PORTRUSH,
a sea port, in the parish of BALLYWILLAN,
barony of LOWER DUNLUCE, county of ANTRIM,
and province of ULSTER, 5 miles (N.E.) from Coleraine
(Co. Derry), to which it has a penny post; containing 337 inhabitants.
It is
situated at the north-western extremity of the county, on a peninsula
of basalt jutting a mile into the sea toward the Skerries,
having on the west a small but deep bay. According to the early annalists,
this was the chief landing place in the territory of the Rowte
or McQuillan's country; it was also chosen by Sir John Perrot
as the landing place of his artillery at the siege of Dunluce
castle. On the plantation of Ulster by Jas. I., it was made a
creek to Coleraine, but it latterly has absorbed all its trade, as
the accumulation of sand on the bar of the latter port has rendered
it very dangerous. A large artificial harbour has been just finished
at Portrush, the entrance to which is 27 feet deep at low water, which
has not only secured to it this advantage, but has considerable increased
its trade. The number of vessels now trading hither is 120, of the
aggregate burden of 10,260 tons. The principal trade is with Liverpool,
Whitehaven, the Clyde, and Campbeltown. The chief imports are timber,
coal, iron, barilla and general merchandise; the exports, linen cloth,
provisions, grain, live stock, poultry, eggs, and salmon, the export
of which last is very great during the season, which commences in
May and ends in September; the numbers of salmon taken off the shore
have been much increased by an improved kind of net, but the principal
supply is from the Bann and Bush rivers. The grain shipped
in 1834 exceeded 6000 tons; the butter, 8165 firkins. Steam boats
ply weekly to Liverpool and Glasgow, and three times a week to Londonderry,
Moville, and Ennishowen. The town, owing to these causes,
is rapidly improving. Many villas and lodges have been built in it
or its immediate neighbourhood; and the beauty of its situation, commanding
an extensive and varied range of scenery, makes it a favourite place
of resort for strangers, particularly during the bathing season. It
is a station for the constabulary police, and for the coast-guard.
A chapel
of ease is about to be built in it, the parish church being a mile
distant; there is a meeting house for Wesleyan Methodists.
A male
and female school, founded by the late Dr. Adam Clarke, and
supported by the Irish Missionary Society, is kept in a large and
handsome brick edifice, with a cupola and bell. A handsome hotel is
now in progress.
Close
to the town is a beautiful and extensive strand, and at its southern
extremity is a range of cliffs of white limestone, in which are several
extensive caves; near it are some hills formed wholly of sand drifted
by the northern winds; some of these are of recent formation, as the
rich vegetable soil, bearing evident marks of cultivation, can be
traced beneath them. After a violent storm in 1827, which swept away
some of the sand, the remains of an ancient town were exposed to view,
shewing the foundations of the houses, in which were found domestic
utensils, moose deer's horns, spear heads of brass, and other military
weapons. In the immediate neighbourhood is also a rock in which are
imbedded large and perfect specimens of the cornu ammonis, various
other species of fossils are frequently discovered. A new line of
road from this place to Portstewart was made along the cliffs
close to the shore, and a railroad from it to Coleraine is
in contemplation.
