very fine views of the bay of Carlingford, and to its convenience as a bathing-town, for which purpose it has been for several years a fashionable place of resort for visiters from all parts. Petty sessions are held on alternate Mondays; it is a constabulary police station, and has a dispensary. Fairs are held on the last Friday of every month. Its maritime situation has also rendered it a place of considerable commercial activity. Large vessels trading to Newry are obliged to lie here, where there is deep water, good anchorage, and perfect shelter, as the further passage up the channel is intricate and dangerous from the obstruction of rocks, one of which, called Grannaway rock, is particularly marked out by a perch erected on it. Plans are under consideration for improving this part of the navigation. The shipping trade has been still further accommodated by the erection of a quay at which vessels of large burden can load and discharge their cargoes. Two steamers sail weekly hence to Liverpool; one to Glasgow and one to Dublin; by which very large quantities of agricultural produce, cattle, poultry, eggs, provisions, and oysters are exported, and British and foreign produce received in return. In the town is a very large distillery, and near it a windmill constructed according to the most approved principles, to which a steam-engine is attached for working the machinery in calm weather; in addition to its practical value, this building forms a striking feature in the landscape when viewed from some distance.

The parish comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 1178 1/2 statute acres, all of which, with the exception of 68 1/4 acres under water, are of good quality and well cultivated. Not far from the town is Narrowwater Castle, the residence of Roger Hall, Esq., a very fine edifice in the Elizabethan style, built of hewn granite raised from a quarry on the estate: near the town also is Drumaul Lodge, the residence of Jas. Robinson, Esq.; and the neighbouring shores are studded with seats, villas, and cottages, chiefly erected by the gentry of the surrounding counties as bathing-lodges during summer, all enjoying varied prospects of the lough and its surrounding mountains, which combine in a singular manner the picturesque with the sublime. The living is a perpetual cure, in the diocese of Dromore, and in the gift of the Chancellor of the diocese, as incumbent of Clonallon. The income of the curate amounts to £73. 2., arising from an annual salary of £50 paid by the chancellor and £23. 2. from Primate Boulter's augmentation fund. The church, situated in the town, and about a mile distant from the mother church, is a small building in the early English style: it was erected in 1825 by Roger Hall, Esq., at an expense of £830. 15. 4 1/2. British, being a gift from the late Board of First Fruits. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Clonallon: a large and elegant chapel in the town is now in progress of erection. There are also places of worship for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster and the Remonstrant Synod, the latter of the third class; also for Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists. A well-constructed school-house for boys and girls, with residences for the master and mistress attached to it, was built by R. Hall, Esq., and endowed by him with an annual income of £30; he also has built and supports a school at Narrowwater; and an infants' school was built and is supported by Mrs. Hall. In these schools about 300 children are instructed. The extensive ruins of Nuns' island are near the ferry at Narrowwater; they are by some supposed to be the remains of a religious establishment, and by others the ruins of de Lacy's castle.

WITTER

WITTER, or GRANGE-OUTER, a parish, in the barony of ARDES, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 2 miles (S. E.) from Portaferry; containing 1116 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the eastern coast, forming a peninsula round which is the entrance to Strangford Lough, and comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 2529¾ statute acres, of which the greater portion is good land in an improved state of cultivation. On the north side of the entrance of Lough Strangford is Ballyquintin Point, in lat. 54º 19' 30" (N.), and lon. 5º 28' 20" (W.), from which the coast extends (N. E.) 4 miles to Carney Point, and within this distance of coast are two creeks, which afford occasional shelter to fishing craft. About half a mile to the east of Tara Hill, on which is a moat or earthen fort, is Tara bay, which is spacious and sheltered from all winds except the north-east, but it is dry at low water; and about half a mile farther is Quintin bay, affording good anchorage in four fathoms in off-shore winds, and having a tolerably well-sheltered cove. At Tara there is a coast-guard station belonging to the Donaghadee district. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Down, forming part of the union of Inch; the rectory is impropriate in John Echlin, Esq. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the unions of Upper and Lower Ardes. At Ballygilgat is a R. C. chapel for the parishes of Slane, Ardkeen, and Ballytrustin, and the liberty of Castlebuoy, called the parish of Lower Ardes. On the shore of Quintin bay are the ruins of a very strong castle, built by De Courcy in 1184.