COMBER

In 1868, the parish of Comber contained the following places:

"COMBER, (or Cumber), a parish and small town, in the baronies of Lower and Upper Castlereagh, in the county of Down, province of Ulster, Ireland, 16 miles N.W. of Downpatrick, and 104 from Dublin. It is a station on the Belfast and County Down railway. The parish extends along the upper part of Lough Strangford. It is hilly, with bog and moorland, much of which has been reclaimed; the soil is of middling quality. The highest ground is at Scrabo Hill, which rises 534 feet above the sea-level. The living is an impropriate curacy in the diocese of Down, value£109, in the patronage of the Marquis of Londonderry. The church, which is built on the site of an old abbey, is in the later English style. Comber is the seat of a presbytery, and contains three Presbyterian meeting-houses--one in the town, another at Moneyrea, and the third at Gransha. There is a Wesleyan chapel and several schools, one under the governor of Erasmus Smith's schools. The town, containing 1,700 inhabitants, stands on the cross roads from Belfast to Killyleagh, and from Donaghadee to Ballinahinch, near the Comber river, which here falls into Lough Strangford. It consists of four well-built streets and a square, in the centre of which is a monument to General Gillespie. There are flour mills, a flax spinning mill, a police station, house of industry, breweries, distilleries, and bleach-grounds. A Cistercian abbey is alleged to have been founded here in the 12th century by St. Patrick, which was rebuilt in 1201 by Brien Catha; but he being slain by John de Courcy, the abbey was given to the Clandeboys, from whom it came to Viscount Ardes, first Earl of Mount Alexander. The viscount erected on an eminence near the town a castle known as Mount Alexander, now in ruins. In the neighbourhood are several handsome seats, and some store ruins supposed to be Druidical. Fairs are held on the 14th January, 5th April, 28th June, and 19th October.

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2018