| CHARLEMONT, an incorporated market-town and district parish (formerly a parliamentary borough), in the barony and county of ARMAGH, and province of ULSTER, 5 miles (N. by W.) from Armagh, and 68 miles (N. by W.) from Dublin ; containing 3642 inhabitants, of which number, 523 are in the town. This place derives its name from Charles, Lord Mountjoy, who, while Lord-Deputy of Ireland in 1602, erected a castle here, and called it Charlemont, partly after his name, and partly after his title. It was built to prevent the incursions of the O'Nials into the English pale, and to guard the wooden bridge which then afforded the only passage over the Blackwater. In 1641 it was deemed a place of considerable importance, and was taken by stratagem by Sir Phelim O'Nial, on the 22nd of October. Lord Caulfeild, a brave officer, grown old in the royal service, had been made governor, and lived with his Irish neighbours in unsuspecting confidence, when Sir Phelim invited himself to sup with his lordship, and he and his followers being received, on a pre-arranged signal seized the family, made the garrison prisoners, ransacked the castle, and afterwards killed Lord Caulfeild in one of O'Nial's houses. That chieftain subsequently retiring before the English forces, made this castle his headquarters for a short time. Owen O'Nial, expecting to be besieged here, strengthened the defences ; and when the Scottish General Monroe attempted to surprise it, he was repulsed with loss, but the castle was at length captured by Sir Charles Coote. In 1665 it was sold to Chins. II. for £3500, since which time it has been vested in the Crown. It was garrisoned by the Irish for Jas. II., in 1690, under Sir Teague O'Regan, and invested by Duke Schomberg. Caillemote, a French officer, being posted on the Blackwater, and harassing the garrison, after some time the governor was summoned to surrender. O'Regan, a courageous Irish officer, deter-mined to hold out to the last extremity, but the distresses of the garrison becoming intolerable, the governor proposed terms of capitulation on the 13th of May, and on the 14th the garrison marched out with the honours of war, to the number of 800 men. On taking possession of the castle, the duke found in it 17 pieces of cannon, one large mortar, 83 barrels of gunpowder, amid various munitions of war. The town is situated near the confluence of the rivers Blackwater and Callen, and on the road from Armagh to Dungannon and Coleraine. In 1833 it contained ill houses, and is connected with the post-town of Moy by a recently erected stone bridge. Charlemont castle is still a place of great strength, fortified with bastions, a dry ditch, and escarp and counterscarp ; and there are two ravelins, one in front, the other in rear of the works, surrounded by a glacis which runs along the side of the Blackwater. It is the ordnance depot for the North of Ireland, and the headquarters of the artillery for the district of Ulster. Formerly it had a military governor, but on the death of Gen. Sir John Doyle, Bart., in 1835, the office was abolished, as being a sinecure. The barracks, which are occupied by two companies of the Royal Artillery, are constructed to accommodate 5 officers, 151 non-commissioned officers and privates, and 79 horses, with an hospital attached for 22 patients. The town is well situated for trade, the river Blackwater being navigable for vessels of 90 tons' burden to Lough Neagh ; it is connected with Belfast by the Lagan canal, and with Newry by the canal of that name, and the great Ulster canal now in progress to Lough Erne will open a communication with the West of Ireland. The linen manufacture is carried on to a considerable extent. There is a good market held on Saturday ; and fairs are held on the 12th of May, Aug. 16th, and Nov. 12th, for cattle, linen yarn, and provisions. The charter granted to the corporation a market on Tuesday and a fair on the 1st and 2nd of May, with the tolls ; and a subsequent patent to Sir Toby Caulfeild, dated March 1st, 1622, granted to him a market on Wednesday and a fair on the 5th and 6th of August, with the tolls ; but these charter and patent fairs and markets have long been discontinued. The borough, which comprises the townland of Charlemont, containing above 200 acres, and the liberties, containing 20 acres, was incorporated by charter of Jas. I., dated April 29th, 1613. The corporation consists of a portreeve, 12 burgesses, and an unlimited number of freemen. The portreeve was to be elected annually, on St. John's day, by the portreeve and free burgesses, the latter of whom were to be elected for life out of the inhabitants ; and the freemen were to con sist of all the inhabitants, and as many other persons as the corporation might elect. The charter also conferred on the portreeve and free burgesses the right of returning two members to parliament, which was exercised until the Union, when Francis William, Earl of Charlemont received £15,000, as patron of the borough, for the abolition of its franchise. Since the Union, the regularly elected burgesses have not acted ; but Mr. Livingstone, the last portreeve, some time before his death, summoned in his official capacity a " corporation jury," similar to that which existed in Armagh ; and in the year 1821 the surviving members of that jury elected a portreeve From that time meetings have been held annually, at which a portreeve, town-clerk, and other officers have been elected, and burgesses and freemen admitted ; and since 1827, the lord-lieutenant has ratified the portreeve's election. The borough court, granted by the charter to be held weekly, under the presidency of the portreeve, with jurisdiction in personal actions not exceeding five marks, having fallen into disuse, has been renewed by the new corporation. Courts leet and baron for the manor of Charlemont are held by the seneschal in the town of Moy, in May and November, and their jurisdiction extends over a wide district. The agriculture of the surrounding district is in a progressive state of improvement : there is some good peat bog, and coal also is said to exist, The principal seats in the vicinity are Church Hill, the residence of Col. Verner ; the Argory, of W. McGeough Bond, Esq. ; and Clonfeacle glebe-house and demesne, occupied by the Rev. H. Griffin, all of which can be seen from the town. The living, which was created in 1830, is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Armagh, and in the patronage of the Rector of Loughgall. The new parish or district comprises the townlands of Charlemont, Corr, and Donavally, with Anagh McManus, Keenahan, Ahinlig, Lishloshly, Kinnego, Mullaghmore, Termacrannon, Anasannery, and Clenmaine, The church is a handsome structure, resembling in front one of the grand altars of York Minster ; it was built and consecrated in 1833, by His Grace the Lord-Primate, and contains a handsome monument to the hate Mrs. Jackson. Divine service is performed in two school-houses in the district, and on every alternate Sunday in the barrack for the military, by the perpetual curate. There is neither glebe-house nor glebe ; the income of the perpetual curate is an annual money payment from the rector of Loughgall. The Wesleyan Methodists have a chapel in the town. The male and female parochial school was built in 1821, near the churcht by the Board of Ordnance and the inhabitants ; it is supported by subscription. Summer Island male and female school, with a residence for the master, has an endowment of £7. 10. from Col.Verner. Clenmaine school is supported by subscriptions ; and Kinnego school, built and supported byW. Parnell, Esq., is situated on the College lands. About 100 boys amid 90 girls are educated in these schools, besides which there are a barrack and a hedge school, in which are about 80 boys and 40 girls, and three Sunday schools. There are some remains of the fortifications at Legerhill, from which Duke Schomberg bombarded the town, arid of a Danish rath. A curious gold ring, and a gold cross, studded with gems, and said to have belonged to Sir Teague O'Regan, have been discovered here ; also, a few years since, a body almost in a complete state of preservation, with the clothes and spurs perfect. In the museum of Messrs. W. & J. Jackson there is a rare collection of minerals, petrifactions, coins, and other relics found in and near the town. Charlemont gives the title of Earl to the family of Caulfeild. |
| LOUGHGALL, or LEVALLEY-EGLISH, a post-town and parish, partly in the barony of ARMAGH, but chiefly in that of O'NEILLAND WEST, county of ARMAGH, and province of ULSTER, 4 miles (N. E.) from Armagh, and 70 (N.) from Dublin, on the great north road from Denny through Dungannon to Armagh ; containing 5934 inhabitants, of which number, 325 are in the town. The parish, which is bounded on the north by the river Blackwater, comprises, according to the Ordnance survey (including the district parish of Charlemont), 10,924- statute acres, of which 2449- are in the barony of Armagh, and the remainder in O'Neilland West ; 59- acres are water, and of the land about two-thirds are exceedingly rich and fertile, and the remainder of inferior quality. The system of agriculture is highly improved under the auspices of the resident gentry, and excellent crops are raised ; there is some valuable bog, but no waste land. Limestone abounds and is extensively quarried for agricultural purposes and for repairing the roads. The weaving of linen cloth is still carried on here to a considerable extent, affording employment to more than 600 persons who are engaged by the manufacturers and bleachers of Banbridge. The principal seats are Drumilly, the residence of Mrs. Cope, an ancient mansion with two lofty square towers projecting from the front, and overlooking the village ; Hockley Lodge, of the Hon. H. Caulfield ; Andress, of G. Ensor, Esq. ; Green Hall, of Mrs. Atkinson ; Summer Island, of Col. Verner ; Eden Cottage, of W. P. Newton, Esq. ; Cloven Eden, of W. B. Picknoll, Esq. ; Loughgall House, of J. Hardy, Esq. ; and the glebe-house, of the Rev. Silver Oliver. The fine mansion and demesne of Castle Dillon, the seat of Sir Thos. Molyneux, which is described particularly in the account of Richhill, are partly in this parish and partly in that of Armagh. The village, though small, is beautifully situated in a fertile valley in the midst of a richly cultivated and picturesque country ; and consists of 60 houses, of which the greaten number are large, well-built, and of handsome appearance. There is a large and handsome market-house, but the market, and also four fairs which were formerly held, have been discontinued. A constabulary police force is stationed here ; and a manorial court is held monthly before the seneschal for the recovery of debts not exceeding 40s. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Armagh, constituting the corps of the prebend of Loughgall in the cathedral of Armagh, and in the patronage of the Lord-Primate : the tithes amount to £512. 10. The glebe-house is a handsome residence, on which, in 1782, £220. 17. 6. was expended in improvements ; the glebe comprises 139- statute acres, valued at £179 per annum, which, together with houses and gardens in the village, valued at £48. 5., makes the whole value of the prebend £739. 15. per annum. The church, a neat edifice in the early English style, with a square tower, was built in 1795 by subscription and assessments ; a gallery was added to it in 1822, at an expense of £110. 15. 4-., and it has been recently repaired by a grant of £110 from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners : the building is of hewn marble, and the interior is elegantly arranged, and contains a handsome cenotaph to the late Bishop Cope, who was for some time curate of the parish. There is a district church at Charlemont, of which the living is a perpetual curacy. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also that of Tartaragan, in each of which is a chapel. There is a place of worship for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster, of the third class, and at Ballymagerney is a place of worship for Methodists. About 580 children are taught in six public schools, of which one, endowed with a school-house and two acres of land by Col. Cope, is supported by the trustees of Erasmus Smith's charity ; three are supported by Mr. Cope, and one by donations from the incumbent and Sir T. Molyneux, Bart. There are also five private schools, in which are about 200 children, and seven Sunday schools. Nearly in the centre of the village are the ruins of the ancient church, of which the western gable and turret are nearly entire. |
