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From Irish: Caisleán Uidhilín meaning "Uidhilín's
castle"
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Read about
Castlewellan
from Samuel Lewis' Topographical Directory of Ireland 1837.
Castlewellan from the Ulster
Towns Directory 1910.
The annual Castlewellan
show attracts a large following.
The town of Castlewellan is
situated about five miles north of Newcastle, sitting on top of
a hill at the foot of Slievenaslat mountain, it enjoys commanding
views of the nearby Mourne
Mountains. The wide main street and market square are typical
of late plantation town planning. The town probably dates from the
early 1700's when Ansley from Yorkshire purchased a tract of land
from the Maginnis clan. |
The
linen industry brought
much prosperity and employment to the town, when a factory was built by
the Larmour family just east of the town on what came to be called Mill
Hill, the mill derived a large amount of its power from a water turbine,
it later years this was augmented by steam power.
When the linen industry began to decline
Sir Grahame Larmour turned part of the factory over to pig fattening,
bringing large quantities of swill (Food scraps) from Belfast by train
to nearby Castlewellan station, which was located on a spur line
connecting Newcastle to Banbridge,
the line was opened in 1906.
See railways in County
Down.
The Larmour's former family home half
way up Ardnabannon hill is now an outdoor activities centre.
The town stands on the southern edge
of Castlewellan Forest Park, this extends to an area of 460 hectares the
main feature of the park is its lake which is about one mile long and
is stocked with trout, it is possible walk around the lake via a well
kept path, the total length of which is probably about three miles. The
park has a varied selection of mature broad leaf and coniferous trees.
The national Arboretum covering
an area of forty hectares contains many species of trees from around the
world and is regarded as one of he finest collections in Ireland. Overlooking
the eastern end of the lake is Castlewellan Castle built in the Scottish
Baronial style in 1846 from granite quarried from nearby Ballymagreehan
quarry, which incidentally supplied the stone for the statue of
St Patrick outside Downpatrick.
The Grange yard dating from the 1720
consists of three courtyards built in the Queen Anne style, these buildings
were the former farm yard and home of the Annsley' s, until
they built the castle in 1846. It contains the Grange Coffee shop and
display centre.
The latest addition to the park is
the Peace Maze, this project was funded by a grant from the Peace and
Reconciliation Committee, it is reputed to be the largest hedge maze in
the world covering an area of one hectare, the total length of paths in
the maze amount to three and a half kilometers. If you manage to find
your way to the centre you will be rewarded by a spectacular view.
Other facilitates available are a
caravan and camping site and also horse riding trails.
See also The
Annesley Estate
Castlewellan was connected to the
railway systen in 1906, read about Castlewellan
station.
Castlewellan
Links.
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Lots of information and images
of the town. The site is in the form of a book written by local
man Patsy Mullen who carried on a business in the town for many
years.
If you want to know anything about Castlewellan
past or present visit Patsy's site. |
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Would you like to learn about Midi Music then
visit Frank Lennon's excellent site where you can also download dozens
of his arrangements |
Castlewellan Forest Park
Castlewellan
Co Down
BT
Tel +44 (0)28 4377 8664
E Mail
Web Site
From the South replace 028 with 048 |
Tourist
Information
For more information about Castlewellan
Castle visit The Forestry Service web
site. |
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