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ROS
staffs, flannels, and a little linen, with coarse brown
pottery made in the neighbourhood, for which the clay
is brought in carts from the borders of the river Shan-
non. Fairs are held on Whit-Monday and Dec. 5th,
and are well attended. A chief constabulary police
force is stationed in the town. The market-house,
originally the old gaol, was afterwards used as a lunatic
asylum, and since the removal of the patients to the
district asylum, has been appropriated to its present
use.
The town, received a charter of incorporation in the
reign of Edw. I., and in 1310 the burgesses peti-
tioned for a confirmation of it from Edw. II., who
issued to the Lord Chief Justice, Chancellor, and
Treasurer of Ireland his writ of inquiry for that pur-
pose, but neither the return nor any subsequent pro-
ceedings to this writ are recorded. Jas. I., in the 10th
of his reign, granted the inhabitants a charter of incor-
poration, under the designation of the “Provost, Free
Burgesses, and Commonalty of the Borough of Roscom-
raon,” with power to hold a court of record with juris-
diction to the amount of five marks, and to return two
members to the Irish parliament. A new charter was
subsequently granted by Jas. II., which increased the
number of free burgesses from twelve to eighteen, and
extended the jurisdiction of the court from five marks
to £5, which latter alteration alone was adopted by the
corporation. Under the charter of Jas. I., by which
the town was governed, the corporation consisted of a
provost, twelve free burgesses, and an indefinite number
of freemen. The provost was annually chosen from
the free burgesses by a majority of that body, by
whom also vacancies in their number were filled up
as they occurred, and the freemen were admitted
solely by favour. The corporation continued to
return two members to the Irish parliament till the
Union, when the borough was disfranchised. Since
that period it has become virtually extinct, and the
only local court now held is that of the manor of Ros-
common, held before the seneschal, at which debts
not exceeding £10 are recoverable. The assizes for the
county are held here, and the general sessions for the
division of Athlone twice in the year; petty sessions
are also held in the town every Monday. The new
court-house, situated on a levelled space on the western
brow of the hill, is a handsome and spacious structure
with a Doric portico in front; and contains, besides
two well arranged court-rooms for criminal and civil
business, a superb room for the Grand Jury, an apart-
ment for the use of the judges, a room for the barristers,
refreshment rooms, and accommodations for persons
having business at the assizes or sessions, with com-
plete ranges of requisite offices. Near it is the new
gaol for the county, built upon the radiating principle
and of a polygonal form, containing eight wards, with
airing-yards and work-rooms, and 91 sleeping cells, an
hospital, a chapel, school, and tread-wheel.
The parish comprises 7289 statute acres, of which
6345 are applotted under the tithe act. The land is of
good quality and generally in a state of profitable culti-
vation, and the neighbourhood is rich in agricultural
produce. The principal seats are Carrowroe, the resi-
dence of R. Goff, Esq., a substantial and handsome
mansion of limestone, with a Doric portico in front,
situated in a highly improved and richly wooded demesne,
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ROS
commanding fine views of the surrounding country;
and Hazelbrook of R. Blakeney, Esq., pleasingly situ-
ated; and within two or three miles of the town is
Moate Park, the seat of Lord Crofton, a handsome and
spacious modern mansion, situated in an ample demesne
richly wooded. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese
of Elphin, episcopally united, in 1805, to the vicarages
of Kilbride and Kilteevan, and in the patronage of the
Bishop; the rectory is impropriate in the Earl of Essex.
The tithes amount to £147. 13. 10., of which £73. 16. 11.
is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the
vicar; the gross income of the benefice, including a
bequest by the late Lord Ranelagh of £18. 9. per ann.,
amounts to £292. 14. 11. The church is a neat edifice
with a square tower, in which are a doorway and window
of elegant design. In the R. C. divisions the parish is
the head of a union or district, comprising also the
parish of Kilteevan, in each of which is a chapel. The
chapel in this parish being too small for the congregation,
the old court-house was purchased from the Grand
Jury by the Rev. John Madden, P.P., and converted
into a chapel with galleries; there is a painting of the
Crucifixion over the altar, and others on the walls;
the building cost £2000; the former chapel is now
used as a school. About 360 children are taught in
six public schools, of which one is supported by a be-
quest of £52 per annum by the late Lord Ranelagh;
and there are 12 private schools, in which are about
540 children. The county infirmary is a plain sub-
stantial building, consisting of a centre and two wings,
erected, as appears from a tablet over the entrance, at
the sole expense of Mrs. Walcott, sister of the late
Lord Chief Justice Caulfeild, in 1783: it contains 50
beds, with a small detached fever hospital, and a dispen-
sary for the relief of extern patients, of whom nearly
16,000 annually receive medical assistance; the number
of patients received into the infirmary is more than 300
annually, and the annual expenses of the institution are
about £1000; the income arises from an annuity of
£92. 6. 2. bequeathed by Mrs. Walcott, donations and
subscriptions, parliamentary grants, and presentments.
An equitable loan society was established in 1830, with
a capital of £150; it has now a capital of £4000, cir-
culating in small loans, raised chiefly by the exertions of
Mr. Carson, who has built several neat cottages, to be
occupied by the poor rent-free, and two for poor widows,
who are supported by him and the Protestant curate.
There are some remains of the Dominican friary, con-
sisting of the church, 137 feet in length, and 23 in width,
with a northern transept, in which is an aisle separated
by four pointed arches, resting on massive round pillars:
over the principal entrance is a very beautiful window,
with an enriched architrave decorated with pinnacles;
the windows in the choir and other parts are lancet-
shaped and much mutilated; under an arch on the north
side of the choir is a tomb with a mutilated effigy, said
to be that of O’Conor, and on the base are four warlike
figures in high relief, representing ancient gallowglasses.
Fragments of sculptured stones are scattered over the
whole area, which, notwithstanding the shallowness of
the soil, is still used as a burial-place. The ruins of the
castle, on the north side of the town, have a grand and
imposing appearance, as seen from various points of
view; they occupy a quadrangular area, 223 feet in
length, and 173 feet in breadth; each angle is defended