The old bleach mill in Tullylish village
4km NW of Banbridge

Tullylish is a village, a townland of 513 acres and a parish; click here to see its location on a townland map; Tullach Lis means 'hill of the fort'. The townland was owned by Patrick McDonegan in 1611 then William Lesley in 1667. The proprietor in 1836 was the late John Magill Esq. estate

There were many mills in Tullylish parish, all along the River Bann. The village of Tullylish is very small, with just a few houses and the parish church across the bridge. This photo of the old bleaching mill was taken in 1999. Some of its buildings are now art/craft shops and one is a restaurant called' The Potbelly'. You can still see the large fields behind the village where the cloth was laid out to dry.

The Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1836 listed the following mills in Tullylish village:-1. proprietor Alexander R. Stewart; tenant Isaac Stony; erected 1786, diameter of the water wheel 14 feet by 3 feet; 1 foot fall of water, wood and iron machinery; 8 feet wash mills; 3 pairs of rubbing boards.
2. Proprietor Alexander R. Stewart; tenant Isaac Stony; erected 1786; diameter of water wheel 14 feet by 5 feet; 1 foot fall of water; wood & iron machinery; 2 double beetling engines;( the last two mills were in the same building)
3. Proprietor Alexander R. Stewart; tenant John Christy; water wheel diameter was 14 feet by 6 feet; undershot wheel; 3 feet fall of water; 2 double beetling engines
4. proprietor Alexander R. Stewart; tenant John Christy; diameter of water wheel 14 feet by 6 feet; 1 foot fall of water; wood & iron machinery; 4 pairs of rubbing boards; 8 feet wash mills; 2 pumps; (last two mills in the one building)
5. proprietor Alexander R. Stewart; tenant John Christy; diameter of water wheel 8 feet by 4 feet; breast wheel, 2 feet fall of water; machinery was iron and wood; 4 feet wash mills;2 pumps
6. proprietor Alexander R. Stewart; tenant Messrs. James, Thomas and Henry Uprichard; erected in 1808; diameter of water wheel 14 feet by 5 feet; breast wheel, fall of water 1 foot; machinery wood & iron; 8 feet wash mills.
7. proprietor Alexander R. Stewart; tenant Messrs. James, Thomas and Henry Uprichard; erected 1808; diameter of water wheel 14 feet by 6 feet; breast wheel, 4 feet fall of water; machinery wood & iron; 4 feet wash mills; 3 runners of rubbing board ; 1 double beetling engine.
8. proprietor Alexander R. Stewart; tenant Messrs. James, Thomas and Henry Uprichard; built in 1808; diameter of water wheel 14 feet by 5 feet; breast wheel, fall of water 4 feet; 2 double beetling engines; ( last two mills in the one building).

Newspaper articles from Northern Herald;
politcal meeting 19 Jan 1793 & 14 Jan 1796

Newspaper article from Down Recorder;
anti tithe meeting 15 Mar 1834

Try the parish website- http://www.tullylish.com/home

Church of Ireland, All Saints
in Tullylish village

The old parish church (left) is situated in the townland of Tullylish, about 2 km from Gilford town on the site of an ancient earthern fort. The first recorded pastor was in 1526. It was rebuilt in 1698 and abandoned in 1861 having been partially destroyed in the 1641 rebellion. It was described in 1836 as a very old building but was enlarged at the expense of the parish by an advance from the Board of First fruits. It could hold 600 people and was generally very full. It was described as a neat, stone building with a low tower but without a spire. The inside was neat and fitted up with pews.

It is in the diocese of Dromore; the rectory and vicarage, patron the bishop. The vicar 1795- 1813 was Rev. Charles Hamilton & the incumbent in 1824 was Rev. Thomas Beatty, in 1836 Rev. William Henry Wynne and the Very Rev. James Mahon; The glebe is 30 Irish acres; Rev. William H. Wynne had the vicarial tithes and Rev. James Mahon rectorial tithes; Mr. Wynne was the rector of the townlands of Bleary, Clare, Ballynagarrick and Ballydugan. In 1846 the rector was Rev. William Butler Yeates.

The town of Gilford
village near a bridge over River Bann ; 5km NW of Banbridge

The photo shows Dunbarton St, Gilford in 1920s.
The town of Gilford was named after the Magill family from Scotland in the early 17th century and purchased land in the area from the Magennis family. The principal family residence was at Gillhall, Dromore, but Magill's Ford or Gilford was established by 1680 and by 1691 milling or corn and flax was underway. The former Dunbar McMaster spinning mill in the centre of the town, the largest industrial undertaking on the river Bann, was established by 1841 and while it provided enough employment to see the town grow rapidly, it also provided enough wealth to give Gilford two beautiful castles, Elmfield and Gilford.

In 1836 the town was 300 metres long & 150 metres wide with 2 main streets. There were 90 houses of which 63 were thatched & the rest slate. There was 1 surgeon, 1 auctioneer, a haberdasher, 13 publicans, 7 grocers, 1 grocer, 1 baker, 1 painter, 1 shoemaker and 1 tailor. The others were labourers. The petty sessions were held here . In 1841 the population was 643 people & in 1910 it was 1199. Catholic Parochial House and school are here.

Newspaper articles from Down Recorder;
agrarian unrest 22 Aug 1792; 5 storey flax spinning mill 1839; Illegal procession & riot 6 Aug 1864; destructive fire in flax stores & spinning mills 24 Oct 1868

Newspaper article from Northern Herald;
letter about very disturbed state of the village, injury to Catholics 11 Apr 1835

Gilford Church of Ireland- St Paul's
Dunbarton St, Gilford

In 1843, Dunbar McMaster a mill owner, gave land for three churches to be built, one in each corner of a field; a Presbyterian, a Church of Ireland & a Catholic, on condition that there never be a graveyard in Gilford. This church was dedicated in 1869. The rector in 1910 was Rev. Oswald Scott & Rev. E.A. Myles as curate & in 1939 Rev. William Orr.

Anglicans are buried in All Saints Tullylish; records from 1869; PRONI has Baptisms, 1869-95. MIC.1/53 & Baptisms, 1896-; marriages, 1869-; vestry minutes, 1869-; preachers' books, 1869 in local custody

Presbyterian Church, Gilford

Around 1843, Dunbar McMaster a mill owner, gave land for three churches to be built, one in each corner of a field near Gilford town; a Presbyterian, a Church of Ireland & a Catholic, on condition that there never be a graveyard in Gilford. The minister in 1910 was Rev. John Cochrane.

Presbyterians are buried in Tullylish; records from 1843 or 1851 (baptisms) & 1845 (marriages)

Gilford Catholic Church- St. John the Evangelist
in Castle Hill

Dunbar McMaster a mill owner, gave land for three churches to be built, one in each corner of a field; a Presbyterian, a Church of Ireland & a Catholic, on condition that there never be a graveyard in Gilford.The parish priest in 1846 was Rev. Edmund Magennis with Rev William Megin as curate. Gilford Catholic Club started in 1878 to provide a social centre for the community. The priest in 1910 was Rev. P.P. Canpbell with Rev. McGivern as curate.

Newspaper articles from Down Recorder;
new in 28 Nov 1846; gable fell down 28 Nov 1846

PRONI ,NLI & LDS have baptisms , marriages & burials 1833-1856; UHF has baptisms ,marriages & burials 1853 -1900; Catholics were buried in St. Colmans, Lawrencetown

Tullylish Presbyterian Church- Civiltown
in Drumnascamph townland
north of the main road between Banbridge & Gilford

This photo (at the top )shows the church hall at the front and church at the back. The small photo of the church was kindly sent by Bob Sinton.

The early congregation was sometimes known as Donaghcloney. The first recorded minister for this church , Rev. John Cunningham, was ordained in 1670 then there was a long vacancy . The next minister was Rev. Gilbert Kennedy 1704- 1745 . A new meeting house was built in 1737 at a cost of £1,200 and repaired in 1825 at a cost of £400, both of which were raised by subscription. The minister 1746-68 was Rev. Samuel Simms Then Re. Samuel Morell from 1770. There is an inscription inside to Rev. Samuel Morelle who died 1772 defending Gilford Castle and its owner Sir Richard Johnston from attack by the land campaigners called "Hearts of Steel'. The next minister was Rev. John Sherrard 1774 who needed an assistant (Rev. John Johnston) from 1811-1829. Rev. Johnston died 1862.

The meeting house was described in 1836 as a stone, roughcast, whitewashed building in the shape of a T. The inside is plain, the aisle was not boarded or flagged and only half the pews are painted. There are three galleries and it was capable of holding 1,000 people with an average attendance at that time of 800 people. The salary of the minister then, Rev. John Johnston was £200. Rev. James Cargin was minister 1862- 1872 then Rev. John Morrison from 1873. The present church dates from 1879. The minister in 1910 was Rev. J. Morrison .

Records from 1813; graveyard attached, graveyard inscriptions UHF Vol 20; oldest stone 1768; email me for a gravestone lookup

Newmills Presbyterian Church

Mossbank Rd, Gilford, in Ballynagarrick townland

The original meeting house was burnt down in 1797 during civil disturbances. The church was rebuilt and by 1836 it held 300 people . The minister in 1848 was Rev. T. Lowry.

records from 1838, graveyard nearby;

This photo was kindly sent to me by Brian McCleary.

Quakers in Tullylish parish
near Stramore Road
photo of Moyallon House left

Moyallon townland was given to a group of English members of the Society of Friends in 1685. The meeting house was built in 1723 on a site given by Alexander & John Christy . The original Moyallon House which dated from the early 18th century was destroyed by fire around 1845. Jane Marion Wakefield, second daughter of the owner Thomas C. Wakefield married John Grubb Richardson in 1853. John Richardson, Quaker, together with his brothers had founded a linen mill (which became one of the important in Ireland) and in 1845, set up the planned village of Bessbrook, providing his workforce with good housing and schools. In 1858 the Wakefield-Richardson family moved to Moyallon and , so we are told by his daughter Jane Marion Richardson, "enlarged a house and made it a residence.... remodeling and beautifying the grounds." It is unclear whether this refers to the existing Wakefield residence or another house. John G. Richardson died in 1891 having turned down a baronetcy in 1882 for his charitable works, after he had devoted his life to his childhood ambition to "care for the welfare of the people around him." The figures on the steps are members of the family.

The Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1836 mention that the Quaker meeting house in Moyallen townlands could hold 500 people. Photo of the church (bottom left) was kindly sent by Bob Sinton.

burials from 1850; gravestone inscriptions UHF Vol 20; gravestone wording and a photo of the church is available at
http://www.bob-sinton.com/headstones/all-names.php?id=2

St.Patrick & St. Colman Catholic Church, Lawrencetown
4 Holymount Rd, near the bridge

In 1760s, Henry Lawrence, a local landowner, granted an outhouse for Catholics to worship in. Rev O'Kelly negotiated with his son Thomas Lawrence to build a church on the site. This chapel was built by Rev. Arthur Magennis before his death in 1784. A new part was built in 1833 at a cost of £150 which was raised by subscriptions. Catholics from Donaghcloney parish also worshipped here. In 1836 it was described as a plain, whinstone building in a T shape. The floor inside was not boarded and there were only seats in the old part. The chapel could hold 750 people with an average attendance then of 600. The Parochial House was built next door in 1849. The church was rebuilt in 1870. The priest from 1875-1895 was Rev Bernard O'Hagan then Rev. Peter Paul Campbell until 1910 with curate Rev. McGivern . The front tower & belfry were added in 1911 by Rev Michael McConville. Renovated in 1966.

http://registers.nli.ie/ has registers to view 1833- 1882; PRONI, NLI & LDS have baptisms , marriages & burials 1833-1880 (Records for all Tullylish Catholics kept locally) ; UHF has baptisms , marriages & burials 1853 -1900;graveyard attached; gravestone inscriptions UHF Vol 20; email me for a gravestone lookup

Clare Catholic Church- St Colman's
on the road between Gilford & Waringstown

This chapel was built by Rev. Hugh O'Kelly c. 1815 on the site of an early Mass House which was destroyed during a sectarian attack.

List of early parish priests; Rev. Thomas McStay 1406-1414; Rev Adam McGinn 1414; Rv. Patrick McEvoy 1434; Rev. Patrick McStay 1451- 1456; Rev. John O'Shiel 1461-1479; Rev. Donat McGinn 1492; Rev. Arthur McGinn 1526- 1529

http://registers.nli.ie/ has registers to view 1833-1882; records from 1833 included in Lawrencetown registers; gravestone inscriptions in UHF Vol 20; oldest stone 1824; email me for a gravestone lookup; UHF has baptisms ,marriages & burials 1853 -1900

This lovely photo was kindly sent by Fr. Cunningham