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a castle which was erected here by Thomas Mac Uchtry
and the Gaels of Ulster. The county of Coleraine is de-
scribed as having extended from the river Bann, on the
east, to Lough Foyle on the west, and as having formed
part of the possessions of O’Cahan, from whose partici-
pation in the rebellion of the Earl of Tyrone, in the
reign of Elizabeth, it became, with the whole province
of Ulster, forfeited to the crown. Jas. I., in 1613,
granted this district to a number of London merchants,
who were in that year incorporated by charter, under
the designation of the “Governor and Assistants of the
New Plantation in Ulster,” and from that period the
name of the county was changed into Londonderry.
The Governor and Assistants, generally called the Irish
Society, were by their charter bound to build the town
of Coleraine, to people it, to enclose it with a wall, and
to establish a market, within seven years from the date
of their charter, by which were granted to them the en-
tire abbey of St. Mary, its site, and the lands belonging
to it, together with the old town, now Killowen, and all
its appurtenances. But this condition appears to have
been very much neglected, for Pynnar, in his first sur-
vey, in 1619, says, “that part of the town which is un-
built is so dirty that no man is able to go into it, espe-
cially what is called, and should be, the market-place.”
The same writer, in his second survey, dated 1625,
says,—“The town of Coleraine is in the same state as
at the last survey; only three houses are added, which
are built by private individuals, the society allowing
them £20 a piece. The walls and ramparts are built of
sods; they do begin to decay, on account of their nar-
rowness; the bulwarks are exceedingly little, and the
town is so poorly inhabited that there are not men
enough to man the sixth part of the wall.” So unpro-
mising was the condition of this settlement that, in ad-
dition to the sum of £20, large portions of land were
allotted for each tenement, and long leases at nominal
rents were offered to all who would undertake to build
houses.
A conspiracy of the natives having been formed to
seize the place, in 1615, military stores were sent hither
from London; and by a vote of the common council, a
citadel was built for its defence in the following year;
it was a strong fortress, commanding the ferry, and was
kept in repair and well garrisoned by the Irish Society,
till the erection of the bridge in 1716. The bridge,
which was wholly of wood, was so much injured by
floods that it fell in 1739; and in 1743 a new bridge
was built, with pillars and buttresses of stone, towards
the erection of which the Irish Society gave the timber
and £2050 in money; in 1806 it was widened, at the
expense of the county, by transverse beams supporting
a foot-path, of four feet on each side. The growth of
the place was exceedingly slow, and so little had its
trade advanced that, in 1633, the customs of the port,
for the half year ending on Lady-day in that year,
amounted only to £18. 9. 81/2. On the breaking out of
the war in 1641, the town was attacked by a body of
1000 insurgents, but was vigorously defended by the
garrison and inhabitants, amounting to 200, who de-
feated the assailants. It was taken by Gen. Monk for
the parliament, in 1648, but was afterwards given up to
Sir C. Coote. On the advance of the forces of Jas. II.
into the north, in order to repress the Protestant party,
Mount-Alexander, Rawdon, and other leaders, stationed
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COL
themselves with a force of about 4000 men at Coleraine,
which they fortified and kept possession of with a view
to prevent the Irish from passing the Bann. They were
here joined by Lord Blaney with his party from
Armagh; and though for a time they repulsed the
enemy, yet the Irish, after a successful skirmish, passed
the river in boats, and the party stationed here finding
the place no longer tenable, fled by various routes to
Derry, in order to take possession of it, before the Irish
should cut them off from their last place of refuge.
The subsequent history of the town consists of little
more than a succession of disputes in the corporation,
and between that body and the Irish Society, relative
to their respective rights, privileges, and possessions: the
Society enclosed the quay and made the port duty free,
in 1741.
The town, which is the second in the county in im-
portance, and is rapidly increasing, is situated on the
east bank of the river Bann, about three miles from its
influx into the sea, and is connected by a handsome
bridge with the village of Killowen, or Waterside, a con-
siderable suburb on the opposite bank of the river. It
is large and handsomely built, consisting of five princi-
pal streets, a spacious square called the Diamond, and
several smaller streets; the houses in the Diamond,
New-row, Church-street, and Bridge-street, are large and
well-built, especially those of later erection; in the Dia-
mond and in Church-street are some ancient houses of
timber cage-work, said to have been framed in London
and sent over by the Irish Society to be erected here.
A Board of Commissioners has been appointed under the
act of the 9th of Geo. IV., for lighting and cleansing
the town, which is paved at the expense of the county;
and the inhabitants are supplied with excellent water
from numerous springs at the outlets of the town and
from pumps. It is a very great thoroughfare, and is
the principal passage over the river Bann, connecting
the counties of Antrim and Derry, and opening a com-
munication with all the ports on the north and north-
western coasts. The neighbourhood is remarkable for
the pleasing diversity of its scenery, enlivened by the fine
stream of the Bann, and embellished with the grounds
of some handsome seats. On the west side of the river,
immediately below Killowen, is Jackson Hall, the re-
sidence of Mrs. Maxwell, an elegant mansion situated
in extensive grounds tastefully laid out; and there are
various others, among which are Down Hill, built by
the Earl of Bristol, when Bishop of Derry, and now the
property and residence of Sir James R. Bruce, Bart.;
Somerset, the residence of the Rev. Thomas Richard-
son; Knockintern, of Hugh Lyle, Esq.; Ballysally, of
W. Gait, Esq.; Castleroe, of Lieut.-Col. Cairnes; Mill-
barn House, of Stewart C. Bruce, Esq.; Cromore, of
J. M. Cromore, Esq.; and Ballyness, of Capt. Hannay.
The air is extremely salubrious, and during the preva-
lence of typhus fever in 1817, and of the cholera in
1832, the number of deaths in proportion to the popu-
lation was very small. The town is abundantly supplied
with all the necessaries and luxuries of life at a moder-
ate charge, which renders it desirable as a place of re-
sidence for persons of limited income. There is a public
library, supported by annual subscriptions of a guinea;
also a subscription news-room, and an amateur concert,
which is held weekly.
This place has long been celebrated for its trade in
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