'Portadown', from BASSETT's 'The Book of County Armagh' 1888'

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MARKETS & FAIRS, WATER SUPPLY, SEWERAGE SYSTEM, GAS, PUBLIC LAMPS, VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADE.

EVERY Tuesday in the season a market is held for the sale of flax ; grain is sold on Wednesday and Saturday ; hay and straw on Wednesday ; grass-seed on Wednesday from August to October ; and on Saturday fowl, eggs, butter, and pork. A retail market for potatoes and vegetables is held every day. On Saturday a retail market for butcher's meat is also held. The port market is improving; it averaged from 350 to 400 dead pigs per week until May of this year, but this number promises to be largely increased in the near future, for the reason that two firms, extensively involved in curing, have recently been established in the town. A market for sucking pigs, in carts, is held every Saturday. The fowl market is good, but not up to what it was when conducted in the open street. There is a first-rate wholesale potato market that seems to increase in importance every year. The Duke of Manchester had a patent for markets and fairs, but no tolls were collected. In 1878 the Town Commissioners secured a lease of his right for 999 years, and have expended about £6,000 in providing market places, erecting suitable buildings, walls, etc. The money was procured partly from the Board of Works at 3-1/2 per cent., repayable, principal and interest, by intalments, in 30 years, and partly from private lenders at 4 per cent. The charges in the markets at present are, pork, including weighing and porterage, 2d. per pig ; pigs on foot 1d. each ; pigs in cart, young, 1/2d. each ; butter, including weighing, 10lbs. and under, 1/2d., over 10lbs. and up to 20lbs., 1d., over 20lbs., 1-1/2d. ; eggs, any quantity not exceeding 50, 1/2d., exceeding 50, and not exceeding 100, 1d., every additional 50 or fraction of 50, 1/2d. ; geese and turkeys 4d. per dozen, all other poultry and game 2d. per dozen ; potatoes, turnips, carrots or mangel-wurzel, 2d. per load, including weighing, 1d. per bag up to 6--no charge above 6 ; cabbage 1d. per load ; fruit, 1d. per load, bag, basket or barrow, 1/2d. ; hay and straw, including weighing, 2d. per load ; grass-seed, 1d. per bag ; no charge on grain. The market-places are situated as follows :--Pork and grass-seed, entrance West-street ; pigs on foot and young pigs in cart, entrance Woodhouse-street ; butter, eggs and fowl, entrance Mandeville-street ; potatoes, turnips, cabbage, etc., wholesale, in Market-street and High-street, north side ; fruit, in High-street, south side ; hay and straw, in Church-street and Market-street ; retail market for potatoes, vegetables and fruit, entrance from William-street ; fish, every day in High-street, north side. The receipts from tolls average about £675 per annum, and the expenses about £560. When the debt is paid off it is expected that a considerable reduction can be made in the tolls, after contributing toward repairs of side-walks, etc., in the immediate vicinity of the markets. Many of the merchants prefer the old system of crowding everything into the streets, but the majority believe that it is better for the interests of the town, and for every one concerned, to have things so arranged that they may be controlled without confusion.

A good cattle fair is held in the fair green, entered from Shillington-street, on the 3rd Saturday of each month. Attempts have been made a few times to establish a horse fair, but without success. A toll of 2d. on cows, 1d. per calf, yearling, etc., is charged in the fair green. In 1887 the total amount derived from this was £94 10s. 8d. About seven acres are embraced in the fair green and market-places. A hiring fair is held on the 1st Wednesday every 3rd month.

Water for domestic purposes still continues to be drawn from street pumps, of which there are 23. At the bridge there is a pump, not included in this number, used specially for soft water. How to procure a first-rate supply of potable water is a question which has been under consideration for some time. One scheme proposes to utilize Marlacoo Lake, between 4 and 5 miles south by west from Portadown. The estimated cost of this would be £21,350. Another scheme makes Slieve Croob, County Down, the source for a supply equal to the requirements of Waringstown, Banbridge, Dromore, Downpatrick and Seaford, all in the county Down ; and of Lurgan and Portadown in Armagh. The proportion of expense to Portadown would be £21,000.

Since 1878 a great deal has been done toward providing a perfect sewerage system. From £1,200 to £1,400 has been spent in this work. The money is repaid by each district at the rate of 2d. in the £. Owing to the high elevation of the town, the facilities for discharge of matter are excellent.

In January, 1887, the Portadown Gas-Light Co. held its Forty-first Annual Meeting, and declared a dividend at the rate of five per cent. per annum on the paid-up capital stock, and a bonus of 20s. per share, free of Income-tax. A table prepared by the Secretary, Mr. George Kinkead, shows the amount of gas sold each year since 1849 to private consumers. In 1850 the amount was 612,225 cubic feet at 10s. per 1,000 feet, totaal £153 18s. In 1853 it was 1,077,000 cubic feet at 8s. 4d., total £449 0s. 10d. ; in 1863 it was 3,095,200 cubic feet at 7s. 6d., total £1,160 14s. 8d. ; in 1873 it was 5,680,100 cubic feet at 7s. 6d., total £2,130 0s. 9d. ; in 1883 it ws 8,503,200 at 5s., total £2,125 16s. ; and in 1887 it was 9,965,300 cubic feet at 5s. per 1000 feet, total £2,491 6s. 6d. At the Forty-first meeting it was decided to supply the gas for the 130 public lamps, by meter, at 4s. 2d. per 1,000 cubic feet, the Town Commissioners undertaking to do the lighting, cleaning, extinguishing, and repairs of pillars and fittings.

A Volunteer Fire Brigade, organized under the auspices of the Town Commissioners, is capable of effective work in emergency. Mr. Thomas Shillington, secundus, is Captain, and Mr. John Acheson, Lieutenant. There are twelve volunteers. Two manual engines and a fire escape are maintained. The engine-house is in William-street.

"MANUFACTURING AND OTHER INDUSTRIES, THE CARRYING TRADE, NEWRY CANAL, LOUGH NEAGH, AND LAGAN NAVIGATION, BANN DRAINAGE, LOSS BY FLOODING.

WITHIN a comparatively short period, a change has been made in the methods of manufacture at Portadown which threatens very soon to dispense entirely with the services of hand-loom weavers. Twenty years ago over 4,000 of these industrious hard-working people lived in the town and district. Good authorities agree that the number at present is not above 2,500. The young people are not following the occupation of their fathers to an appreciable extent, and a great many of the families have emigrated. The power-loom has been resisted as long as possible, but it has latterly been coming into fashon here with a rush. There are four large factories now in operation, giving employment between them to upward of 2,000 people, the majority of whom are females. Messrs. Watson, Armstrong & Co., J. & J. Acheson & Co., Castle Island Linen Company, and Grimshaw & McFadden. Flax and Tow Spinning : Messrs. D. Graham & Co., provides employment for about 400. Hemstitching by machinery has latterly come to be quite a promising feature of the industries of town and district. Those partly engaged in it are Messrs. Thomas Dawson, Andrew J. Lutton & Son, Hamilton Robb, William Cowdy, John Malcolmson, Samuel Wilson, R. & W. Stewart & Co., John Gilbert, and Monypeny & Watson, at Cornascrebe. Messrs. Spence, Bryson & Co. are hemstitchers by hand. All those mentioned are linen manufacturers by hand-loom, and give employment in the aggregate to nearly 6,000 cottage-weavers of the Portadown and other districts of Armagh, and of the counties of Antrim, Down, Derry and Tyrone. Messrs. Thomas Kernaghan, Portadown, John Montgomery & Sons, Derryvore, Robert Reid & Son, Tarson, and James Irvine Annett, Riverside, are also linen manufacturers by hand-loom. The number of weavers they employ is included in the calculation. It is necessary to explain that the same weavers are not exclusively employed by any one manufacturer. Yarn-boiling and preparing are also done at Portadown. Pork-curing has become an important branch of industry this year. A distillery consuming 3,000 tons of malt, bere and oats, and a brewery, once flourished in the town, but are no longer in existence.

The carrying trade between Portadown, Newry and Belfast via the Newry Canal, Lough Neagh and Lagan Canal, is still successful. The Newry Canal joins the Bann about an Irish mile south-east of the town, and continues the navigation system to Lough Neagh, 7 Irish miles. The Lagan Canal also joins Lough Neagh, so that vessels up to 70 tons burden may go from Belfast to Newry by way of Portadown. It takes one day to go to Newry from Portadown, light, and two days with cargo, going or returning. Freights, consisting of coal, grain, timber and general merchandize, are usually brisk enough to make this trade profitable for four individual boat owners. The tolls on the Newry Canal are 6d. per lock per boat, light, and 1s. 6d. with cargo going into Newry, and 2s. per lock, with cargo, returning. There are 13 locks. Nearly all the masters of boats share profits with the owners. About a third of the number live with their families on board the boats. The competition is so keen that there is no opportunity to exact high rates. Between Belfast and Portadown the trade is quite large. Boats up to 85 tons burden are towed by steamer from the Lagan Canal through Lough Neagh to Portadown. The toll is 9-1/2d. per ton cargo ; nothing on register. At one time Portadown had direct communication by boat with Scotland and Wales. Belfast is now the limit.

A Bill before Parliament this year, 1888, provides for the dredging, deepening and widening of the Lower Bann, for improving its channels, the construction of sluices at some of the weirs, and the removal of obstructions. It resulted from the appointment of a Royal Commission which sat in Portadown, last year, with the view to the collection of testimony showing the injury caused to occupiers of farms along the Upper Bann and its tributaries by flooding. This year, 1888, it is estimated that 4,000 acres, within the area referred to, were flooded, and that the loss caused thereby aggregated £20,000. The Bill provides that a sum of £65,000 shall be expended in order that the summer level of Lough Neagh may be perpetually maintained. Ths it is believed can be effected by the works contemplated in the Lower Bann. The proposal of the Government is that £45,000 only of the grant shall be repaid, which sum is to be levied upon the lands in the catchment area of Lough Neagh, including the towns of Portadown and Lurgan. Some anxiety has been felt lest the navigation between Lough Neagh and Portadown may be impaired by the reduction to summer level, but it is believed that care will be taken to safeguard this valuable interest.

PEOPLE'S PARK, TOWN HALL BUILDING, IMPROVEMENTS, BANKS, LOAN AND BUILDING COMPANIES, YOUNG MEN'S INSTITUTE, PUBLIC LIBRARY.

THE People's Park contains about twenty-one acres in what may, at no distant day, be the centre of the town. The land was secured in 1871 from the Duke of Manchester on lease for 999 years, at £32 18s. 3d. per annum, less half Poor-Rates. The amount spent in laying it out, legal fees, etc., came to £1,365 6s. 10d. A moiety of the old loan fund represented £250 14s. The rest was made up from the proceeds of bazaars and by subscription, leaving a balance due of £170. The cost of maintenance is met by sale of the grass and by letting to foot-ball and cricket clubs, and for athletic sports, lawn tennis, etc. Whatever deficit there may be is covered by subscription from residents. Messrs. Averell Shillington, J.P., Thomas Shillington, J.P., Thomas Shillington (2), Charles Johnston, J.P., Joseph Acheson, J.P., George Kinkead, Benjamin Robb, and John Grew are trustees, and Mr. James Boyle, secretary. A handsome artificial pond, some stately forest trees and yews, are among the attractions. The Corcrain river runs through on the way to join the Bann, and pleasant walks are carried along its banks.

Portadown is to have a new Town Hall presently. The old one, which is partly represented in the illustration of Messrs. William Paul & Son's business premises, was sold in August of ths year 1888, to Mr. Thomas Shillington, J.P., for £1,540. The Town Commissioners, after paying off a mortgage of £240, will have a substantial balance with which to begin the erection of the new building. This will have a suitable assembly room for dramatic and musical entertainments of a high order, in additin to the needful accommodation for Commissioners' meetings, offices for Town Clerk, etc.

Building improvements in the business quarter of the town have been carried on extensively during the past few years. Nearly every street has had an increase in the number of houses.

Portadown is well supplied with banks. There are branches of the Bank of Ireland, Belfast Bank, and Ulster Bank. It has also the Portadown Discount Company, Limited, the Portadown Loan Company, and the Portadown Building and Investment Company, Limited.

The Young Men's Institute is situated in Edward Street. It was established in 1882 under the Limited Liability Act, upon a capital of £1,000, in 1,000 shares of £1 each. Five shares were paid in full, and 12s. 6d. per share on 780. With the amount thus procured, and a loan of £740 17s. at 4 per cent., building and other expenses were met. The accommodatin includes library, reading-room, class rooms, and an assembly room large enough to seat 200 people. At the rear there are two well-appointed ball courts. About fifty members pay 5s. a year each. Mr. John Acheson is Chairman, and Mr. William Weir, Secretary.

A part of the Young Men's Institute is occupied by the Public Library, at a fixed rent. The library was established in 1872. Trustees appointed for the purpose then received an equal share of £500, and accrued interest, from trust funds of the old Portadown Loan Fund. This was supplemented by donations, etc. The library contains over 2,200 volumes, including in the various sections, history, science, philosophy, natural history, poetry, biography, travels, and general literature. The subscription is 5s. a year, and there are 130 members. A reading-room, well supplied with newspapers and periodicals, is managed in connection with the library. Books are lent out for two weeks, subject to renewal. The trustees are Messrs. C. F. Wakefield, George Kinkead, A. Shillington, J.P. ; Charles Johnston, J.P. ; and Arthur Thornton. Mr. Charles Johnston, J.P., is president, Mr. Hugh Anderson, vice-president, Mr. George Kinkead, treasurer, Mr. James McKell, secretary, and Mr. William Hunter, librarian.

MUSICAL SOCIETY, ROMAN CATHOLIC YOUNG MEN'S ASSOCIATION, LAWN TENNIS, CRICKET AND FOOTBALL CLUBS, ATHLETIC CLUB, BICYCLING, PORTADOWN ROWING CLUB.

THE Portadown Musical Society is organized on a firm footing, and is doing an excellent work. It was founded by Mr. Henry Shillington, C.E., and he continues to be its conductor.

About 10 years ago the Roman Catholic Young Men's Association was established. Its house is in William Street. There are 150 members in good standing. The subscription is 1s. a quarter. A reading-room, plentifully supplied with newspapers and magazines, is the chief feature. Mr. James Grew is president, Mr. Robert Cullen, vice-president, Mr. John Reynolds, secretary, and Mr. D. Fitzpatrick, treasurer.

Lawn tennis has been a popular game at Portadown for many years, but there was no established club unti 1881. In that year the initiative was taken in the matter by Messrs. Charles Johnston, James McFadden, J. B. Atkinson, W. H. Atkinson, and William Jones. There are now about 40 members, of whom 15 are ladies. The subscription for gentlemen is 10s., and for ladies 5s. per annum. Mr. Wm. H. Atkinson is secretary, and Mr. James McFadden, treasurer. The ground is at Tavanagh. Four grass courts are laid down, and there is room for two more.

The Portadown Cricket Club was established about 10 years ago. It has 40 members, who pay a subscription of 10s. a year each. The club ground is in the People's Park. There are some good players among the members.

A junior foot-ball club (Rugby), consisting of 30 members, has been in existence for over two years. The subscription is 2s. 6d. per season, and the ground in the People's Park.

The Portadown Athletic Club was organized in 1884. Sports are held annually, in August, under its auspices. The track is in the People's Park, and is said to be the second best in Ireland. About £70 is usually expended in prizes, and the programme consists of 15 "events." Members of the club pay an annual subsciption of 10s. The management of the sports in 1887 devolved on a committee consisting of Messrs. James Grew, chairman, John Crummie, secretary, D. T. Gillespie, treasurer, J. C. Stanley, D. W. Walker, and J. Doak.

Bicycling is very popular at Portadown, but there has been no attempt, thus far, to form a club. A race for cyclists is always included in the programme of the sports, and several of the local men enter.

A rowing club has been established for about eleven years. There are 40 members paying a subscription of 10s. each. A boat-house ws erected at a cost of £70, on the Edenderry side of the Bann. Three regattas have been held since the foundation. At present scratch races only are rowed. Fifteen boats are in use, 9 racing and 6 pleasure.

CHURCH OF IRELAND AND METHODST CHURCHES, MONUMENTS, &C.

The Church of Ireland occupies the most prominent site at Portadown. It faces Market Street and High Street, and is flanked by Church Street and West Street. Many structural changes have been made since the erection in 1823. The original outlay was about £1,300, consisting of a gift of £831 from the old Board of First Fruits, and a loan of £461 from the same body. The style of architecture was early English, with square battlemented pinnacled tower. In 1885, the most important part of the edifice was remodeled, and the seating capacity enlarged by the addition of transepts. The church is now cruciform, and the main roof groined. In the aisles, the roof-timbers are exposed, and harmonious effects produced by staining. The chancel is exceedingly chaste in design and detail. The pews are fitted in pitch pine, and the floor laid with encaustic tiles. A beautiful pulpit, constructed of Caen stone and marbles of Connemara, Cork, and Kilkenny, a lectern, with carved oak eagle, and a fine organ, are among the striking attractions. The church was reopened in 1886. Over £4,000 was spent upon the new work, and in remodeling the old. A mural tablet in the southern transept commemorates Alexander Bredon, M.D., who for thirty-four years discharged the duties of public officer in the district. Rev. Canon Augustine Fitzgerald, D.D., is rector of Portadown, the Rev. Robert M'Cracken, curate, and Mr. W. Archbutt Taylor, As. Mus. T.C.L., organist.

Portadown is the great stronghold of Methodism in the County Armagh. The principal church is in Thomas Street. It is a spacious edifice, and has a handsome portico, supported by four great pillars with Corinthian capitals. In the interior a gallery resting on thirteen ornamental pillars, runs all round. The front is tastefully ornamented, the pulpit is mahogany, and the Communion rails of the same wood. Over the pulpit there is a fine organ. The pews are modern and painted in oak. Several mural tablets commemorate prominent Wesleyans, and make a most interesting historical record. One erected by trustees of the church is to the memory of Thomas Shillington, who dies in 1830, at the age of 63. "He was the nursing father of Methodism in this town and neighbourhood for nearly forty years." The next to Thomas Averell Shillington, J.P., who died in 1874, aged 74. "Erected by fellow townsmen in grateful remembrance of his public spirit and private virtues, and of the many valuable services rendered by him in promoting the progress of Portadown, and the true welfare of its inhabitants." The third, under the galleries, tells its object thus : "As an enduring record of his social virtues and Christian character this monument is inscribed by hs fellow citizens to the memory of William Paul, of Portadown." Died 1857, aged 65. Set into the wall, above one of the galleries, a tablet bears this inscription : "Rev. Adam Averell, M.A., a clergyman of the Established Church, President of the Primitive Wesleyan Methodist Society, 1818 to 1841. Died at Clones, 1847, in the 93rd year of his age." It was originally erected in the Donegall Street Primitive Methodist Church, Belfast. At the taking down of that edifice in 1887, the tablet, for family reasons, was brought to Portadown. The present Methodist Church was erected in 1860, and with the school-house attached, and minister's residence, cost about £5,000. The old church at the opposite side of the street, higher up, was built in 1832. It is now used for commercial purposes. The senior minister, Rev. Andrew Armstrong, appointed by Conference this year, was stationed at Portadown when the old church was in use. Rev. Robert Jamison, and Rev. Randal C. Philips are the associate ministers, and Mr. Henry Shillington, C.E., is organist.

The Primitive Methodist Church is in Mary Street. It is a small, plain-gabled building, an dates from 1860. Rev. John Taylor is minister.

PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGATIONS, CHRISTIANS, SALVATION ARMY, ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AND CONVENT, BURIAL PLACES.

THERE are two congregations of Presbyterians, one belonging to the first church, in Bridge Street, Edenderry, and the other to the Armagh Road Church. The Edenderry Church has a handsome gable front, supported on two large Corinthian columns. It was built in 1857. The interior appointments are appropriate ; seatings and pulpit in pitch pine, and the ceiling in stained pine. The gallery is carried around on three sides, with front of ornamental iron rails. In 1822 the original church was built. It stood further back from the street, on the site afterward occupied by the school-house. Near it was the tomb of the Rev. J. W. G. Dowling, erected by the congregation whose minister he had been for many years, although he died at the age of 18, in 1838. Rev. W. J. Macaulay is the present minister. The Armagh Road Church has been built about 21 years. It is a handsome edifice, of black stone with freestone dressings. The interior is fitted in good taste ; seatings in pitch pine, modern style. The church and manse stand in well-kept grounds. Rev. Robert Jeffrey is minister.

The Christians, originally known as Plymouth Brethren, assemble for worship at the Victoria Hall, David Street. A strong foothold appears to have been made by the Salvation Army. It has extensive barracks in Edward Street, built about four years ago.

The Roman Catholic Church is a large cruciform edifice, situated in William Street. It has a high battlemented pinnacled tower, altogether is quite imposing. The interior is rich in embellishments, and the effects harmonious and well calculated. Among the most noticeable features are the high altar, the Virgin's altar, and the pulpit, all in sculptured Caen stone, relieved by different colored Irish marbles. As a work of art, the high altar is really meritorious. The roof of the church is stained, and there is a spacious gallery at the eastern end. A fine stained chancel window deserves mention. Very Rev. Laurence, Canon Byrne, is parish priest. His curate is Rev. P. Slevin.

Next to the Roman Catholic church there is a Presentation Convent, founded about five years ago, through the instrumentality of Canon Byrne, who unselfishly gave the parochial residence so that it might be brought into immediate use by the nuns. A ladies' boarding school and infant school under the National Board, are carried on under the supervision of Mrs. Harbison, the superioress.

Four burial places are used by the residents of Portadown. Seagoe is nearest to the town, less than a mile from the boundary, and is under the authority of the Lurgan Board of Guardians. All denominations inter in it. A fragment of the ruin of the ancient church, ivy-covered, still remains. At Drumcree, within a mile from town, there are church-yards for Roman Catholic and Protestant burials. There is also an ancient ground at Mullavilly, about 3 miles distant.

SOURCE: Bassett, George Henry, The Book of County Armagh: A manual and directory for manufacturers, merchants, traders, professional men, land-owners, farmers, tourists, anglers and sportsmen generally, London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co. and New York: Robert J. McMillan, 1888.