Bellaghy

Armorial bearings of the Vintners' Company

EDITED EXTRACTS FROM THE TOPOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF IRELAND, 1837

BELLAGHY, a village in the parish of Ballyscullion, barony of Loughinsholin, County Londonderry.

This place became the head of a district granted in the reign of JAMES I to the Vintners' Company, of London, who, in 1619, founded the village, and erected a strong and spacious castle, the custody of which they entrusted to Sir Baptist Jones, who had a well armed garrison of 76 men for its defence.

In the war of 1641 the castle was besieged and taken by a party of Irish insurgents ... and in the following year burned to the ground.

It occupied a gentle eminence on the north-west side of the village, but no portion of it is remaining; the very site has been cultivated as gardens, and the only traces are some of the arched cellars beneath the roots of some large trees.

The village is situated on the western shore of Lough Beg, and on the roads leading respectively from Castledawson to Portglenone, and from Kilrea to Toome; it consists of one long street intersected at right angles by two shorter streets; the houses are generally small, but well built; and the environs are remarkably pleasant, and are embellished with gentlemen's seats, of which the principal near the village are Bellaghy Castle [bawn], the residence of J Hill, and Bellaghy House, of H B Hunter.

Historic OS map of Bellaghy ca 1830

A court for the Vintners' manor is held once every month, for the recovery of debts under £2.

Adjoining the village is the parish church of Ballyscullion, a large and handsome building; and at a short distance is a small RC chapel.

Here is also a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists; and a meeting-house for Presbyterians.

The parochial school for boys and girls, a large and handsome building, was erected at the joint expense of the Marquess of Lothian, the Earl of Clancarty, the Earl of Strafford, and Admiral the Hon Sir Thomas Pakenham GCB, proprietors of the estate by purchase from the Vintners' Company, who have also endowed it with £5 per annum, and a like sum is granted by the Rector: and there is a school for girls, supported by subscription, also a school built and supported by the Methodists.

*****

Bellaghy Bawn from the main road (Timothy Ferres, 2023)

I PAID Bellaghy a visit on Sunday, 2nd April, 2023, in order to see Bellaghy Bawn, the best restored example of its type in Northern Ireland.

Bellaghy Bawn, once known as Bellaghy Castle, was constructed ca 1619 by Baptist Jones, agent for the Vintners' Company of London.

The Vintners owned 32,600 acres of land in the county.

Bellaghy Castle ca 1900 (Green Collection, NMNI)

It is situated at the end of Castle Street in the village.

Sir Baptist's daughter Charity (Lady Staples), incidentally, was married to Sir Thomas Staples, 1st Baronet, of Lissan, County Tyrone.

Inner courtyard from the original entrance (Timothy Ferres, 2023)

Sir Baptist died in 1623, when the lease of the property was acquired by Henry Conway, who had wedded Sir Baptist's widow.

The castle and bawn were destroyed in 1641 during the Irish rebellion.

Subsequently the property changed hands a number of times: when, in 1700, a large house was built beside one of the flanker towers (which exists today).

Model of the bawn and Castle Street at the exhibition (click to enlarge)

In 1889 the property was acquired by George Thompson, and his descendants remained there until 1984.

Three years later, in 1987, Bellaghy Bawn was taken into state care, and largely restored.

The bawn as we see it today was opened to visitors in 1996.

I ARRIVED at the bawn at about eleven forty-five, and proceeded to have my packed lunch near an oak tree, the exact location of the former north-western flanker tower.

After lunch I made my way across the courtyard to the "big house," which has a reception desk, exhibitions, a video presentation by the celebrated poet and son of Bellaghy, Seamus Heaney.

The south-eastern flanker tower attached to the big house remains in very good condition.

Ballyscullion Church: Prospect from the Bawn (Timothy Ferres, 2023)

EARLIER that morning I had strolled through the village, encountering the charming Ballyscullion parish church with its lofty spire (doubtless facillitated by Frederick Hervey, Earl of Bristol and Lord Bishop of Derry).

THE Queen's University of Belfast's Centre for Archæological Fieldwork conducted a survey in the immediate vicinity of Bellaghy Bawn in 1998.

Prior to motoring home, I drove a few miles to the shore-line of Lough Beg, passing the estate walls of Ballyscullion Park (purchased by Sir Henry Mulholland, 1st Baronet, in 1938).

The scenery here is exceptionally beautiful: the intention is to revisit the district during the summer months for further exploration and a visit to Church Island on Lough Beg.