SEAPATRICK

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

"SEAPATRICK, a parish in the barony of Lower and Upper Iveagh, county Down, province of Ulster, Ireland. It contains the post town of Banbridge (which see). This parish lies along the banks of the river Bann, and is intersected by the road from Newry to Belfast. The soil is of first-rate quality, and well cultivated. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Dromore, value £300, in the patronage of the crown and bishop. The church was built in 1698 in place of an ancient one destroyed in 1641. Another church has been built near Banbridge. The parish is joined to Tullylish in the Roman Catholic arrangement. There are places of worship for Presbyterians and Methodists, also parochial and other schools. Seapatrick House is the chief seat."

"BANBRIDGE, a market town in the parish of Seapatrick, and barony of Upper Iveagh, in the county of Down, province of Ulster, Ireland, 12 miles to the N. of Newry, and 76 miles from Dublin. It is connected with the Dublin and Belfast Junction railway by a branch line to Scarva. The town is situated in a fertile and well-cultivated country, on the banks of the river Bann, which is crossed by a handsome stone bridge, erected in the year 1832. It is one of the principal manufacturing towns in Ireland. Linens of all kinds are made, bleached, and finished here. The number of webs completed in a year has exceeded 66,000. There are extensive thread manufactories, and great chemical works. The town is within three miles of the Newry canal, and contains, according to the census of 1861, 777 inhabited houses, with a population of 4,032, of whom 1,198 belong to the Established Church, 1,018 are Roman Catholics, 1,650 Presbyterians, 70 Methodists, and 96 of other denominations. There is a handsome market-house and a townhall, both erected by the Marquis of Downshire. The parish church is a fine modern structure in the form of a cross, with a tower and spire. The Presbyterians, of various sections, have three chapels in the town, and there are others for Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists. A school for boys and girls has a revenue of £50 per annum paid by the rector to the teachers. The Provincial Bank of Ireland and the Ulsterbank have branches here. A dispensary has been established. Banbridge is the seat of a Poor-law Union and of a presbytery. It has a chief police station, and petty sessions are held once a fortnight. There is a handsome cenotaph in memory of Capt. Francis Crozier, who commanded H.M. ship Terror, in the expedition to the northern regions under Sir John Franklin; it is erected in the square opposite the parish church, and near the house in which Captain Crozier was born. The town contains many good residences, and in the vicinity are numerous seats of the gentry and superior farm-houses. Among the seats are Ballievey House, Chinauly, The Rectory, Millmount, Huntley Glen, &c. The Marquis of Downshire is proprietor of the town. Monday is the market day. Fairs are held once a month throughout the year, and a great horse fair is held in January. This town was formerly called Ballyvally, but received its present name on occasion of the building of the original bridge in 1712."

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