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that the Earl of Clancarty was advancing with six
companies of foot of the army of Jas. II., to reinforce
the two companies of foot and the troop of horse
already stationed here, the inhabitants disarmed the
garrison, killed several of the soldiers, took possession
of their arms and horses, and shut the gates against
the Earl. At length, however, they were obliged to
yield for want of provisions, but refused to give up
any of their leaders, and consented to pay £1000 as
the price of their pardon; on their submission the
walls were razed to the ground and have never been
rebuilt.
The town is situated on the river Bandon, and on
the mail coach road from Cork to Bantry; the princi-
pal part, lies in a valley environed with lofty hills and
watered by the river, which separates the parishes of
Ballymodan and Kilbrogan, the former on the south
and the latter on the north bank, and near the bridge
receives a tributary stream called the Bridewell. Under
the various names of Boyle-street, Shannon-street, and
Main-street it extends on the south side for about 1½|
mile parallel with the river, and on the north for about
half that distance; it is also built partly on the acclivi-
ties of the hills on both sides of the river, which are
agreeably wooded and are ornamented with several
mansions, villas, and cottages, that give to the environs
a pleasing and picturesque appearance. The old town
is built on the estate of the Duke of Devonshire, who
repairs its streets and is reimbursed by a poundage of
five per cent, on the rent reserved in all leases of houses
in this part; what is called the Irish town, including
Boyle, Shannon, and Main streets, with an estate ad-
joining, belongs to the Earl of Shannon; and the
western portion is the property of the Earls of Cork
and Bandon. The total number of houses, in 1831,
was 1580, of which about 1170 were slated and the
remainder thatched: many respectable private houses
have been built in the more elevated parts of the town,
chiefly of a durable freestone of a light brown colour
found in the neighbourhood. The streets are very in-
differently paved and only partially flagged: the inhabit-
ants are supplied with water principally from wells and
public pumps, the latter erected and kept in repair by
the Duke of Devonshire and the Earl of Shannon on
their respective estates; and in 1835 a company was
formed for lighting the town with gas, which, under the
provisions of the general paving act, has likewise power
to watch and cleanse the town, and for these purposes
has appointed watchmen and scavengers and commenced
the erection of gas-works. A public library was esta-
blished in 1825 by a proprietary of £5 shareholders,
who pay a subscription of 10s. annually, and annual
subscribers of £1 are admitted by ballot: it contains
several hundred volumes, including a copy of Rees’s
Encyclopaedia presented by the Duke of Devonshire,
and one of Ryrner’s Foedera presented by the Govern-
ment in 1835. The parochial library, under the man-
agement of the Protestant clergy, was established in
1823, and contains several hundred volumes on divinity
and other subjects; and a similar library was formed
by the Wesleyan Methodists in 1830. There are also
two reading-rooms supported by annual subscribers;
and a third has been recently opened for poor Protes-
tants, who pay a penny per month and are supplied with
newspapers a day or two after their arrival by gift or
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loan from the neighbouring gentry. Assemblies are
held at the Devonshire Arms hotel, a large and well-
conducted inn and posting-house, containing a spacious
ball-room, in which also concerts and music meetings
occasionally take place. The barracks, a neat and com-
modious building on the north side of the town, afford
accommodation for 8 officers and 119 non-commissioned
officers and men, with stabling for 61 horses, and are
under the inspection of the barrack-master at Kinsale.
Near the town is Castle Bernard, the seat of the Earl
of Bandon, also many other gentlemen’s seats, which
are noticed in their respective parishes. These, with
their extensive woods and plantations, particularly the
hanging woods to the east of the town and extending
two miles beyond Innishannon (noticed by Spenser),
impart to the scenery of the neighbourhood a high
degree of richness and luxuriance of character.
The manufacture of camlets, stuffs, and other wool-
len goods prevailed here to a great extent at the close
of the last and beginning of the present centuries, and
was succeeded by the spinning and weaving of cotton,
which continued to flourish till 1825; spinning-mills
were erected on a large scale, and more than 1000 per-
sons were employed in weaving, but both branches have
fallen off, insomuch that the mills are in ruins and not
more than 100 weavers are employed. A manufacture
of fine stuffs was introduced in 1835 by Mr. Scott, who
has erected a steam-engine for preparing the wool and
spinning the yarn: this establishment affords employ-
ment to nearly 100 persons, exclusively of 100 weavers
in the town and neighbourhood, and its produce has
already obtained considerable celebrity for its superior
texture. Here are five ale and porter breweries, three
of which are extensive and produce 25,000 barrels annu-
ally: also two very large distilleries, one of which, the
property of Messrs. Allman and Co., is capable of pro-
ducing 200,000 gallons of whiskey annually; the other
was built by Maurice Fitzgerald, Esq., in 1835, and
consumes annually 1400 barrels of malt and 5800
barrels of oats and barley, yielding 60,000 gallons of
whiskey. Connected with the latter is a large flour-mill,
and there is also another on an extensive scale. This
place has long been noted for the tanning of leather,
which is in great demand: there are nine tanyards in
active operation, employing more than 100 men. From
the great consumption of the breweries, distilleries, and
mills, very little grain is exported: the imports are coal,
culm, timber (in which a considerable trade is carried
on direct with St. John’s, New Brunswick, and Quebec),
and iron, which are brought in sloops to Colliers’ Quay,
three miles from the town, and thence by land carriage;
articles of domestic consumption are brought by land
carriage principally from Cork. A canal from Colliers’
Quay to Dunrnanway has been at different times con-
templated, and surveys have been made, but the design
has not yet been carried into effect; and a railway has
been lately projected from Rockpoint, four miles to the
east, which, if brought through the town, would be of
great benefit to its trade. Branches of the Provincial
Bank of Ireland and of the Agricultural and Commer-
cial Banking Company have been established here.
The markets are on Wednesday and Saturday, of which
the latter is the principal, and is abundantly supplied
with provisions of all kinds; and fairs are held on May
6th, Holy Thursday, Oct. 29th, and Nov. 8th, for live
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