DRUMBEG,
a parish, partly in the barony of UPPER BELFAST, county of ANTRIM,
but chiefly in that of UPPER CASTLEREAGH, county of DOWN,
and province of ULSTER, ¾ of a mile (N. E.) from Lisburn,
on the road to Belfast ; containing
2883 inhabitants.
According
to the Ordnance survey it comprised 2704¾ statute acres, of which
1186¾ were in Down, and 1518 in Antrim; of these,
2627 were applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £3367 per
Ann. : but a portion of the parish of Drumboe having been lately
added to it under the Church Temporalities' Act, it now comprises 6868
acres. The soil differs greatly in quality, from a sandy loam to a stiff
clay, but is very fertile. The Lagan navigation from Belfast
to Lough Neagh passes through the parish.
The principal
seats, besides those noticed under the head of Dunmurry, are
Glenburn, the residence of F. Crossley, Esq. ; Wilmont,
unoccupied ; Finaghey, of J. Charley, Esq. ; Garfield,
of Henderson Black; Esq. ; Drumbeg Rectory, of the Rev.
J. L. M. Scott ; Drum House, of W. H. Smyth, Esq.
; and Belvidere Cottage, a neat and commodious residence, lately
built on the property of A. Durham, Esq. Ballydrain, the
beautiful demesne of Hugh Montgomery, Esq, though not in this
parish, is within 900 yards of the church, and with the adjoining grounds
of Wakefield, the residence of Miss Richardson, and Lismoyne,
of Mrs. Caldwell, presents one of the finest landscapes in the
neighbourhood of Belfast.
A court
leet and court baron are held every third week at Four Land Ends,
for the manor of Drumbracklin, by a seneschal appointed by Narcissus
Batt, Esq.,. lord of the manor, with jurisdiction for the recovery
of debts under £20, extending over the townlands of Doneight
and Lisnoe in the parish of Hillsborough, Ballyaulis
in this parish, and Ballycairn, Ballylesson, Molough and Knockbreccan
in Drumboe.
The living
is a rectory; in the diocese of Down, and in the gift of the
Bishop; a part of the rectorial tithes is impropriate in W. Charley,
A. Durham, and Narcissus Batt, Esqrs., as lessees under the
Marquess of Donegal. The tithes now amount to £336. 16s,
6d., of which £94. 13s. 6½ d. is payable to the impropriators
and the remainder to the incumbent ; the glebe-house was built in 1826,
by a gift of £415 and a loan of £46 (British) from the late
Board of First Fruits, exclusively of £450 expended by the incumbent
in building and improvements ; the glebe comprises eight statute acres.
The church was rebuilt by subscription in 1795, by aid of a gift of
£461 (British) from the same Board : it has a tower surmounted
by a spare, which having been blown down in 1831, was rebuilt at the
expense of J. Charley, Esq.
About
300 children are educated in five public schools, two of which are on
Erasmus Smith's foundation.
