Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/805

Rh DOWN. 795 DOWN. . a bounded on the E. and S. by the Irish Sea, X. by tbj '.ntrim and Carrickfergus Bay, and W. by the co .:gh. It extends from 54 0' to 54 40' N. lat. ind from 5 18' to 6 20' W. long, and comprises an irea of 612,495 acres, of which 514,180 are arable, 78,317
 * .uliivated, 14,385 in plantations, 2,211 in towns, anc

,-132 under water. Its greatest length, N.E. and S.W. sol mile*, and grciilost breadth, N.W. and S.E., 38 miles )n the coast are Carrickfergus Bay, Lough Strung a-J, or Lough Conn, Killough, Dundrum, and Car- iHgt'ord bays. This county, together with a small par ! Antrim, was anciently known by the name of UllmJh, 01 lie original of the name of Ulster. The ancient ,uts are supposed to have been the Vohinlll o: . As no other writer mentions them, they were .11 probability soon incorporated with the natives, o:
 * but at what period they settled in Ireland is
 * ho chief families were the O'Nials, Magensies,

..nes, Slut Kellys, and McGillimores. The firsl at of the English in this part of Ulster took place 1 1 177, when John de Courcy, who accompanied Strong- ,nv, rendered himself master of Downpatrick, whore he s chief residence. It was originally divided into s, Down and Newtown, or the Ards, to which were regularly appointed until 1333, when the authority was overturned throughout Ulster, i a revolt of the Irish at the murder of William h. By the attainder of Shane O'Neill, who i in the rebellion of 1567, Iveagh, Kiuelarty, L,'!I, and Lower Ards fell into the hands of the I'lir colony led over by Sir Hugh Montgomery, hiefly about Newtown-Ards and Grayabbey, id by their industry and enterprise soon raised that trt of the county to a very flourishing condition, which ndered invaluable services in the wars subsequent to llion of 1641. The forfeitures consequent on ilion, and the warof revolution, deprived almost "Id Irish and Anglo-Norman families of their tales. Down is divided into 11 baronies: Lower and rds. Lower and Upper Castlereagh, Duft'erin, nver and Upper Iveagh, Kinelarty, Lecale, Moumc, d Newry Lordship. It contains 70 parishes, and I a population of 299,866 at the census of 1861. ises the following market towns : Downpatrick, i<y town and seat of the bishopric of Down, and Dromore ; Newtown-Ards, Banbridge, nice, Bangor, liathfriland, Portaferry, Newry .it of which is in the county of Armagh), Comber,, Gilford, Holywood, and Warreuspoint. It is it represented by four members; two for the nid one each for the boroughs of Downpatrick J Newry. The local government is vested in a lord- utenant, 19 deputy-lieutenants, and 120 other magis- ules, and the usual county officers. The cliief feature the country consists in its variety of charming sceneiy. I mountainous district comprises all the barony of iiirno, the lordship of Newry, and a considerable por- 'u of the barony of Iveagh. The mountains rise udually till they terminate in the towering peak of i'ove Donard, 2,796 feet. To the N. of this nucleus is ' ' detached group of Sliove Croob, 1,755 feet. The i ncipal islands off the coast are Copeland Islands, 1 land, Green Island, and Bard Island. There "ther numerous smaller islands off Downpatrick, i ^tly uninhabited, and chiefly used for pasturage, and me are finely wooded. The coast is low, rocky, and liigerous, and almost, excepting Longh Strangford, ' ititute of good anchorages. Bangor, Donaghadee, Tara Jjy, Lough Strangford, Killougii, Dundrum, Carling- ul, and Warrenspoint are the chief harbours. The . "S are numerous but unimportant; those of Aghry, 1 10, HaEyroney, Shark, and Loughbrickland, in Iveagh; 1 linahinch, in Kinelarty ; and Ballydonagan, in Le- c ;, ani the principal. The soil of the county is produc- t ). Its numerous hills are seldom too high to be com- 1 tely cultivated, and at the same time afford excellent r ins of drainage. The great attention paid to tillage ' | brought the land to a high state of agricultural im- iiidnt, especially in the district between Jloira and Lisburn. The prevailing corn crop is oats; wheat is sown in every part, and attains great perfection in Lecale and Castlereagh. Barley and flax are much cultivated ; as also arc turnips, potatoes, and other green crops. Owing to the inequality of the country, considerable tracts of flat pasture land arc uncommon, but on the sides of the rivers are excellent and extensive meadows, annually enriched by the overflowing of their waters. Butter is made in large quantities for exportation. The linen manufacture is the staple trade of Down. It had its first great impulse from the settlement of French refugees (in consequence of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes), who, by introducing the improved machinery of the Continent, raised the manufacture to a high degree of importance. The branches now carried on are fine linen, cambrics, damasks, and other descriptions of household linen. Cotton has latterly made great progress. Weaving is carried on in the houses of small farmers, but not for exportation. Leather tanning is practised to a largo extent. Kelp was formerly made in considerable quan- tities along the coast. Off' the coast of Bangor all kinds of flat fish, oysters, cod, and herrings are taken. With the exception of the Upper Baun, all the rivers of Down discharge their waters into the Irish Channel. The river Lagan, for nearly half its course, has a direction nearly parallel to the Bann, turns eastward at Maghera- lin, and, passing by Lisburn, falls into the bay of Bel- fast. There are also the Newry river and the Ballina- hinch, the former of which rises near Rathfriland and falls into Carlingford Bay, and the latter, bringing down the waters of several small lakes, empties itself into Lough Strangford. This county enjoys the benefit of two canals : the Newry, which connects Carlingford Bay with Lough Neagh, and admits vessels of 50 tons into the heart of Ulster ; and the Lagan, which extends from the tideway at Belfast along the northern boundary of the county, and enters Lough Neagh near that portion of the shore included within its limits. The geographical situation of Down is extremely favourable as regards its climate ; for the vicinity of the sea prevents the con- tinuance of frosts, and the insulated position of the mountainous tract confines the rains and heavier mists to that part of the county where they are least felt ; while the general unevenness of the land carries off surface waters and prevents damp. Its geological [features are strongly marked. Granite and clay-slate 'are the prevalent rocks. Towards the sea slate-quarries are common. Limestone boulders are discovered along the E. shore of the Bay of Belfast. Marl is raised in Down- patrick. Copper ore has been found in several parts ; and lead at Bangor and near Dundrnm. In the N.E. of the county coal has been observed. Chalybeate spas occur at Newry, Dromore, and at various places in the Ards. Of the Pagan antiquities of Down the most remarkable is a stone cromlech, enclosed in a circular ditch, called the Giant's Ring, half-way between Lisburn and Belfast. On the summit of Slieve Croob is an extraordinary cairn, or sepulchral pile of stones, 80 yards round at the base and 50 on the top. Along the Armagh boundary of Down there extends a great earthen rampart, called the Danes' Cast. Its origin is quite un- nown. Of the Anglo-Norman military antiquities of the 30unty, Dundrum Castle is the most important ; it is situ- ited on a rock over the bay, and consists of a circular keep, with numerous outworks. It is said to have been built jy De Courcy for the Knights Templars, who occupied it ill their suppression in 1313. Green Castle is also a >lace of great note in the early history of Ulster. There arc numerous remains at Ardglass. The ruins of the brtifications erected by General Monk for the defence f Scarvagh, Poynty, and Tuscan passes, into .Armagh, till exist. The principal ecclesiastical remains are at >ownpatrick, but others are still extant at Grayabbey, Hoville, Newry, and Castlebuoy. Down is the see of one }f the chief bishoprics of Ireland, and was founded as 'arly as the 5th century by St. Patrick. In 1442 the union >f Down with the see of Connor took place, and it was till further augmented by the diocese of Dromore in the eign of William IV. The principal seats of the nobility