Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
Pococke's Tour in Ireland in 1752 (Author: Richard Pococke)
entry 5
On the 26th I went two miles north east to Ardglass, where when the tide is quite out, by crossing the strand, the road is about half a mile nearer, it is said, to have been the next town for trade in Ulster after Carrickfergus before the time of Queen Elizabeth. The customs of this place and Killough were granted by Hen. 8th to the Earl of Kildare, who sold 'em to K. Charles 1st. This place seems to have been fortified by a long building and some towers, the former seems to have been the habitation and store houses of ten Merchant families, consisting of a ground floor and one story over it; what is remarkable from the upper rooms there is a communication something like what they call the murdering holes, but going quite down to the ground so as not to be observed from the outside, which might serve as shores to the upper apartments, and it may be for other purposes; a square tower joins to this, which is cover'd by another to the South, and there is a third to the east of that, to the north west of them there is a large tower, over the gateway of which was an inscription relating to the Lords of it, the Kildare family; and on the height to the west are remains of a gateway to
p.12
what they call the King's Castle: This is a good harbour for small boats, and a ship may ride in 15 feet water at the west part of it, but it is a very small harbour.25 From this place I crossed the country seven miles to Downpatrick, and came to St. Patrick's Well under Strud hill ? Struell, a famous place for pilgrimages; the water rises from a spring cover'd over, and runs into two baths, one public the other private; at the spring they wash their eyes, and in the baths the people as a part of their religion, go in naked and dip themselves, near the well they go round a sort of an Altar, probably the side of an old Chapel by way of Penance, sometimes on their knees; and near it a Chapel was lately built, but 'twas not thought proper to permit them to cover it:26 on the side of this hill to the south is a rock something in form of a seat which they call St. Patrick's Chair, with a way round it over the broken rock, and to go in this way, sometimes even on their knees, is also a part of the penance; and on Midsummer day when they are performing their pilgrimages there are a great number of priests near who give them Absolution. A mile farther is Downpatrick where the hills form a beautiful Amphitheatre; on two of these hills the town is built, and the third side is covered with the wood and gardens that are about a house, which if I mistake not belongs to Mr. Southwell, who is Lord of the town: and on the western hill are the walls of the ancient Cathedral, called the Abby, which is not large but has a very venerable aspect; near it are the remains of a round tower. This spot commands a view of the Lake beneath, now indeed almost drained, and of all the country to the south
p.13
and west, the small hills being cover'd with corn. From this hill also is a view of the Abby of Inch in an Island of the Lough, and of Mr. Maxwell's large house of Finnibrothy near it. Below the Abbey is a very handsome brick building, in the middle part an apartment for six men, and six women, and at each end a School for ten girls, at the other for as many boys, who are to be fed and lodged as well as cloth'd and taught. All the foundation of Mr. Southwell of King's Weston. At the lower end of the town is the Townhouse, and above it a handsome portico of twenty-four Arches for the linnen Market, which is very considerable at this place, and adjoining to that is a School, to teach the poor children of the town, who are not in the other Schools. Near this is a good new-built Church, and beyond that a free School house for teaching Latin, which seemed to be in a ruinous way. The chief support of this place is a market and Fairs for linnen. This is the proper place of Residence for the Bishop and Dean of Down, but neither of them have houses here. I had almost forgot to mention four Apartments for Clergymen's widows, which are maintained as well as I could be informed by subscription. On a hill to the North of the town is an ancient fortification, called the Rath of Downpatrick, encompassed with three fossees, it is about 700 yards over, as I have been inform'd, and measures by the ascent sixty feet from the bottom, and it may be questioned, whether this is not the ancient Dunum of Ptolemy. Near Downpatrick is a famous horse course for races; here two or three plates are run for, which are given by the Corporation of Horse Breeders in the County of Down, erected by King James II. under a charter into a Corporation, with liberty to purchase £200 a-year in lands, and a power to have a treasurer, register and other officers, and that a
p.14
fair should be held for six days at the time of the races, Customs to be paid belonging to the Corporation, during which fairs, they have power to hold a Court for certain purposes.27 I crossed over the communication between this Lough and that of Strangford, and turning to the left came to Inch Abby, removed from Carrig near Erynach; the church appears to have been a grand building, there are three windows to the east, and two on each side near it, all narrow and turned with Gothick arches; on the south side are seen the tops of the seats for the administering Priest and those who assisted him, as cut in the wall and beautified with Gothick sculpture.28
I saw a number of women in an adjacent cabin, and my curiosity led me to go in, it was a wake over the body of an old man, who was stretched on the floor and covered with a sheet. About 3 feet above the corpse was a board covered with a white cloth, on which they place candles; and the women sit round the corpse, they are entertained with a spirit of Barley, call'd Whiskey, with Tabacco and sometimes with bread, cake, &c, and frequently drink to excess with such instances of mortality before their eyes, and this they look on as an act of Devotion. I returned back over the bridge, and saw the sluices to let out the fresh water and keep out the tide, but as there are not sluices enough to carry off the former the draining of the land is not completed. A little beyond this is the port of Downpatrick from the Bay of Strangford, to which vessels can come of about fifty Tons. About a mile farther and over this arm of the sea, which they call the Lough, are ruins of the Abbey of Saul, founded by St. Patrick for Canons Regular, and rebuilt by
p.15
Malachy O'Morgair Bishop of Down, it is now entirely ruined, but very near it, are some of the walls of an old Castle. They have lately built a small Church on the site of the Monastery, having according to the style of this country, only windows on the South side and one at the East end. Two or three miles farther we came to the plantation of Castle Ward belonging to Judge Ward, situated very beautifully on the Bay of Strangford; they are very fine not only in Groves and clumps of trees, but in quick fences to the road, adorned with flowering shrubs as well as rows of trees. Here is a contrivance for a mill by a flood gate to let in the tide and another to let it out when they please, by which means they can keep the mill almost always going.29 On a point of land over the Bay to the North of this, is a lofty old fabrick called Castle Audley, supposed to be built by one of the Audley family, who settled in Ireland under John de Curcey, about the time of Henry 2d. which family has not been long extinct. I went from Castle Ward to the Charter School of Strangford, which is very near it, for the founding of which the late Earl of Kildare left £500 and his Dowager gave two acres for ever, and 20 acres at half rent;—It is for twenty boys and twenty girls. Strangford is very pleasantly situated on the hanging ground over the bay, but it is a very poor town without trade, consisting of little more than one small Street, the buildings of which are mostly on the upper side. The Parish Church is a mile off, if I mistake not at Baleycuther, and the chapel in the town repaired by the late Earl of Kildare is going to ruin. About two miles south of Strangford is the Castle of Kilclief in which about the middle of last century a Bishop of Down
p.16
resided.30