Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
Pococke's Tour in Ireland in 1752 (Author: Richard Pococke)
entry 47
On the 11th I set out to the south and all the officers went with me and dined with Mr. Brown of Westport, who had sent compliments to me that he should be glad to see me. The road is very pleasant near those little bays which are westward from the harbour and in sight of delightful Islands. I went to the top of some hills to have a view of them; about two miles and a half distance we came to a rivlet called Moinah, which goes under a hill about a quarter of a mile into the sea, and the tide comes in by the same passage. A little farther we came to a well wall'd round which they call O'Malley's Well: concerning which there is a tradition in the country, that a female child of this family, being dipt in it became a male, which was probably some trick in order to secure the estate of the family in that child. We descended to Westport a small village situated on a rivlet which falls into that bay, and makes the south-east corner of the great bay, in which there are some small Islands. The foot of Croaghpatrick comes into it which is called [gap: extent: one word] (the Eagle mountain) by reason that it appears like an Eagle stretching out its wings; tho' from the north east from
Castlebar it does not appear in that manner: It is not determined whether this mountain or Nefin is the higher. The coast extends about ten miles farther to the County of Galway, where the country on the western ocean is called Connemarrah ( ) probably the
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name of some ancient clan;—This it is likely is about the extent of the Barony of Ballynehinch; to the north east of this is the Joyces Country on Lough Mask and Lough Corrib, probably the Barony of Ross. To the south east is the country of Iar-Connaught, taking in I suppose the Barony of Moyeulau. I had designed to have rode along the sea coast, but the weather was so unpromising, that I laid aside that design. Mr. Brown's house is very pleasantly situated on the south side of the rivlet over which he has built two handsome bridges, and has form'd Cascades in the river which are seen from the front of the house; which is built of Hewen stone, a course marble they have here: It is much like Bedford house in Bloomsbury Square, except that it has a pavilion in the middle over the Attick story in which there is a large convenient Bed chamber for the young people, of the size of the hall, the design is with nine windows on a floor and for five rooms; one of which a back wing is not built: It is an exceeding good house and well finished, the design and execution of Mr. Castel's: Mr. Brown designs to remove the village and make it a Park improvement all round; there are fine low hills every way which are planted and improved, and the trees grow exceedingly well: the tide comes just up to the house; and the Cascades are fine Salmon leaps. In the house are handsome chimney pieces of the Castlebar marble, which are a good black without any white in them like the Touchstone, which the Italians call Paragone and value very much.