CARNCASTLE,
or CASTLE-CAIRN, a parish, in the barony of UPPER GLENARM,
county of ANTRIM, and province
of ULSTER, 3 miles (N.W. by N) from Larne;
containing 2167 inhabitants.
This parish
is situated on the shore of the North channel. which forms its eastern
boundary, and upon the road from Larne to Glenarm, and
the royal military road from Belfast city
to the Giant's Causeway; it contains, according to the Ordnance
survey, 9725 statute acres, and is in all excellent state of cultivation.
The soil is very fertile, producing excellent crops there are only 15
acres of bog. Basalt is quarried for building and repairing the roads;
limestone is abundant, and coal is known to exist in great quantities.
At Ballygally is a coast guard station, which is one of eight
that are included in the district of Carrickfergus.
About five miles from the coast are the Hulin or Maiden
rocks, two of which are always visible above water. On these lighthouses
have been built by the corporation for the improvement of the port of
Dublin, which are called the North and South Maiden Rock Lights,
and are 1,920 feet apart. The northern light is 84 feet above high water
level, and the southern, 94 feet; both are fixed and bright lights,
The living
is a rectory and perpetual curacy, in the diocese
of Connor, of which the rectory was united, by charter of the
7th of Jas, Ist to the rectories of Kilwaughter,
Ballycor, Rashee,
and Derrykeighan, together constituting
the corps of the prebend of Carncastle in the cathedral church
of St. Saviour, Connor, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the
perpetual curacy is in the gift of the rector. The tithes of the parish
amount to £174.4sh. 6d. , and the gross value of the tithes and
glebe of the union is £751. 5sh. 4d. per annum, of which £55
is paid by the prebendary to the perpetual curate, whose stipend is
augmented to £96 per ann. Out of Primate Boulter's fund. The church,
a small plain edifice with a lofty spire, was built on the site of a
former church, by aid of a loan of £350, granted in 1815 by the
late Board of First Fruits; and a house was purchased for a glebe house
with a gift of £450, and a loan of £50, from the same Board:
the glebe comprises five acres.
In the
Roman Catholic divisions this parish forms part of the union
or district of Larne and Carrickfergus;
the chapel is a small building.
There
are two places of worship for Presbyterians, one connected with the
Synod of Ulster, of the third class; the other connected with the Remonstrant
Synod, of the second class.
Near the
church is the parochial school, endowed with £3 per annum by the
late Mr. Wilson; a school of 43 boys and 9 girls is in connection
with the National Board; and there are a private school of 12 boys and
25 girls, and two Sunday schools.
On an
insulated rock in the sea are the remains of Ballygally or Cairn
castle, from which the parish takes its name. There are also some
remains or the ancient manor-house, built in 1625, in the Elizabethan
style; and of an old church. In the parish are a curious perforation
in a mass of basalt, called the Black Cave, and a very pure vein
of feldspar, capable of being worked to advantage.
