Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
Pococke's Tour in Ireland in 1752 (Author: Richard Pococke)
entry 35
On the 29th I went two small miles to see Colonel Wynne's house on Lough Gilley, and in the way viewed the charter school, which is building out of Erasmus Smith's Charity: There are three good rooms on a floor, a kitchen and two schools, being built for sixty children, the Governor of Erasmus Smith's Schools gave first £500 and then £200, and Colonel Wynne gave 4 acres of ground for ever; they have raised
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it to the first floor, it is built of the slaty lime stone near it. Colonel Wynne's house is situated on an eminence which has the Lough to the south and east, which is most beautiful in Islands and in the fine rocky hills that are on the south and east sides of it, both the one and the other in great part cover'd with wood. The house is built of a marble, in which I saw shells, as in the Kilkenny marble, and it appeared as if it would polish of a black colour. It is Mr. Castel's design, six rooms of a floor and very well finished insomuch that it may be looked on, as one of the best houses in the Kingdom. I had met Captain Wynne the second son on whom I waited, he introduced me to his elder brother, who in the father's absence, with great politeness showed me the house and pressed me to stay dinner, and invited me to stay two or three days. I took leave returned to Sligo and waited on Mr Knox, Mrs Stewart of Hornhead her brother, and afterwards Mr Mitchelburn Knox, the person to whom this Town and County are so much indebted; After dinner I set out on my journey, going first southward three miles to Belerejoneh Bay and soon to Ballysadare Bay, where if the tide had been out we should have crossed the strand, but being obliged to go round, we passed a road that goes to Clonine and came to Beltra, where there is a Church we had almost all the way gone round a fire hill called Knockrach which makes the head to the west of Sligo, on the top of it is a remarkable cairn or Mount, which if I mistake not is called Muscarrow.40 I saw in all this road the stones full of that petrifications of Coral. I have
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reason to think from observations I have since made, that they extend all the way along that country to Newport Pratt on the western Ocean. We turned to the west and in a mile came to Balinley rivlet, and saw near it the ruins of an old Convent, called Balinley Abbey, for here they call all Convents Abbies and in Irish Monastere. Just beyond this we passed by Bureen Castle and in three miles came to Arnaglans, where there is a large old Castle and two mounts near the village; a mile farther we passed by a height where there were some foundations of Castle Arragh and had to the right Gargaandouch, a hunting Lodge of Mr. Wynne's. We then came to a bay and turned up Donecoi, about two miles from Castle Arragh, where there is a large old Castle on a rivlet that runs of a rocky bed, in which I observed the stones lay very much as in square rocky pillars and in their strata. I saw Grange Castle about a mile to the east and passed by a Danish Mount and in two miles came to a poor Village called Doneal where there is a Castle and rivlet here I lay in a very indifferent Inn.