DERRYKEIGHAN,
a parish, partly in the barony of LOWER DUNLUCE, and partly in
that of CAREY, county of ANTRIM,
and province of ULSTER ; containing, with the Grange of Drumtullagh,
and post-town of Dervock, 5134 inhabitants.
This parish
is situated on the river Bush, and is intersected by the roads
from Coleraine to Ballycastle,
and from Ballymoney to the Giants'
Causeway : according to the Ordnance surveys it comprises 11,396½
statute acres. Great improvement has been made in the system of agriculture
since the commencement of the present century, by the exertions of gentlemen
residing on their own estates,. in which they have been greatly assisted
by G. Macartney, Esq., of Lisanour Castle, and J. Montgomery,
Esq., of Benvarden. The bogs have been drained and partly
reclaimed ; the crops are excellent, and the wheat, though only cultivated
since 1827, is inferior in quality and produce to none in the county
; there is still some bog remaining, which produces excellent fuel,
and of which part is being brought into cultivation every year.
The scenery
is pleasingly diversified, and enriched with the nourishing plantations
with which, notwithstanding their elevated situation and proximity to
the sea, the neighbouring gentlemen's seats are surrounded. Of these
the principal are Ballydivity, the residence of J. Stewart
Moore, Esq. ; Lisconnan, of J. Allen, Esq. ; Grace
Hill, of H. Irwin Stuart, Esq. ; and Knockmore, of
Hugh Mackay Esq. Bush Bank, the seat of Capt. Pottinger,
was destroyed by an accidental fire in 1833, but is about to be rebuilt.
At Mosside
is a manufactory of ropes and cordage made from the bog air, which is
found in large quantities and prepared for that purpose; it affords
employment to a great number of persons. The whole of the parish is
within the Bushmills district, where courts and petty sessions
are held every alternate Monday.
It is
a rectory, in the diocese of Connor,
and is part of the union and corps of the prebend of Cairncastle
in the cathedral of Connor : the tithes amount to £430. The glebe-house
was built in 1826, by a loan of £1107. 18s. 10d., from the late
Board of First Fruits : the glebe comprises 28½ acres valued
at £25 per annum. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recommended
that on the next avoidance of the union this parish be severed from
the rest, and constituted a separate and distinct benefice. The original
church was a very small and incommodious building ; but in 1831 G.
Macartney Esq., gave an Irish acre of land, which he enclosed with
a stone wall, close to the town of Dervock
as a site for the erection of a new church, towards the building of
which he contributed also £150 ; a sum was raised by subscription
in the neighbourhood, and the late Board of First Fruits granted a loan
of £600, and with these sums the present church was completed.
It is a spacious and handsome structure, in the later English style
of architecture, with a lofty square embattled tower crowned with pinnacles;
being too small for the congregation it is about to be enlarged by the
addition of transepts, which will give it a cruciform character
There
are two places of worship for Presbyterians, one near the town of Dervock,
in connection with the Synod of Ulster, of the second class; the other
for Seceders, at Mosside, also of the second class.
There
are six public schools, one of which is aided by Mrs. Macartney;
five private pay schools, and three Sunday schools. Attached to this
parish are the 13 quarters called the ‘Grange
of Drumtullagh,’ which was probably an appendage to a monastery
at some remote period. There are some large caves at Ballylusk
and Idderoan, which were first discovered in 1788; and there
are several large forts and tumuli at Cairncullough, Cairncarn,
and other places in the parish.
