Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
Pococke's Tour in Ireland in 1752 (Author: Richard Pococke)

entry 3

On the 24th I crossed over to Restrevor, where Alderman Ross late Lord Mayor of Dublin21 has a small house pleasantly situated under the hills, which are covered with wood, near an old Mansion house in which his Father liv'd: I went to pay him a visit, but being early in the morning he was not risen: I went on to the West for near two miles and then turned to the North East along the side of the hills over a rivulet, which joins another and falls in at Newry; before I came to eight mile bridge a fine view presented of the Country to the North of beautiful hills under corn, mostly oats in fine verdure, and on one of them saw a Mount, called the White Mote. Asking here about the road, if it was hilly? they told me it was; but that the hills were all level, by which I suppose they meant that they were not high. I came over the hills to Briansford, on the side of Tullamore park, which belongs to Lord Limerick; this park is a very fine situation, being divided into two parts by a rivlet which runs in a deep rocky bed covered with trees, and affords a most Romantic prospect, to this rivlet there is a gentle descent; on the other side the Park takes in for a mile the foot of the high mountains of Moran (Mourne) and particularly of the highest call'd Slieve Donard which is 1060 yards high from the surface of the sea to which it extends: the park is all fine wooden and cut into Vistas up the side of the steep hill; there is a handsome bridge over the rivlet, where the rocky cliffs on each side may be twenty feet deep, and so cover'd with trees that you can hardly see the water at the bottom in some places. Here just over the rivlet Lord Limerick has


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built a thatch'd open place to dine in, which is very Romantick, with a stove near to prepare the Entertainment: above on the North side of this He has begun to build a pretty lodge, two rooms of which are finished, designing to spend the Summer months here: between this park and the sea, are houses for those who come to drink Goat's Whey in May and June, when the milk on account of the flowers on which the Goats feed is in greatest perfection. I here met Lord John Murray brother and Heir apparent to the Duke of Athol, a Colonel of the Highland Regiment in this kingdom, a most accomplished fine bred Gentleman, and when I went away I found I had been as in his house, and he gave me a letter to the Commanding officer at Carrickfergus, hearing me say that I proposed to stay there on Sunday, that he might show me the civilities of the place.