Lewis Topographical Dictionary - OSi Online Shop

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statute acres, valued at £40 per ann.; and the glebe-
house, a good residence, situated in the town, and
built at an expense of £700, of which £415 was a
gift and £46 a loan from the late Board of First Fruits.
The church, a handsome cruciform edifice, was built
in 1817, at an expense of £5446, of which £831
was a gift and £3692 a loan from the same Board;
the remainder, £923, was a donation from the late
Marquess of Londonderry. In the R. C. divisions the
parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also
the parishes of Dundonald, Bangor, and Donaghadee;
the chapel is a small plain building. There is a place of
worship for a Presbyterian congregation in connection,
with the Presbytery of Antrim, and two for those in con-
nection with the Synod of Ulster, one of which, recently
erected in Regent-street, has a handsome hewn stone
front of the Doric order; there is also a place of worship
for Seceders, another for Covenanters, and two for Me-
thodists. About 620 children are taught in the public
schools of the parish, for one of which, on Erasmus
Smith’s foundation, a spacious house, with residences for
a master and mistress, was built at an expense of £1000,
defrayed jointly by the Marquess of Londonderry and
the trustees of that charity; and for another a house was
lately erected by Francis Turnley, Esq., under the will of
his late father, with a house each for a master and mis-
tress, and endowed with £3 per ann. to be distributed in
prizes to the children. There are also ten private
schools, in which are about 450 children, and four
Sunday schools. A house of industry, which has com-
pletely suppressed mendicity in this parish, is supported
by general subscription, aided by an annual donation of
£25 from the Marquess of Londonderry, who also gave
the house and premises rent-free. In the bog at Lough -
riescouse was found, in 1824, at a depth of 23 feet
below the surface, the body of a highlander in a good
state of preservation; parts of his dress were perfect,
but the body crumbled into dust on exposure to the air.
The head and horns of a moose deer were, in 1832, dug
up on the townland of Ballymagreechan, and are now
deposited in the museum at Glasgow. The cemetery of
the abbey of Moville is now used for a parochial burial-
ground; and near the old church, now the court-house,
are the ruins of a private chapel, built by Sir Robt.
Colville. In that church were interred the remains of
the Earls and others of the family of Mount-Alexander,
of several of the Colville family, of the first Marquess
of Londonderry, and of his father.
NEWTOWN-BARRY, or ST. MARY’S, a market
and post-town, and a parish, in the barony of SCARA-
WALSH, county of WEXFORD., and province of LEINSTER,
22 miles (N. W.) from Wexford, and 50 (S.) from Dublin;
containing 3592 inhabitants, of which number, 1430 are
in the town. This town owes its origin and name to its
founder, James Barry, Esq., who was sheriff of Dub-
lin in 1577, and progenitor of the Barons of Santry;
it came into the possession of John Maxwell, Esq.,
afterwards created Lord Farnham, by marriage, in
1719, with the daughter and heiress of James Barry,
Esq., and is now the property of the present lord.
In the disturbances of 1798 this place was attacked, on
the 1st of June, by the insurgents, who obtained
possession of it for a short time, but were soon driven
out by the troops of the line and yeomanry. The
town, formerly called Buncloady, from its situation at
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the confluence of the rivers Clody and Slaney, is situ-
ated on the confines of the counties of Carlow and
Wexford, which are here bounded by those rivers.
It was originally built in the form of an irregular
square, but has since been extended in various direc-
tions, and in 1831 contained 250 houses, most of
which are well built, and the whole has a cheerful
and thriving appearance. The western suburb extends
into the parish of Barragh, in the county of Carlow,
with which it is connected by a bridge over the river
Clody; and the town occupies a sequestered and beau-
tifully romantic site on the banks of the Slaney, over
which is a stone bridge of seven arches, and at the base
of a chain of mountains stretching along the borders of
Carlow and Wexford. The environs are embellished
with several elegant seats embosomed in thriving plan-
tations, which acquire, from their proximity to the water,
a freshness of verdure finely contrasting with the dark
foliage of the surrounding woods. Adjoining the town,
though in the parish of Kilrush, are barracks for the
military, of whom a detachment is generally stationed
here. The market, chiefly for provisions, is on Satur-
day, and is one of the best-attended in the south of
Ireland, there being no other within ten miles of it; and
fairs, chiefly for cattle, are held on Jan. 4th, April 29th,
and the 17th and 18th of June, and for coarse linen
and flannel on Aug. 20th, Sep. 14th, and the 4th and
30th of Nov. A constabulary police force and a de-
tachment of the revenue police are stationed here; and
petty sessions, which, previously to 1831, were held
weekly, are now held on alternate Saturdays.
The parish comprises about 8680 statute acres of
good land, chiefly under tillage; the system of agricul-
ture is improved, and green crops for winter feeding
have been partially introduced; the only waste land is
mountain on which is a bog that supplies the inhabitants
with fuel. On the banks of the Slaney is found pebble
limestone, which is burnt for manure by the proprietors
of the adjacent lands; and a marl pit has been recently
discovered on the estate of Rylands, which is the only
one in the neighbourhood. Limestone and culm for the
whole of this district are brought, at a very great ex-
pense, from the county of Carlow, between which and
Enniscorthy a communication might easily be made by a
railroad along the bank of the river Slaney, which from
Enniscorthy to this place preserves a continued level,
eminently adapted to the purpose. The expense would
be very inconsiderable, when compared with the advan-
tages resulting from it to so wide a district, and might
be defrayed by the freight of limestone and culm alone,
independently of the remuneration that might arise from
the facility of conveyance it would afford for the pro-
duce of the extensive quarries in the neighbourhood.
Slate of excellent quality, building stone and granite
abound in the immediate vicinity: the principal slate
quarries are at Drumcree and Glaslacken, the former
the property of Lord Farnham, now under lease to
Capt. Browne, and the latter the property of A. Col-
clough, Esq.; these quarries formerly were very ex-
tensively worked, and the slate in great estimation;
but since the introduction of Welsh slate, the demand
has considerably diminished. The granite is found
in loose masses on the declivities of both banks of the
river Clody, and some of the best quality is found in
the deer-park of Carrigduff, adjoining the Woodfield