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INCH

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

"INCH AND ISLANDS, (or Inniscourcy), a parish in the barony of Lower Lecale, county Down, province of Ulster, Ireland, 23 miles N. of Downpatrick, its post town. It is about 3 miles long, and nearly as broad. There is a considerable tract of rocky waste; the remainder consists of a middling soil. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Down, value £214, in the patronage of the bishop. The church was built in 1742, and enlarged in 1831. The Roman Catholic chapel is united to those of Crossgar, Kilmore, and Killyleagh. There are parochial and Sunday schools, and two private establishments. Finnebrogue is a large demesne. The river Quoile, which separates the parish from Downpatrick, is here crossed by a bridge. There is also an embankment across Lough Strangford, which checks the action of the tide. On Inch Island Sir John de Courcy founded a Cistercian abbey in 1180, in atonement for having destroyed Erynagh Abbey, which had been converted into a stronghold against him. The present remains, though much dilapidated, exhibit some interesting features.

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