Snippets

THE BATTLE OF LISNEGARVEY

"Sir Phelemy O'Neille, and Sir Conn Maginnis, their General then in Ulster, and Major-General Plunket (who has been a soldier in foreign kingdoms), having enlisted and drawn together, out of the counties of Armagh, Tyrone, Antrim and Downe, and other counties in Ulster, eight or nine thousand men, which were formed into eight regiments, and a troop of horse, with two field-pieces"

They did rendezvous on the 27th of November, at and about a house belonging to Sir John Rawdon, at Brook-Hill, three miles distant from Lisnegarvey, in which they knew there was a garrison of five companies newly raised, and the Lord Conway's troop of horse. And their principal design being to march unto, and besiege Carrickfergus, they judged it unsafe to pass by Lisnegarvey, and therefore resolved to attack it next morning, making little account of the opposition that could be given them by so small a number, not half armed, and so slenderly provided of ammunition (which they had perfect intelligence of by several Irish, that left our party and stole away to them,) for that they were so numerous, and well provided of ammunition by the fifty barrels of powder they found in his Majesty's store in the castle of Newry, which they surprised the very first night of the rebellion; also, they Had got into their hands the arms of all the soldiers they had murdered in Ulster, and such other arms as they found in the castles and houses, which they had plundered and burned, in the whole province. Yet is so pleased God to disappoint their confidence; and the small garrison they so much slighted, was much encouraged by the seasonable arrival of Sir George Rawdon, who, being in London on the 23rd of October, hasted over by the way of Scotland, and, being landed at Bangor, and got to Lisnegarvey, though late on the 27th of November, where those new-raised men, and the Lord Conway's troop, were drawn up in the market-place, expecting hourly to be assaulted by the rebels, and thus stood in that posture all the night; and before sun-rise sent out some horse to discover their numerous enemy, who were at mass (it being Sunday); but, immediately upon sight of our scouts, they quitted their devotion, and beat drums, and marched directly to Lisnegarvey, and before ten of the clock, appeared drawn up in battalia, in the warren, not above a musket-shot from the town, and sent out two divisions, of about six or seven hundred a-piece, to compass the town, and plant their field-pieces on the high-way to to, before their body, and with them and their long fowling-pieces killed and wounded some of our men, as they stood in their ranks in, the market place; and some of our musketeers were placed in endeavouring to make the like returns of shot to the enemy. And Sir Arthur Terringham (governor of Newry), who commanded the garrison, and Sir George Rawdon, and the officers, foreseeing, if their two divisions on both sides of the town should fall in together, that they would overpower our small number. For prevention thereof, a squadron of horse, with some musketeers, was commanded to face one of them, that was marching on the north side; and to keep them at a distance as long as they could; which was so well performed, that the other division, which marched by the river on the south side, came in before the other, time enough to be well beaten back by the horse, and more than 200 slain of them in Bridge-street, and in their retreat, as they fled back to the main body.

Every corner was filled with carcases

After which expedition, the horse, returning to the market-place, found the enemy had forced in our small party on the north side, and had entered the town, and was marching down Castle-street, which our horse so well charged there, that at least 300 were slain of the rebels in the street, and in the meadows behind the houses, through which they did run away. to their main body; whereby they were so much discouraged, that, in almost two hours after, their officers could not get out any more parties to adventure a second assault upon us; but, in the main space, they entertained us with continued shot from their main body, and their field-pieces, till about one of the clock, that fresh parties were issued out, and beaten back as before, with the loss of many of their men, which they supplied with others till night; and in the dark they fired all the town, which was in a few hours turned into ashes; and in that confusion, and heat of the fire, the enemy made a fierce assault. But it so pleased God, that we were better provided for them than they expected, by the relief, that came to us at night-fall, from Belfast, of the Earl of Donegall's troop, and a company of foot, commanded by Captain Boyd, who was unhappily slain presently after his first entrance into the town. And, after the houses were on fire, about six of the clock till about ten or eleven, it is not easy to give any certain account or relation of the several encounters in divers places of the town, between small parties of our horse and those of the enemy, whom they charged as they advanced, and hewed them down, so that every corner was filled with carcases, and the slain were found to be more than thrice the number of those that fought against them, as appeared next day, when the constables and inhabitants, employed to bury them, gave up their accounts. About tenor eleven o'clock their two generals quitted their station, and marched away in the dark, and had not above 200 of their men with them, as we were informed next morning by several English prisoners that escaped from them, who told us, that the rest of their men were either run away before them, or slain; and that their field-pieces were thrown into the river, or in some moss pit, which we could never find after; and in this their retreat, or rather their flight, they fired Brookhill house, and the Lord Conway's library in it, and other goods, to the value of five or six thousand pounds, their fear and haste not at all allowing them to carry any thing away, except some- plate and some linen; and this they did in revenge to the owner, whom they heard was landed the day before, and had been active in the service against them, and was shot that day, and also had his horse shot under him, but mounted presently upon another; and Captain St. John and Captain Burley were also wounded, and about 30 men more of our party, most of whom recovered, and not above 25 or 26 more slain. And if it be well considered, how meanly our men were armed, and all our ammunition spent before night, and that if we had not been supplied with men, by the timely care and providence of the Earl of Donegall and other commanders, from his Majesty's store of Carrickfergus (who sent us powder post in mails on horseback, one after another) and that most of our new raised companies were of poor script men that had made their escape from the rebels, of whom they had such a dread, that they thought them not easily to be beaten, and that all our horse (that did the most execution) were not above 120, viz., the Lord Conway's troop, and a squadron of the Lord Grandison's troop (the rest of them having been murdered in their quarters in Tandragee) and about 40 of a country troop and company from Belfast came to us at night. It must be confessed, that the Lord of Hosts did signally appear for us, who can save with or without any means, and did by very small means give us the victory over his and our enemies, and enough of their arms to supply the defects of our new companies, and about 50 of their colours and drums.

Miraculous deliverance

But it is to be remembered with regret, that this loss and overthrow did so enrage the rebels, that for several days and weeks after they murdered many hundreds of the Protestants, whom they had kept prisoners in the counties of Armagh and Tyrone, and other parts of Ulster, and tormented them by several manners of death. And it is a circumstance very observable, that much snow had fallen in the week before this action, and on the day before, it was a little thaw, and a frost thereupon it in the night, so that the streets were covered with ice, which proved greatly to our advantage; for that all the smiths had been employed that whole night to frost our horses, so that they stood firm, while the brogues slipt and fell down to our feet. For which, and our miraculous deliverance from a cruel and bloody army, how great cause have we to rejoice, and praise the name of our God, and say with that kingly prophet, `If it had not been the Lord himself who was on our side, when men rose up against us, they had swallowed us up quick, when they were so wrothfully displeased at us. Yea, the waters of the deep had drowned us, and the stream had gone over our soul; but, praised be the Lord, who has not given us over a prey unto their teeth; our soul is escaped, even as a bird out of the snare of the fowler; the snare is broken, and we are safe. Our hope standeth in the name of , the Lord, who made heaven and earth.' Amen!"

Famous men of the 19th century

In a book "Some recollections of Hugh McCall", published for private circulation in 1899 just two years after his death, John Hancock, son of the philanthrophist, who in 1760 erected the Quaker School is recalled. An extensive linen merchant Mr. Hancock, in the famine year of 1800, when the price of wheat was 130/- the quarter and the retail price of oatmeal was 10/- the sieve of 20 lbs., imported from Philadelphia 200 tons of Indian meal-the first sample of that article ever seen in Ulster.

He also brought over 500 barrels of American flour, and both were sold at cost price to the more distressed families of Lisburn.

Among the Ulstermen who did much to build up the progress and add to the prosperity of Canada, the members of the Workman family must take a high place.

Benjamin Workman taught school in Lisburn. He sailed for Montreal in 1820 and in time became the proprietor of the Gazette, published in that city. The next eldest, Alxendar Workman, became mayor of Montreal, another brother William was a leading banker in the same city and a fourth, Thomas sat in the Dominion Parliament for many sessions.

Sir James Macauley Higginson who resided at Brookhill distinguished himself in the Army. Secretary to Lord Metcalfe, a Governor of Canada, he was afterwards appointed as Governor of the West Indian colony and later of Mauritius.

In the educational world Lisburn has had its famous men, and one of the most prominent was Mr. Benjamin Neely. Among his pupils were Thomas Spence, A. T.

Stewart, Brigadier-General Nicholson, Sergeant Armstrong, Major Crossley, Colonel Garrett, Surgeon-General James Graham and Colonel Joseph Beatty.

91 VOTERS IN 1833

A map dated 1833 shows Lisburn was then comprised of parts of Glenmore, Knockmore and Largymore, and all of Lisnagarvey, Tonagh and Old Warren. The number of voters registered that year was 91.
Population of Lisburn in 1831, exclusive of that part lying in County Down was-males 2,427, females 2,711. Houses inhabited in that year were 804, uninhabited 49 and being built 10. Families employed in agriculture 129, in trade 575, and not in these two classes 471.

Barber read papers and was town's newscaster

It is difficult to visualise what living in Lisburn would have been like over 100 years ago, but these reminiscences of Lisburn in 1853 recalled by Mrs. George Wilson (nee Geary) in 1900 vividly portray the conditions and the characters of that era.

Mrs. Wilson recalled that nearly everyone lived over their shops in those days. The street she knew best was Bridge Street, with the old worn bridge over the Lagan, and at the foot of it two great holes which a child could easily creep through.

"The green fields came close to Mercer Street with Mrs. Mussen's public house at the corner", she wrote, "the Sloan's rdw of weavers' houses adjoined and Magee's weaving factory. Then there was the bridge with Watson's Inn and Miller's coal yard, and Brownlee's mill at the other side. On the Ballynahinch Road there was only one dwelling with an orchard. The owner's name was Brady, but afterwards the Rev. Mr. Powell lived in it and kept a select Boys' School".

Chief trade in 1853 was muslin weaving, with tambouring and flowering done by the women. Muslin agents lived in every street in the town, and Bridge End Hill (now called Gregg Street) was full of weavers-the Crosseys, Slavins, Crockards, D'ermins, Denvers etc. Eggs were cheap and plentiful at fourpence a dozen, and oysters could be had for 1/9 a quarter, which counted the shells. These were laid outside the door to let the neighbours know how many were eaten for supper.

Space does not permit the full recollections of Mrs. Wilson but she told of the great number of public houses in Bridge Street and the big trade they did on market and fair days. Old Sam Johnston, the white-smith, lived beside the gas works and there was also big Jemmy Lauderdale, a tinker, "a terror at election times".

Looking at the Cross Row of those days Mrs. Wilson mentioned the first house was Sands' bacon shop "where they used to set their chimney on fire every week boiling pigs' feet". There were family grocers, a cloth and drapery shop and a delf shop just before the large gate to the 'Cathedral, with Phillips' Railway Tavern on the other side, and at the corner of Castle Street was Mrs. Johnstone's millinery and drapery shop.

The old-fashioned barber's shop of Mr. Richard Murray was next in Castle Street, and it was here the residents heard all the news. Newspapers were fourpence each at that time and a great number of Lisburn men were fighting in the Crimea. In the evening Mr. Murray sat on his window sill and read the latest war news to a circle of listeners. At this time old blind John Reid, the Lisburn bellman used to charge a penny an hour for the loan of a paper. He wore a coat with a crimson collar and was a most important man.

A few doors further on was a subscription bakery, and then a large tenement house let out in rooms. Mr. Thompson's school for boys was two doors above the small gate of the Cathedral, then there was McCloy the painter and the Rev. Dr. Cupples-"a stout gentleman who went about chewing figs all the time". The Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald lived next to the Castle Gardens but this house is now gone. Mr. John Birney, one of the town's leading lawyers, occupied a house which is now part of the Convent.

A Dr. Cupples lived in No. 44, with Mrs. Nicholson, mother of the Indian campaign hero, next door. There followed a few small houses and then there was Miss Hunter's school for young ladies.

After briefly mentioning the Low Road which had only a few small houses, Mrs. Wilson recalls the other side of Castle Street with its large houses and influential residents. The difference in the postal service then is worth recording. One man, Hugh Conn delivered all the letters once or twice a day and at the same time attended to his business in the damask factory.

Turning the corner into Railway Street, the passerby in 1853 could not have failed to be impressed by the shop of Dr. Musgrave. It had two big windows with black glass in the lower half and coloured bottles above. Next was John Kelly's carpenter's yard and then a Methodist Church at No. 10. The Orange Hall now stands in what was Mr. Hugh Kelly's garden. Only one good housee was built beyond the railway station and that was Mr. John Pennington's. Where the North Circular Road is, was a railway bank, and a lane led from Dean's Walk to the Antrim Road. With the exception of two little cottages, there was not a house between the Belfast Road and the Dog Kennel on the Antrim Road, and the Pond in the Park was the sole town reservoir.

"Bachelor's Walk had only one building on it", Mrs. Wilson wrote, "and that was the old tower, with a garden door opening into it. The tower was used as a tool house The walk was dark and lonely, bordered with two rows of trees, and a river ran alongside. There were few who cared to walk there after dark".

Hotel was lively place
Armstrong's Hotel was at the corner of Railway Street and three or four whitewashed houses were on the ground now occupied by the Presbyterian Church and the old Post Office. Wardsborough St. held the fountain where all the people out of the entries and small houses had to send for water. Between hard frosts and dry summers there were frequent water famines, and then cans of water had to be bought from carriers who brought it from the "Fairy Well" and the "Boiling Well"

THIS photograph was taken in 1914 just before the local contingent of Royal Irish Rifles (Ulster Division) left Lisburn for France. Honours won by Lisburn Servicemen in the 1914-18 war were:—V.C. (one), C.M.G. (one), D.S.O. and bar (one), D.S.O (eight). M.C. and two bars (one), M.C. and bar (three), M.C. (27). D.F.C. (one), O.B.E. (one). M.B.E. (one), D.C.M. (13). M.M. and bar (six), M.M. (33). M.S.M. (three), mentions (68) and foreign decorations (six).

Milk carts with their bright cans were only a new institution in 1853, and many of the town shopkeepers kept their own cows. They sold the milk but customers had to send for it. Paraffin oil was almost unknown, and very few had lamps. Mound and wax candles were burned, unless where there was gas, and common "dips" were generally used in the kitchens.

Continuing up Railway Street there was Mrs. Handcock's sewing school, the Friends' Meeting House and at the upper corner the "Hertford Arms" kept by Mr. and Mrs. Lennon. There was lots of posting in those days and the hotel was a lively place.

Mrs. Wilson, in her reminiscences, remembered people in Market Square best of all, as they all kept shops.

"Mr. John McIntyre, a clever little man full of fun, had his cabinet maker's shop next to the "Hertford Arms", and Miss McIntyre, his sister-a well-known draper-lived next to him. She had a very nice shop and kept everything of the very best quality. Mr. Hugh Seeds had his office and dwelling house next door and Adam McClure his bakery and spirit store adjoining..

"The best known establishment in the town came next", continued Mrs. Wilson, "that was Miss Eliza Chapman's book and toy shop. The shop did duty with the young people as a newsroom or club, and Miss Chapman knew everyone and everyone knew her. Next door was Mr. Thomas Mussen's spirit store called "The Pillars", then two chandlers' shops, and John Miller's bakery and dwelling house".

Unfortunately Mrs. Wilson's reminiscences concluded at this point, but they certainly provide a very descriptive insight into the past, one which should make present day residents of Lisburn even more appreciative of the town's development in the last century.

Modern Lisburn

THE OPENING of the section of motorway between the Saintfield Road and Sprucefield at the end of 1963 brought the first measure of relief to Lisburn's chronic traffic problem by enabling traffic between Belfast and the South to bypass the town altogether. Traffic counts show that the volume of traffic entering and leaving the town has diminished by approximately 2,200 vehicles per day on the Saintfield Road and by approximately 500 vehicles per day on the Belfast Road.

These reductions are not perhaps very great, but for much of the day they do make the difference between relatively free flow and frequent hold-ups. It is a matter of great satisfaction that work on further sections of the motorway, to Moira and Lurgan, is actively progressing, and about the end of 1965 these sections should be open, bringing a substantial further degree of relief to the town.

I use the phrase "for much of the day" advisedly, for it is to be anticipated that although the motorway diverts much of the long distance commercial traffic which is spread out fairly uniformly throughout the day, it will have much less effect on the peak hour flows, which we now describe by the American term "commuter traffic." This is very largely of local or near-by origin and will have to pass through the town to get to or from the motorway. Indeed it is only reasonable to expect that with the rapid growth in the number of private cars the problem of peak hour congestion will get steadily or even rapidly worse.

An aerial view of Lisburn which shows the Borough's central layout which has changed very little during the past century.	Lisburn's traditional industry was linen and this photograph shows two operators at work in Stewart's Mill	Thread from The Linen Thread Co.. Hilden, is sent all over the world.

INNER RING ROAD?
A particularly warm welcome should therefore be given to the proposal for an inner ring road. This was recently placed before the Council by Mr. R. H. Bell, the borough planning consultant, after an intensive study of Lisburn's traffic problem by one of his staff who has had consider able experience on the other side of the Atlantic. This bold and imaginative scheme has all the hallmarks of practicability, and it is to be hoped that the new borough council will make its realisation one of their earliest objectives.

Bold and imaginative

It will of course, cost a great deal of money, but as it will be essentially a road construction scheme for the relief of traffic congestion, it does appear that a good case can be argued for substantial assistance from the Road Fund. Even the making of detailed surveys and the preparation of designs will involve heavy expenditure on the services of consulting engineers and will consume a considerable amount of time. The public has all too little realisation of the vast amount of technical work which has to be done between the formulation of draft proposals illustrated by a thumb-nail sketch, and the actual commencement of  construction.

Work has been progressing steadily for a number of years on the widening and improvement wherever necessary of the existing road system and this programme seems likely to continue for a good many more years to meet the ever-growing demands of traffic. It is not long since the Ballynahinch Road was widened and realigned, in part by the Ministry in connection with the construction of the motorway and in part by the local council. A badly needed scheme for the improvement of the Antrim Road is in an advanced stage of preparation and other similar projects are in the pipeline.

Coming back from major projects to minor, the construction during the winter as an unemployment relief scheme, of a new bus stopping place in Smithfield should materially reduce congestion in Castle Street and together with the opening of the new Post Office, and the general improve
ment of shopping premises, gives something of a face-lift to the Smithfield area.

NEW SWIMMING BATH
Not far away is the site of the proposed public swimming bath. This scheme provides for a pool of I10 feet length by 42 feet in width with diving stages up to five metres in height and facilities for the instruction, of learners, with all necessary plant for heating and purification of the water, dressing and clothes-storage accommodation for both sexes as well as for handling classes from local schools. The building will be of reinforced concrete construction and a notable addition to the architecture of the town.

The rapid rate of recent growth in Lisburn is well illustrated by the statistics of plans submitted to the Urban Council for its approval. In the first 50 years from the establishment of the urban district in 1899 to 1949 the number of plans submitted to the council was 1,700, in the next 15 years from 1949 to the present day the number submitted was 1,800. In suite a number of cases too the modern planners have represented schemes both public and private, for the erection of estates comprising considerable and sometimes very large numbers of houses.

During the past twelve months the council has completed its Manor Park estate providing some 150 dwellings, while a few months earlier the Housing Trust had completed the Roseville estate of similar size. The Trust is now actively engaged on the construction of its Knockmore estate on the north side of the Moira Road where 640 houses are being completed at a very rapid rate, while preliminary work is progressing on the preparation of the Old Warren estate on the south side of the Moira Road. The detailed layout of this has not yet been completed, but from all appearances the project will be at least 50 per cent, bigger than the Knockmore estate.

The council for its part expects at an early date to see work commenced on the Hill Street site where some 200 dwellings are to be provided, and the town's first slum clearance and redevelopment scheme is being prepared to deal with an area of old property on the south side of Longstone Street.

POPULATION SOON 20,000
The 1961 census gave the town a population of 17,691 compared with 14,781 ten years earlier. If the 20,000 mark has not yet been reached it is safe to forecast that it very soon will be and the population inside ten years may well exceed 25 or even maybe 30 thousand.

In the industrial field, too, the outlook is encouraging. While Lisburn is historically a "linen town," "and that industry has suffered a contraction in scale over the past few decades, several of the factories which formerly specialised on the spinning or weaving of linen have shown considerable enterprise in branching out into other lines and are now busily engaged in the manufacture of synthetic textiles.

Furniture manufacture is another busy industry and recently two large factories have been erected on the Ballinderry Road and occupied by subsidiaries of American companies engaged in the light engineering industry. The Ministry of Commerce proposes to develop for industrial purposes a site on the Hillsborough Old Road, which while outside the actual boundaries of the borough, will undoubtedly contribute its quota to the prosperity of Lisburn.

Population is growing

Other industrial units on the perimeter of the town but not actually inside it, include Bibby's big animal feed mills at Knockmore the adjacent structural steel and sheet metal works of Messrs. Gambles and of course, our old friends the Hilden Mills of the Linen Thread Company.

These developments, both domestic and industrial, have thrown a considerable burden on to the local authority's public health services. The town enjoys an excellent water supply drawn in part from an upland catchment area, and in part from a group of wells bored to a depth of approximately 400 feet in to the underlying greensand beds. In order to meet the ever-increasing demand arrangements have been made to supplement these sources by the purchase of water in bulk from the Stoneyford reservoirs of the Belfast Water Commissioners. A link-up with the Hillsborough Rural District Council also enables water to be obtained through them from the Silent Valley in the Mourne Mountains, while a similar link-up with the Lisburn Rural District Council enables water to be obtained, if necessary from Lough Neagh.

During the past ten years many thousands of pounds have been spent on the construction of new main sewers to augment the capacity of the sewerage system to deal with the increasing flows, and further expensive projects for trunk sewers and pumping stations are at present being constructed. A firm of consulting engineers has been retained to report on the measures necessary to modernise the the sewage disposal plant to enable it to deal satisfactorily with the greatly increased quantities of sewage likely to arise in the next few years.

The town is fortunate in the possession of a number of parks and open spaces presented to the inhabitants by benevolent donors. These include the Wallace Park of 26 acres, presented in 1884 by Sir Richard Wallace. The Castle Gardens is a pleasant little park right in the centre of the town, overlooking the river and close to the Cathedral; this was presented by Sir John Murray Scott. On the County Down side of the town are the extensive John Milne Barbour Junior Memorial Playing Fields, presented to the townspeople by Mrs. Harold Barbour, while adjacent to the Union Bridge is a children's playground presented by the same generous donor. At the western end of the town, where there has been a great development of post-war housing, is the Sir Milne Barbour Memorial Park with a beautifully laid-out bowling green, and flower gardens.

During recent months the Council acquired an extensive tract of land on the County Down side of the town, this was originally intended for housing purposes, but under the policy which the Ministry of Health and Local Government has adopted following the publication of the Matthew Report its use for that purpose would not now be possible It is not unlikely therefore that this land may ultimately be used for increasing the recreational facilities to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population.

Finally a word should be said about a commendable development which is entirely unofficial in character. Last year a local group was formed under the auspices of the Civic Trust, and a scheme was prepared under expert guidance for the redecoration and refurnishing of all the business premises in Bow Street. The painters and decorators are actively at work and the improvement in the appearance of those premises which have been completed is most noticeable. It is to be hoped that this movement will soon spread to other streets and that in future years the centre of the borough of Lisburn will present an altogether brighter and gayer appearance.