by Ciarán Crilly
History of Castlewellan, and the Annesleys
“Castlewellan and its Gaelic origins
’CAISLEAN AN MHUILINN’ or CAISLEÁN UIDHILÍN ?. Some Irish language scholars believe that the original Gaelic place name of Castlewellan is ’CAISLEAN AN MHUILINN’ to mean ‘Castle of the Mill’. Others believe it was named after the Irish family who preceded the Magennis clan. They were called Mc Quillan and would have predated the mills by a considerable way. Since the establishment of the Northern Ireland Place names Project (An academic study based at QUB) back in 1987 the confusion over original Irish names for most modern place-names has been claimed to have been cleared up. Two renowned experts working with the Project have written that the original Irish name for Castlewellan is CAISLEÁN UIDHILÍN :- ‘Irish Place Names’ Deirdre and Laurence Flanagan, Gill and MacMillian, 1994; (p.190) Castlewellan = Caisleán Uidhilín = Castle of Hugolin; ‘A Dictionary of Ulster Placenames’, Dr Patrick McKay, QUB, 1999. (p.38) “…Irish form is ‘Caisleán Uidhilín’ meaning ‘Uidhilin’s Castle’. Uidhilín is a gaelicised form of the Anglo-Norman forename ‘Hugelin’, which is the basis of the modern surname ‘MacQuillan’ (in Irish ‘Mac Uidhilín). A knowledge of Irish is helpful in order to understand some of the local place names and to be able to pronounce them correctly. For example ‘Slievenaslat’ or Slieve-na-lat means ‘hill of the reeds’. Situated behind the Castle in Castlewellan forest park (formerly the Annsley Demense) Slievenaslat (height 270 metres) commands probably the best views of the Mountains of Mourne as they sweep majestically down to the Irish sea.
Annsborough (Baile Aine) meaning Anne’s town situated less than a mile from the town, is the place where the linen mills of the 17th and 18th century were located. Most people today that know of Castlewellan or have visited it’s magnificent forest park will automatically assume that the name ‘Castlewellan’ is associated with the Annesley Castle situated overlooking the lake in the forest park. However a place called Castlewellan or Caislean An Mhuilinn/Caisleán Uidhilín existed long before the Annesley’s came to Ireland. To make things even more confusing some of the earlier spellings of the name of the town include Castlewillane, Castlewillan and Castlewilliam.(Some of the older generation still pronounce it Castlewillin).
The Magennis Dynesty.
Before the 17th Century the Magennis dynasty ruled virtually all of south Down from the Mourne mountains through to Newry with imposing castles in Rathfriland and Dundrum. The name itself comes from the Irish ‘McAonghusa meaning son of Angus who was king of Ulster in the 900s. They were also one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Ulster but through a combination of military misadventure and playing politics with successive English regimes they lost the lot.
Their lordship covered a lot of territory before 1700 and from the 12th to the mid 18th centuary Castlewellan had been an important stronghold of the Magennis Clan, although no trace of their castle or the early settlement remains. The only reference to a "castle" associated with the Magennis family comes in 1603 in "Bodley’s Visit to Lecale" when a messenger from the crown stops off with "O Neill’s woman" at a large house or island some twelve miles from Downpatrick on the Dublin road. The lady in question was the daughter of the leader of the Magennis clan who was allegedly married to Hugh O Neill There is no evidence of a building in the Forest Park other than the "Cottage" and the "Temple" both of which ceased to exist with the building of the present castle. Castlewellan was granted to Ever PacPhelimy Magennis by the English Crown on 22 October 1613. Also in the early 1600’s the title of Lord of Iveagh was bestowed upon Arthur Magennis and the fiefdom was run like an English Court with poets and musicians and regular feasts. But it was not to last.
Under the English King James 1 the Magennis land was seized by the English crown. but later Phelim Magennis was granted 11 townlands in the parishes of Kilmegan and Kilcoo, constituting the Manor of Castlewellan. Magennis could also hold a Court at the Manor and in return for the granting of lands and honours guaranteed allegiance to the King. In the turbulent years that followed the family as it were “backed the losing horse” and downfall was assured. Arthur and his successive heirs, backed James against the English and the simple fact is that they lost. They were constantly on the Irish side during the resistance to English aggression in the seventieth century and after the battle of the Boyne they were dispossessed of their patrimony in Co Down including Castlewellan.
The Magennis’s eventually moved to Dublin and there is evidence to this day of a small brewery in Castlewellan forest Park (near the gardens). It is held by some people that there is some connection with the present day Guinness brewery in Dublin, and that in fact the first ‘guinness’ stout to be brewed was in the Castlewellan Estate – now Castlewellan Forest Park. The present Lord Iveagh head of the Guinness brewery – was not a direct descendant of the lords of Iveagh but it is thought that are connections. Over the years the Magennis name has come to be spelt in various forms and at least three opposing northern Irish politicians hail from the Magennis tribe from Co Down, Unionist Ken Maginnis Sinn Feinn’s Martin McGuinness and the SDLP’s Alban Maginness. Around Castlewellan there has always been at least one branch of the Clan with the Guinness surname and numerous families of Maginn’s and McGinn’s
Newcastle (Caisléan Nua) Situated less than four miles from Castlewellan on the shores of Dundrum bay Newcastle takes its name from the Castle erected there by the Magennis Clan in 1588. Felix Magennis, the chieftain of his clan, and Lord of Iveagh built a stronghold for himself and his followers at the point where the Shimna river enters the sea. Following the Irish rebellion of 1647, Magennis was dispossessed of his castle, and the Annesley Arms Hotel eventually replaced it in 1835. Today on the site of the “new castle” stands the Newcastle Visitor’s Centre and Tropicana from which visitors can enjoy the same commanding view of mountain, sea and river as the Lord of Iveagh had from his stronghold more than 400 years ago. The Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland 1844-45 has this to say about Newcastle. “Those who have visited Newcastle must have felt their attention attracted to the wild grandeur of the scenery which presents itself to the eye beyond the southern extremity of the village. To the right rise the mountains of Mourne, at the foot of which lie an immense number of large blocks of granite thrown together in such confusion and in such quantities that a fanciful person might suppose they had been collected for the purpose of building another link to the chain of mountains but which nature being too busy with the more animated portion of her works had never found time to begin”. Newcastle, which had a population of about 400 at that time, may have shed some wild grandeur in its development as a modern seaside resort, but the beauty of mountains, sea and beaches remain and has been immortalised by Percy French in his ballad “The Mountains of Mourne”
Co Down was surveyed by John O’Donovan in the 1840’s and he records that “the inhabitants of the northern slopes of the Mournes from the Shimna (Newcastle) to the Clanrye (Newry) were Gaelic speaking” Fifty years later the census of 1891 shows that Irish speakers were still to be found in the area. It is reputed that Castlewellan was the last place in county Down where Irish was spoken as the everyday language. As Irish declined as a spoken language efforts to revive it were made, and these resulted in the first Newcastle Feis (gathering) being held on 7th September 1902. Gaelic League branches were established and a teacher employed. A newspaper of the period (February 1903) gives a full report of a Coiste Ceanntair meeting held in Castlewellan with Hilltown, Drumaroad, Castlewellan, Newcastle, Glasdrummond, Dechoment, Gargory, Leitrim and Clanvaraghan branches being represented. The Newcastle Feis became Feis an Duin (County Down Feis) in 1906 and has been held annually in Newcastle ever since apart from a short break during the 20’s. Feis an Duin became the great annual gathering of those who had an interest in preserving Gaelic culture. It was visited by Willie Pearse in 1913 had Padraig Pearse at a Feis function in 1909 and was addressed by many distinguished men including Eamon de Valera in 1950 and by former Taoiseach Jack Lynch, former GAA Presidents Padraig Mac Con Midhe, who rarely missed a Feis, M.V. O’Donoghue (Waterford), Michael Kehoe (Wexford) and Seamus Mac Ferrain who later lived in Newcastle. President of the Feis until he died, Cannon Charlie O’Neill, PP Newcastle was the composer of the words of the famous song about the 1916 Easter Rising “The Foggy Dew”. Throughout the years The GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) and the Feis worked in the closest co-operation and many of those associated with early Feiseanna were also active in establishing Gaelic games throughout County Down. Thanks to their efforts Down’s first County GAA Ground was purchased and opened in !939 – St Patrick’s Park Newcastle. It is still a County GAA venue and also continues as the annual venue for Feis an Duin. It is managed on behalf of the County GAA Committee by the local GAA Club Bryansford one of County Down’s major GAA Clubs. It is worth noting that Newcastle’s first entry into the Gaelic games arena was as a hurling Club known as Clanna Barca which was formed at the beginning of the 20th centaury almost coinciding with the emergence of the Feis. At this time the twin strongholds of Gaelic games were Leitrim Fontenoys and Newry Faughs. The Faugh’s monopoly of the early hurling championships – they were champions in 1903 –04 and 1907-9 was broken by Newcastle’s Clanna Barca who took the titles in 1905-6..
The earliest record of Gaelic games in Castlewellan, is an old newspaper report recording that Mayobridge played a friendly match with Castlewellan in the Spring of 1893 . In the following years the G.A.A. suffered an almost total collapse in Down. Several factors would have contributed to this. Initially there was the Catholic clergy's opposition to Sunday games, although there are no reports of condemnation anywhere except in Newry. That may well have been because only the Newry clergy's views were noted at that time. Then came the Parnell split, when Clubs broke up as a result of bitter differences of divided allegiance and, finally, the drain of emigration, which in the 1890s took many young men across the Atlantic to seek opportunities that were denied them at home. In some counties rough and dangerous play was blamed for the falling away of Gaelic games, but that did not seem to be a serious problem in Down. The first Castlewellan Gaelic football team, known as the Red Hands, was a schoolboy team formed by Martin Cafferkey in 1903. Martin Cafferkey, from County Mayo, was an enthusiast for everything Irish. He helped found Feis an Dun in 1902 when he came to Castlewellan as the local schoolmaster and was its Secretary and inspiration for many years. Although more concerned with the language-and history, he recognised the importance of Gaelic games, and until he retired from teaching in 1939, always had a Gaelic football team in Castlewellan Primary School. He was also the driving force behind the formation of adult Gaelic football teams in Castlewellan which later formed the backbone of a Gaelic Football Club in the town forerunner of St Malachy’s GAC. St Malachy’s GAC in Castlewellan which celebrates it’s centenary in 2005 can trace it’s origins to Martin Cafferkey’s ‘hearts of Down’ junior team which emerged from his Red Hands schoolboy team of 1903. (a 100,000 word history which tells the story of 100 years of St Malachy’s GAC and the people involved will be published in May 2005 – excerpts of which can be read on the Club website www.castlewellangac.com)
The Annesley’s arrival in Castlewellan
Francis Annesley, M.P. of Thorganby, Yorkshire, and Castlewellan, Co Down became one of 13 English ‘Trustees’ who benefited from the ‘forfeiture’ of Irish Estates by an English Act of Resumption passed in 1700. The founding of the Irish branch of the family is generally attributed to Francis Annesley, later Sir Francis, who by Royal grant, and also by purchases, acquired estates in 15 counties. He was Secretary of State in Ireland, Treasurer and Receiver- General of Irish Revenues and he also became Viscount Valentia in Co. Kerry and Baron Mountnorris in Co. Armagh. Among the many Royal grants received by him was the Manor of Cloughmaghericatt (now Clough) in Co. Down near the site of Castlewellan town, and the Castlewellan Estate of the Magennis Clan comprising the townlands of Backaderry, Ballymagreehan, Ballymaginaghy, Benraw, Castlewellan, Clarkill (alias Clarehill), Legananny, Leitrim, Magheramoyo, Slievenabloey, and Slieveniskey. This did not include the Newcastle, Rathfriland (Bannfield), and other County Down estates also granted to the Francis Annesley. Richard born in 1628 was the first Annesley to appear in Co Down. He was among a group of ten thousand Scots and English sent to Ireland by the English Crown (the Adventurers). Prior to receiving the Irish estates in Co Down the Annesley’s settled near Clough about five miles from Castlewellan. His descendant also Francis Annesley acquired the property at Castlewellan in 1741 and from that date onwards began to shape the estate as it is today. In 1742 Harry Jackson surveyed the Annesley estate. An interesting map from this survey outlines in detail the tenants and their lands in this area as follows:
Bryan McCartan, Ballymagreehan - 87 acres
Arthur McCartan, Brackaderry - 62 acres
Thomas McCartan, Clarkhill - 75 acres
Mrs McCartan, Lurgan Castlewellan - 41acres.
This part of County Down always had a strong association with the McCartans and McCartan families played an active part in the business life of this town over the years. In 1900, amongst the bearers of the name were four publicans, a shipping agent, ironmonger, baker, quarry owners, stonemasons, fowl dealers and hackney owners. At less than a mile south of Castlewellan at Burrenbridge is O' Hare's shop and grain store. (purchased in 2003 by Eamon Lundy). This shop was originally a pub owned by a McCartan family. Sons and daughters reared here played an important role in religious communities here and abroad. The shop records, preserved from the nineteeth century, indicate at least eight McCartan families in this neighbourhood. France’s General Charles De Gaulle had Irish blood in his veins – that of the McCartan Clan of County Down.
When the Annsley’s acguired Castlewellan in 1741 they proceeded to build a six foot high wall round the estate (the wall is still largely intact 260 years later in the year 2001), reckoned to be nine miles long. Local labour was employed to build the wall, and they were paid one shilling (five pence) per day and sixpence (two and a half pence) plus a whack of a stick on the rump of the horse by men standing every hundred yards or so, and known as whipper ins. Inside the walls the Annsley’s planted out the whole area with trees and the outlines of the small confiscated farms are still evident at the start of the 21st century. Francis Annesley, the first owner of the new Annesley estate died in 1750. His sixth son, William, MP for Middleton in Yorkshire England was created Baron Glerawly and he made Castlewellan his principal residence constructing a house and laying out a formal park, at the same time as the town was built on the demense perimeter. This early Annesley residence was probably located close to the Grange Yard (now the site of the Forest Park car park) which housed the Annesley farm and stable yard. Later in the 1790s the Annesley’s built a new residence in the Castlewellan Estate – a single storey Regency villa on the north shore of the lake known as Castlewellan Cottage. In 1751 Mrs. Delaney wife of the Dean of Down who was at ‘Mount Panther’ (Map Ref - OS9J.405.385: Cloughram Townland.) wrote that "the Annesleys had walled in and planted with oak 350 acres of ground for a park. Near them is a large bleach yard and Mr. Annesley is going to build a town". Mount Panther was built in 1770. This mansion had cellars and was once three stories high. Some seventeenth century documents suggest a McCartan branch once resided on this site. Mrs Delaney's published diaries give a good insight into life here during the eighteenth century. Her husband was Dean of Down and moved in the circle of Dean Jonathon Swift.
Castlewellan Town
“In beauty of situation no town in the county (of Down) can surpass Castlewellan” wrote George Henry Bassett in the 1886 Guide to County Down agreeing with a 1823 report… “The beauty symmetry and spacious appearance of this village with its appropriate market house, spire and town clock…the richly planted hills, combine with the other works of nature and of art, to render this one of the most magnificent and beautiful scenes in the territory of Down”. The town of Castlewellan was laid out in two parts, in the style of a French town. The old town (now Upper Square) facing the entrance to the Annsley demesne (now Castlewellan Forest Park) was built in the shape of a Crescent in the 1750’s. It was to be inhabited only by Protestants, but by the 20th century some people became more tolerant and even sold their businesses to Catholics. In 1754 a Market Charter was granted and shortly afterwards a Market House was built opposite the demesne entrance at the top of the old town. The ground floor of the market house would have sheltered the market traders, whilst the upper floor was used as a ball room or dance hall. It was also used for Church of Ireland religious services before the building of St Paul’s C of I church in the town. In later years the upper floor served as the local Magistrates Court and this continued right up to the late 1960’s. A granite war memorial commemorating the lives of local men who joined the British forces and were killed in action in both world wars was erected after the wars on the exterior wall of the building at upper square. The ground floor became a cattle and sheep auction ring with pens and enclosures for the livestock to the rear. It closed in the 1960’s and about the mid seventies the whole building was converted into the town library. The animal pens were removed and a lawn was constructed enclosed by a low wall but thankfully the exterior of this landmark building was kept very much as it was originally built and the original town clock still keeps perfectly good time in the 21st century. In 1766 the town and townland of Castlewellan comprised of 15 families of whom two were Catholic and the rest were Protestant.
The new town (Lower Square) was developed from 1810 onwards as the town grew in importance as a trading and market centre. Farmers could have their sacks of corned weighed at the Crane for 2d a sack erected in 1817 and by 1820 the Cornmarket known locally and to this day as the ‘corncrane’ was built in 1820 in the new town at the junction of Newcatle Road. The ‘corncrane was purchased by the Catholic Church in the early part of the 20th centaury and became the Parochial Hall. The upper floor had a stage added and was used for dances and concerts as well as parish bazaars and bingo. Weekly film shows and Saturday matinees were also shown in the hall during the 1950’s and 1960’s after the ‘Star Cinema’ converted from a meeting hall owned by the Ancient Order of Hibernians in the town’s Circular Road closed after the war. (The Star Cinema re-opened for a few years in the late 1960’s but was destroyed by an IRA bomb in the 1970’s). In the 1950’s St. Malachy’s GAA Club started a drama group and staged many fine plays for a number of years in the parochial hall. It was also used as a post- primary, school for a number of years until a new Intermediate Secondary School was built in the town in 1959. The ground floor was then used as a dinning hall for about ten years until a new purpose built dinning hall was added to the new school. During the 1970’s it was leased by Kilmegan Youth Club before finally falling into disrepair and was then sold to Castlewellan Regeneration Company who tastefully restored the building retaining it’s original architectural characteristics and converted it to a multi business use centre called the Corncrake Community Centre.
The town of Castlewellan in 1830, is described (Topographical Dictionary of Ireland by Samuel Lewis – 1837) as "A market and post town in the parish of Kilmegan Co., Down, 9 miles from Downpatnck and 64 miles (Irish-miles) from Dublin, containing 728 inhabitants. It is on the mail coach road from Newry to Downpatrick, on the edge of a small lake, and though partly surrounded by mountains occupies a conspicuous site. The town is well build, and consists of an upper and lower square, connected by a street containing 122 houses. There are barracks for two companies of infantry. The bleaching of Linen, which is a principal industry of the place, was first introduced by Mr. Moffat in about 1749, since which time it has greatly increased and several large bleach greens have been made. Those of Messrs. Murland are capable of bleaching and finishing 20,000 pieces annually, and those of Mr. Steel 8,000. A large portion of the linen is sent to America and to the West Indies. There is a mill for spinning linen yarn established in 1829 -the first for fine yarns ever established in Ireland. It is worked by waterpower and lighted with gas on the premises. Another is in the course of erection on a very large scale, to be worked by a water wheel 50 feet in diameter. In these several establishments some 500 people are employed. There are also some large corn mills, and mills for the dressing of flax. The market is on Monday, and the market house in the upper square is a fine building, with a belfry and clock. A police station is situated there, and a courthouse and parish. A schoolhouse was built by Mr. Murland and another by lord Annesley. At the foot of the Slieve-na-lat, on the border of the lake, is an elegant house built by Lord Annesley, with fine pleasure gardens and a view. Earl Annesly has the title also of Baron of Castlewellan".
Monday was market day and it was stipulated that the market be held in the Upper and lower Squares on alternate weeks. By the mid 19th century “brown linen and linen yarn was sold in great quantity as well as hay, straw, turnips, potatoes, fowl (chickens), eggs butter and grain. There was a cattle market twice a month and two great hiring fairs in May and November when all the farm servants crowded into town to find employment for the next half year.” The hiring fairs were common in a number of northern Irish towns in the 19th and early 20th century. Then, young boys and girls as young as eleven or twelve were brought to the fairs by their father or mother to be hired for six months to well-off farmers as child labourers and house keepers, for as little as five shillings for the period. This served a dual purpose of providing cheap labour for the (mostly Protestant) farmers, and also provided some financial relief to poorer families (mostly Catholic), and of course it meant having one less mouth to feed at home. The practice continued up until the 1920s and in the 1980’s there were still old people living in the Castlewellan area who could recall the often harsh and frightening experience of being hired at an early age and not seeing their family for six long months of the year. Most personal accounts recall hard labour, long hours, sleeping in cold outhouses and barns and near starvation diet.
"Pic of the Bunch" Fair Day at Castlewellan.
National Museums and galleries of Northern Ireland, Ulster Folk and Tansport Museum. WAG 1175.
Castlewellan is located in the ancient parish of Kilmegan which comprises a total of 17 Townlands:
The Churches
For many years after the building of Castlewellan Town there was no church in the town. Church of Ireland services were held in the town’s Market House. Prior to that they had met in the old chapel in Moneylane townland. In the 1840’s the Annsleys began thinking about building a church and Thomas Duff an important Newry architect was approached, but his simple plans were rejected. The church that was approved was designed by the Belfast architect Charles Lanyon with his partner mr Lyon. The site was carefully chosen on the outskirts of the town to be visable from the demense on the northern edge of Castlewellan on what was known then as Clough Road – now ‘Mill Hill’. The fine Gothic church of St Paul was consecrated in 1853. It has a commanding position, set well back from the main road. The grounds enclosing it are terraced and contribute to the overall look at the building. It is in the Gothic style with a handsome porch and a graceful spire. The graveyard surrounds the church. The Annesley family vault is here dated 1616. The cost of construction was £7,000 which was borne entirely by the Annesley family (on the understanding that the family pew was to have it’s own fireplace)along with a donation of £100 per year for a resident clergyman.
The earliest Catholic Church from which the parish gets its name was on the site of the present Church of Ireland in Moneylane townland (Map Ref - OS.9J.382.37) situated in the ancient parish of Kilmegan which comprises a total of 17 Townlands(see table above) situated 4 km ENE of Castlewellan town. Kilmegan Church was taken over by the Church of Ireland congregation during penal times. A silver chalice dated 1616 was found on the site. The church at Moneylane was rebuilt in late 18th century but described as a very old building in 1836. It was capable of holding 500 people. This church occupies the site of multi-period, pre-Reformation churches. Records of the present parish and building, prior to 1822, are missing owing to a lawsuit between the Rev Henry Mc Dowell Johnstone, of Ballywillwill and the Rev John Forbes Close, of Kilkeel, in connection with the right of impropriation of the parish. Many church books were sent to Dublin to be produced in evidence and never returned. Local tradition states that a great old warrior was interred inside the masonry of the tower. McCartan gravestones, from families formerly resident in Moneylane and Tullymore, are to be found here. There probably were other churches at Church Hill in Moneycarragh and at Waterask. The latter was dedicated to Saint Caolan, a brother of Saint Donard after whom the highest mountain of the Mourne range is named.
The present Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception in the nearby townland of Auglisnafin about 4km north of Castlewellan town is built on the site of an earlier Catholic Church. It was built and re-dedicated in 1858. Father James McAleenan was Parish Priest when Aughlisnafin Church was blessed in 1858. Adjoining this church is the Catholic Cemetery for Kilmegan including Castlewellan.
In 1884 the Catholic Church of St Malachy’s was built in the lower square of the new town, replacing a former chapel. The chapel, which was replaced by St Malachy’s, was built in 1825 and was paid for by general subscription. It was described in 1836 as a fine building, which could hold 450 people, and generally there was that many in attendance. Its dimensions were 66 feet by 26 feet in the shape cross. When the new Church of St Malachy’s was under construction it was said that the builders of the new church were denied water and this had to be carried into the town from the local farming community. The money for the church's construction was raised locally with £1,000 alone being obtained by a ladies bazaar. Much of the beauty and adornments were provided by the donations and bequests of the Messrs. Mooney Brothers owners of a large grocers wine and spirits merchant (distillers of ‘Donard Dew’ whiskey) of Upper Square Castlewellan. (The Mooney Brothers Building situated at the corner of upper square and main street opposite the Town Library closed for business in the early 1960’s and was later purchased and renovated by Malachy Magorrian in the 1970s and for a number of years he opened a bar and lounge in the ground floor ). The church was constructed using Ballymagreehan granite (as was the Annsley Castle) and was designed by Messrs. Heavy & Thompson of Killyleagh. The foundation stone was laid by Patrick Dorrian, Bishop of Down and Connor, in July 1880 and the church was dedicated in 7 September 1884 by the Very Rev. V.P. Hood. Rev. James Crickard parish priest of Loughinisland celebrated High Mass, whilst Rev. Thomas O'Donnell was deacon and the Rev. John McCartan was sub-deacon. Fr John McWilliams was Parish Priest when St Malachy’s was consecrated. Amjor renovation, renewal and extension of St Malachy’s costing £1,208,000 is currently taking place (2004)
The Presbyterian Church on Newcastle Road was consecrated in 1854 and the Primitive Wesleyan Methodist chapel was completed in 1869 It was built on the Clough Road side of Main Street beside what is now Mulholland’s Bar.
The 1st Earl Annesley
William Annesley died in 1770. His eldest son Francis Charles was made a Lord in 1789 and became the 1st Earl. In November 1795, the 1st Earl Annesley, then a childless widower of fifty-five, came to dine with his brother Richard (later 2nd Earl Annesley) who resided at his Castlewellan Estate. On the way up the drive he was ‘much struck with the appearance’ of one Sophia Connor, the wife of his brother’s gardener and ‘…remained for some time in conversation with her…in the short time that such conversation lasted, the said Sophia was so dazzled by the rank and splendor of the said Earl that she agreed to elope with him on his return to Dublin later that same evening". Two years later in 1797, Lord Annesley married Sophia Connor – illegally, in view of her previous marriage to the gardener. His death in 1802 was the start of years of feuding in the Annesley families. Richard maintained, as next in line, he was the rightful Heir to the Earldom and Estate. However Sophia had a son by the first Earl and fought and lost a legal case to prove the legitimacy of her son by him, and her son’s consequent right to the Annesley earldom and the family estate of nearly £5,500.00 a year. The ensuing litigation lasted until 1819. In the end Richard won, as he was able to prove that Sophia Kelly (as she professed to have been before her marriage to the 1st Earl), was in fact Mrs. Martin Connor wife of Richard’s Estate gardener. As a Priest married the Connor’s in a Catholic Church, the marriage to Francis was illegal and the sons illegitimate. Sophia settled for an annuity of £400 and went to live in France where she died in 1850..
The 2nd Earl Annesley
Richard succeeded as 2nd Earl, but died five years later in Clontarf, Dublin' in 1824. In his youth, Richard Annesley had read for the Bar and was a Commissioner of the Revenue, 1785-1806. He became Chief Commissioner of the newly separated Board of Excise, 1806 –1810. During this time Annesley was at loggerheads with his fellow Commissioners with the Secretary to the Board Edward Hardman, and with the Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer, John Foster. Hardman complained to Foster that Annsley did nothing but keep a book in which he recited all his grievances and which he intended for the perusal of the government. The book in question was a precedent book of the Commissioners of Customs (c. 1805) with a volume containing Annesley’s fairly deranged ‘Minutes and Observations of Board’s Orders and Proceedings’ Jan- April 1810. The book gives strong evidence of the persecution mania and general mental disturbance which led to his compulsory retirement in May 1810.
The 3rd Earl Annesley:
His eldest son, William Richard 3rd Earl Annesley, succeeded Richard 2nd Earl Annesley. William was M.P. for Downpatrick from 1815 to 1820.It appears that his representation in the Annsley archives is confined to a letter-book and accounts of the Castlewellan Yeomanry, 1810 – 1819.
The 4th Earl Annesley
When William died in 1838, his eldest son also William Richard succeeded as 4th Earl. He was only a minor of eight years at the time of his father’s death. During the minority, John Robert Moore, brother of the 3rd Earl’s widow, carried out the management of the estate. His role as a trustee of the estate features prominently in the Annesley records, covering the following topics: the problem of dispossessing pauper tenants in 1839; the offer of (Ballymagrehan) granite from the Annesley (Ballymagrehan) quarry for the new houses of parliament in London also in 1839; the pier at Newcastle harbour in 1840; subscriptions for the Protestant Church (St Paul’s) at Castlewellan in 1840; the possible employment of unemployed and starving poor on public works, 1846 – 1847 (the Great Famine); the crisis over rent collecting and the possible eviction of tenants in 1881; comment on the Land Act of 1881; Land league agitation 1884 and the pressure for a further Catholic magistrate ‘on the Castlewellan Bench’ . It was the 4th Earl, William Richard, who built the contemporary Victorian Castle between 1856 and 1859, to a design by a Scottish architect Wm. Burn. The castle was constructed of Ballymagrehan granite from the estate quarry confiscated by the Earl’s ancestors and located a few miles from the town. The earlier Annesley residence, the Regency villa, constructed in 1790, was demolished on completion of the castle. Where the castle now stands, overlooking the lake, there was a type of chapel where the Annesley families went to meditate. Also in the 1850’s an area east of the 18th century walled kitchen garden was transformed into a pleasure ground, complete with terracing, fountain pools, conservatories, vineries, and exotic planting.
The 5th Earl Annesley
William Richard 4th Earl died unmarried in 1874. His next brother Hugh succeeded him as 5th Earl Annesley. He was a professional soldier with the British army, who became Colonel of the Scots Fusilier Guards in 1860. He had served and been wounded in the Kaffir War in South Africa, 1851 – 1853, and in the Crimean war, where he had the right side of his face blown off by a cannon ball at the battle of the Alma in 1854.His haggard features, with a black patch covering the wound to his face and jaw, appears subsequently among the contents of the family albums although many photos of Hugh show him with the left side of his face to the camera. Hugh was also a keen photographer and MP for Co Cavan. The earliest photographs in the Annesley albums date from the early 1850s when the young Hugh Annesley served in the Kaffir war where he was a pioneering amateur photographer. He also took many photographs of the Castlewellan area and of his Irish friends and relations. The most interesting photographs from a local point of view are those of the new Castle begun in 1856 and finished two years later, and of Donard Lodge on the slopes of Slieve Donard (Slieve Donard is the highest peak of the Mourne Mountain range), also some portraits of employees of the estate and the progress of his gardening improvements at Castlewellan . He created the now famous arboretum close to the castle. He exported some seeds and plants, but always collected rare flowers and shrubs for his own garden, and with the help of head gardener Thomas Ryan, the Arboretum rapidly became a ‘gallery of exotics’ full of specimens from across the globe. He published an account of it in 1903, illustrated by his own photographs and on his death in 1908 the collection amounted to over 3000 species of rare trees, plants and shrubs unsurpassed in Ireland or Britain. Today visitors can still see trees which date from the original 19th century plantings. Many specimens have since grown to enormous sizes and the collection boasts over 39 champions – species with the widest girth or most impressive height in Britain and Ireland. The original five hectares of the arboretum now (2001) covers an area of 40 hectares. Hugh had two children to his first wife Francis (who was later killed in World War 1) and Mabel who became a world famous wood carver. She also wrote a book and in it she recalls her father planting trees in the mountains in their vast estate and as a young girl she would often accompany him and bring him tea and bread. Hugh had a further two girls Clare and Constance by his second wife. Constance went on to become a famous actress of the day using the stage name Colette O’Neil. She was married to the actor Miles Malleson.
The 6th Earl Annesley
The next in line was Francis, 6th Earl Annesley, who lived in England. By a strange twist of fate Francis and McGuinness from Dublin (descendant of the McGuinness Clan who lost their Castlewellan stronghold to the Annesley’s three hundred years earlier) owned between them a racing car which they raced all over Ireland and England before the 1914 war. Francis was in the British Naval Airforce during the war and was killed in action over Belgium in the first few months of conflict. Following his death and the titlle’s reversion to a kinsman ending 125 years of the Earldom in Castlewellan Francis’s sister Mabel Sowerby resumed the name Annesley. She had married Lieutenant, Gerald Sowerby who was also killed in the war leaving Mabel with one son Gerald.
Lady Mabel Annesley
Following her husband’s death Mabel moved from England to the empty Castle in Castlewellan, and lived there with her son, but with all the death duties and the Castle and Estate badly run down, (she considered) life was a real struggle. It did not stop her taking trips to India, and other exotic parts of the ‘Empire’, as well as London, and to her cottage in County Galway. She was however a talented artist and world famous wood carver and also wrote a book about her travels and about the Castlewellan Estate before retiring with ten thousand pounds to live on.
Gerald Sowerby Annesley
Upon his mother’s retirement Gerald Sowerby Annesley succeeded to Castlewellan. Many local people mistakenly referred to Gerald as Lord Annesley, but he was without title. Gerald was married three times. The first was to a daughter of Lord Roden of Tollymore Demesne a few miles from Castlewellan (now Tollymore Forest Park). Lord Roden was a staunch Orangeman and in 1849 after an Orange parade from his grounds through Castlewellan, and on to Dolly’s Brae (www.acronet.net/~robokopp/eire/dollbrae.htm ) close to the Castlewellan Annesley estate, trouble ensued resulting in the death of more than twenty local Catholics. The encounter became known as the Battle of Dolly’s Brae and an outcome of the slaughter was the passing of the Party Processions Act, which banned all parades for a number of years. More than 150 years later orange parades through Catholic areas in the north of Ireland are still a contentious issue. It is interesting to note then that a parade a year earlier, in 1848 local Catholic residents opposed to the march through Dolly's Brae blocked the route forcing the Orangemen to take an alternative route home from the Roden estate. Gerald’s second wife was a Ms McDonald from Co Wexford, and his third wife was Lilly Cromwell from the Blue Row in Castlewellan. Gerald had a son Richard from his first marriage and twin sons from his marriage to Lilly. Sadly one of the twins was killed in a road accident in his teens and the other twin died tragically a few years later. In 1951 Gerald surprised everyone by standing for election as an anti-partitionist candidate and polled 26,000 votes, while the Unionist candidate polled about 36,000, thus ending Gerald’s career as a politician. In 1967 it was evident the Estate would have to go. Gerald sold it to the Department of Agriculture for £90,000.00, having turned down higher offers from Americans, as American type hotels didn’t appeal to Gerald for he wanted the Estate to be ever open to the public for their enjoyment. He got his wish for in the dawn of the 21st century, the beautiful forest park and arboretum is open to the public 7 days a week all the year round, and is also enjoyed by anglers, campers and caravaners, as well as youth groups and country shows. Gerald and his family retired to Newcastle where he lived until his death at age 86 years in the 1990’s. He was buried in Tullybrannigan cemetery in Newcastle as not holding the title, Earl Annesley; he could not be interred in the Annesley vault in St Paul Church in Castlewellan. In 2001 Gerald’s wife Lilly is still residing in the Newcastle residence and until the mid 1990’s her brother Amos Cromwell resided in a gate lodge of the Castlewellan Estate were he had been gamekeeper for the Annesley’s all his working life. He remained there after the estate was sold to the Ministry of Agriculture as Gerald still retained the shooting rights, and Amos reared pheasants and organised annual pheasant shoots for the rich and privileged, while some locals were employed as ‘beaters’. The Lodge was sold by Gerard’s son Richard on Amos’ retirement, and purchased by local man Frank (Rosie) Cunningham.
Castlewellan town today still retains much of its old world market town charm, thanks to major regeneration and conservation initiatives in the 1990’s. In 1992 Castlewellan was designated a Conservation Area in recognition of its unusual plan and the splendid survival of so many of its original buildings. Many old and derelict buildings have been tastefully refurbished to their former glory, and traditional shop fronts have replaced many of the ghastly tiled and aluminium fronts so popular in the 60’s and 70’s. Castlewellan is famous for it’s tree-lined main street and town squares, and they too have been enhanced with many young native chestnut trees replacing those that had fallen into decay and those that were thoughtlessly removed in the late sixties to make way for improvements to the town squares. At that time one very famous and mature chestnut tree reckoned to have the widest branch span in Ireland was felled amid much local opposition. Castlewellan is still a market town with the monthly ‘fairs’ (second Monday in every month), and the now famous May and November ‘hiring’ and horse fairs. Both these fairs draw huge crowds particularly the May fair with stalls stretching the length of main street from one end of the town to the next as well as the town squares thronged with stalls and horses. Such is the traffic congestion created by the main fairs that the local Council have ruled that from 2003 all of the stalls must face inward towards the footpaths to discourage shoppers congregating on the main street – so ending the old fair tradition of the stalls facing outwards across the wide main street. After the decline of the linen and flax industries in the latter part of the 19th century the town became an unemployment black spot. Following the partition of Ireland and the setting up of the Northern Ireland Parliament in 1921 little effort was made by the Northern Ireland Unionist Government to encourage new industry to this largely nationalist area and little more effort was made under direct Westminster rule. Local people however became resilient and resourceful, and many local people used their skills and business acumen to build up small industries. The majority of residents who cannot find employment locally commute the 30-mile journey to Belfast or to the County town of Downpatrick 11 miles from Castlewellan. In recent times many local tradesmen commute as far away as Dublin (100 miles) to work in the thriving building industry in the capital. The lack of employment opportunities in the town has perhaps had one positive effect in that many young people elect to remain at school improving their education qualifications and moving on to higher education, and the professions. Many young Castlewellan men and women are now holding influential positions in industry and commerce both at home and in many major cities throughout the world. Others have learnt useful trades and skills finding gainful and financially rewarding employment in the construction industry, with some going on to establish successful contracting firms.
The population of the town has trebled in the last two decades of the twentieth century, with many private housing developments springing up at the edges of the town. Many of the new residents are local people form the town and surrounding countryside while others have come from Belfast and further a field to enjoy the quality of life that Castlewellan and the County Down countryside provides.
The town itself is situated approximately 100 miles north of Dublin on the east coast approximately 4 miles inland from the seaside town of Newcastle made famous by Percy French’s song ‘The Mountains of Mourne ’. The worlds largest maze (The Peace Maze) opened in Castlewellan forest park in 2000 commands excellent views of the Mourne Mountains. The city of Belfast lies a further 27 miles north-east of Castlewellan.
For a further insight into life in Castlewellan from the early twentieth centuary visit www.castlewellan.org. The site is a web version of a book written by a local man Patsy Mullan who was a garage owner in the town and in later years opened a local museum in his former garage.
Finally Castlewellan has one famous link with Hollywood USA. Actress Greer Garson lived here as a young girl as her father was a local RIC sergeant. They lived in a large house in Claremont Avenue (formerly known as ‘Pig Street’ and then the ‘Back Way’) in Castlewellan, and this historical residence known as ‘Claremont’ is still standing and lived in by local business man Brian O’Higgins and his family.
