HISTORY

OF THE

RISE AND PROGRESS OF BELFAST,

&c., &c.

SITE AND VICINITY.

THE town of Belfast, the metropolis of Ulster, is situated in lat. 54° 36', north; and in long. 5° 54', west from Greenwich. It stands at the southren extremity of Carrickfergus Bay, (Belfast Lough,) the Vinderius of Ptolomey, and at the debouch of the river Lagan. It is extremely low in situation, but well adapted for all the purposes of the important trade of which it is now the emporium. A chain of mountains, of considerable height and bold outline, less than two miles distant to the north and west, overhang the town, and bestow uncommon grandeur on its general appearance.

Most of the entire site of the town, as well as all the site of the large suburb of Ballymacarrett, is low, flat, and alluvial; and clearly indicates that, at no very remote period, it was conquered from the dominion of the tide. The lowness and flatness of the site, the compactness and regularity of the street alignment, and the almost total absence of either tower, dome, or spire, render the exterior aspect of the town tame and unpromising. But, seen up the Lough at night, it looks like a focus and divergence of light and life amidst a world of darkness; and seen from adjacent high grounds by day, it appears a vast, orderly, tasteful assemblage of uniform streets, neat large houses, pretending mansions, and bulky abodes of manufacture and traffic. The Lagan makes its meandering sweep to the right, cottages smile, animated nature exults, and trees tuft the green fields on the foreground; the crowded

B

harbour with its little forest of masts, and the dense and large phalanx of houses, bristled over with chimneys as with spears, and sending up towering and lofty stalk-like ensigns of ambition, expand on the left of the middle ground; and the bold, acclivitous hills, flowing, yet broken in outline, exquisitely diversified in dress and contour, and so intersected by ravine and depression as to seem almost an array of separate summits, start speedily up in the back ground, partly to cut an undulated sky-line, and partly to blend with a far-away and filmy perspective. The environs of the town, both immediate and remote, abound in the amenities of landscape, and blend in extended views, with a great variety of such features and groupings as belong strictly to the beautiful, and yet are nearly allied to the grand.

There are no remains of antiquity in the town; near Strandmills, on the Lagan, was an ancient chapel, called Capella de Kilpatrick; on the summit of a hill, in Upper Malone, was the Capella de Crookmuck; near Callender's Fort, on the Falls-road, about two miles from the town, was the chapel of Cranock, traces of the foundation of which, and a large cemetery are still remaining; and on the same road the chapel of Kilwee, where numerous elegantly carved crosses and other sepulchral monuments have been found. About three miles on the Carrickfergus road, is a small fragment of an ancient fortress called Greencastle; in Upper Malone was an extensive fort called Castle Cam or Freestone Castle, on the site of which the elegant mansion of Malone House has been erected; at a short distance on the left of the road to Shaw's bridge are seen the foundations of a third fort; in the grounds of Malone, near Lismoine, are the remains of a fourth, and in the Roman Catholic burying-ground of Friar's Bush are those of a fifth.

Among the most curious relics of antiquity are the caves in various places, found in the earth and in the hard limestone rock; of the former three were discovered in 1792, at Wolf Hill, the largest of which is eight yards long and one yard wide, with four small chambers diverging from it; on the side of a small hill, in the townland of Ballymargy, is one of larger dimensions, and in a more perfect state, with two

entrances; and near Hannahstown is one still larger, which, since 1798, has been closed, having, at that time, been a place of concealment for arms. Three large caves, which give name to the mountain Cave Hill, are all formed in the perpendicular face of an immense range of basaltic rocks; the lowest is twenty-one feet long, eighteen wide, and from seven to ten feet in height; above this is another, ten feet long, seven feet wide, and six in height; and above that is a third, said to be divided into two unequal parts, each of which is more extensive than the largest of the other caves; but the ascent is fraught with so much danger that few venture to visit it.

The large ramparts of earth called Raths or Forts, are also numerous; of these the most extensive is Mac Art's Fort, on the summit of the Cave Hill, protected on one side by a precipice, and on the others by a single ditch of great depth, and a vallum of large dimensions; the enclosed area is nearly level, and, from the height of the mountain, commands a view of vast extent, variety, and beauty, including the Isle of Man, the shores and mountains of Scotland, and a large portion of the counties of Antrim, Down, Armagh, Derry, and Donegal. Near the base of Squire's Hill are many smaller raths, and two of large dimensions, almost at the summit of Blackmountain; and near the shore of the Lough, within the grounds of Fort William, is an encampment seventy feet square, surrounded by a deep fosse, and defended by a bastion at each angle; it is said to have been thrown up by King William in 1690, hence the name of the mansion and grounds of "Fort William;" near it is another intrenchment of ruder construction.

There are two large Cairns on the Black mountain, in one of which, in 1829, was found a large urn filled with calcined human bones, a spear head, and two ornaments of brass; there is also a cairn on the Cave Hill, and one on Squire's Hill. A great number of stone and flint hatchets, arrowheads of flint, brazen celts, and querns or hand mill-stones, have been found in the vicinity.

The immediate environs of the town are rich in gardens, parks, mansions, villas, rural resorts, romantic hamlets, sea

bathing retreats, and the whitened fields and neat houses of linen bleachers. Among the gentlemen's seats, conspicuous for their elegance, are Ormeau, the residence of the Marquis of Donegall; Belvoir, of Sir R. Bateson, Bart; Purdysburn, of Robert Batt, Esq.; Orangefield, of R. B. B. Houston, Esq; Turf Lodge, of John Kane, Esq.; Down and Connor House, of the Bishop of Down and Connor and Dromore; Ardoyne, of Michael Andrews, Esq; Ballydrain, of Hugh Montgomery, Esq; Ballysillan, of John F. Ferguson, Esq.; Beechmount, of Lewis Reford, Esq.; Cromac, of T. Garret, Esq.; Duncairn, of A. J. Macrory, Esq.; the Falls, of John Sinclair, Esq.; Fort William, of G. Langtry, Esq.; Glenalena, of William Orr, Esq.; Glenville, of Mrs. M-Cance; the Grove, of William Simms, Esq.; Jennymount, of Robert Thompson, Esq.; Ligoneil, of Alexander Stewart, Esq.; Lismoine, of R. Callwell, Esq.; Low Wood, of J. Thomson, Esq.; Malone House, of William W. Legge, Esq.; Mount Collyer, of Andrew Mulholland, Esq.; Mount Vernon, of Hill Hamilton, Esq.; New Forge, of J. Ferguson, Esq.; Parkmount, of John M'Neile, Esq.; Old Park, of W. H. Lyons, Esq.; Sea-view, of J. Boomer, Esq.; Graymount, of William Gray, Esq.; Springfield, of J. Stevenson, Esq.; Strandmills, of Thomas G. Batt, Esq.; Suffolk, of William S. M'Cance, Esq.; Wheatfield, of J. Blair, Esq.; Willmount, of J. Stewart, Esq.; Wolf Hill, of Mrs. Thompson; Woodburn, of M. Charley, Esq.; Finaghy, of J. Charley, Esq.; Skeigoneil, of J. Steen, Esq.; Fortfield, of W. G. Johnson, Esq.; Belvidere, of A. Durham, Esq.; Edenderry, of Charles Dunlop, Esq.; Ballymenoch, of T. Gregg, Esq.; Stormount, of Mrs. Cleland; Mertoun, of John Harrison, Esq.; Eglantine Hill, of Thomas Macdonnell, Esq.; Annadale, of Alexander M'Donnell, Esq.; Maryville, of John Heron, Esq.; Greenfield, of Thomas Ferguson, Esq.; Beechpark, Cherryville, Belmount, Bloomfield, Glenbank, the Lodge, &c. &c.

IIISTORY.

THE origin of the town of Belfast, which at present holds so high a rank in the commercial, as well as the literary and political world, is involved in obscurity; it is, however, com

paratively a modern town; and, unlike the majority of other Irish cities and towns, has no claim to ecclesiastical antiquity, or monkish patronage, for its foundation.

The Celtic or Irish name of the locality in which the present town of Belfast is situated was Beal-na-Fear-sad, which signifies the mouth of a ford, for near the present Queen's bridge was formerly a ford at low water, and a ferry at full tide.

Reasonable conjectures may be formed of the condition of the place previous to, and for some time after, the arrival of the English. It is probable that a village existed here, consisting only of the mud dwellings of the ferry-men, or those concerned in the accommodation of the few travellers visiting a wild and unfrequented part of the country.

Soon after the arrival of the English, Sir John de Courcy received a grant of all Ulster, on condition of his subjugating it. With this intention, in 1177, he invaded a considerable part of the province, erecting many castles for the security of his precarious acquisitions. There is no historic record that the castle of Belfast was among the number, but is supposed to have been erected by him, or some of his followers. It is certain, however, that as the power of the English extended, this place, from its advantageous situation, between the Anglo-Norman colony, at Carrickfergus, and their possessions in the Ards, (county Down), would soon attract the attention of a resolute enemy.

We have been unable to trace any mention of this town higher than the reign of Edward II., at which period the native Irish, galled by the tyranny of the English government, proposed an invasion to the Scots, and offered the most alluring proposals to Edward Bruce, for his assistance in the utter expulsion of the English colonists.

Accordingly, on the 2d of May, 1315, Edward Bruce, having accepted the invitation, landed at the peninsula of Curran, near Larne, with an army of 6,000 men, and being joined by the Irish chieftains, fell with the fury of a devouring tempest on the English settlements in that quarter.

At the outset, nothing was able to resist his progress, and Belfast, amongst other "very good towns and strongholds,"