Heritage Survey of the Lower Bann Navigation

BUILT HERITAGE SURVEY
OF THE LOWER BANN WATERWAY
1. General overview
Fred Hamond
for
Waterways Ireland
December 2013
Cover, clockwise from top left: Carnroe Lock (WIIAH 4175),
Glandore Boat House (4201), Toome Eel Fishery (4313),
and Cutts Floodgates (4096).
CONTENTS
Preface
Summary
METHODOLOGY
1.
Methodology
1
1.1 Scope of survey
1
1.2 Paper survey
2
1.3 Field survey
3
1.4 Site numbering and classification
4
1.5 Computer databases
6
BUILT HERITAGE
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Prehistoric and historic settlement
9
2.1 Prehistoric period
9
2.2 Medieval period
13
2.3 Post-Medieval period
16
2.4 Development of Coleraine
19
Non-tidal river drainage and navigation
23
3.1 Drainage and navigational issues
23
3.2 Developments up to the 1840s
24
3.3 MacMahon’s scheme
26
3.4 Kitty of Coleraine
39
3.5 Developments and proposals, 1859 – 1925
40
3.6 Shepherd’s scheme, 1925
44
3.7 Post World War 2 developments
48
Tidal river navigation
53
4.1 The Barmouth
53
4.2 River improvements
65
4.3 Coleraine Port
66
Fishing
75
5.1 Salmon fisheries
75
5.2 Eel fisheries
79
5.3 Angling today
87
Extractive industries
89
6.1 Stone
89
6.2 Clay
90
6.3 Diatomite
92
6.4 Peat
95
6.5 Sand
96
7.
8.
9.
10.
Manufacturing and power generation
99
7.1 Grain milling
99
7.2 Flax and linen
101
7.3 Distilling and brewing
102
7.4 Saw milling
102
7.5 Modern industry
103
7.6 Hydro-power
103
Railways
107
8.1 Developments to 1860
107
8.2 Later developments
110
8.3 Post-war closures and legacy
112
Second World War
113
9.1 Pillboxes
114
9.2 Prepared demolition chambers
114
9.3 Airfields
115
9.4 Military camps
116
Recreational uses
117
10.1 Cruising
117
10.2 Yachting
122
10.3 Rowing
122
10.4 Canoeing
123
10.5 Water skiing
123
CONSERVING THE BUILT HERITAGE
11.
12.
13.
Sites of heritage significance
125
11.1 Heritage evaluation
125
11.2 Heritage rating
125
11.3 Sites of heritage merit
126
11.4 Heritage sites belonging to Waterways Ireland
135
Conservation issues
137
12.1 Statutory protection
137
12.2 Conservation actions
142
Conclusions
145
Appendices:
1.
Bibliography
2.
Site database fields
3.
Commissioners of Public Works reports
4.
Sites of heritage significance
PREFACE
This survey of the Lower Bann River was commissioned by Waterways Ireland in 2010
as part of its programme of identifying and recording the built heritage of those
navigable waterways in Northern Ireland and the Republic within its operational remit.
This particular survey focuses on the built heritage of the Lower Bann from where it
flows north out of Lough Neagh at Toome to where it enters the sea at Barmouth, just
over 60km away. It encompasses all buildings and structures and which are (and were)
associated with the waterway, selected sites which lie along its banks but which are not
directly associated, and also archaeological and historical sites of pre-1700 AD date.
The first section of this report outlines the methodology by which relevant sites were
identified, researched, recorded and evaluated.
The next section sets the scene with an outline of the area’s prehistoric and historic
development. This is followed by a detailed analysis of the history of the Lower Bann
Navigation between Lough Neagh and the Cutts at Coleraine, and an overview of the
various features directly associated with it. A similar appraisal is also presented for the
river’s tidal section from the Cutts to Barmouth. Salmon and eel fishing, extractive and
manufacturing industries, power generation, railways, and the Second World War are
then considered thematically in turn. The final chapter of this section examines the
recreational uses now being made of the Lower Bann.
The final section focuses on the conservation of the Lower Bann’s built heritage. Sites
of heritage interest are highlighted and conservation measures outlined which will assist
in the retention of those of special significance.
The main part of the report is followed by appendices listing the documentary sources
consulted, details of the site record database, reports by the Commissioners of Public
Works on the Navigation’s construction, and a tabulation of sites of heritage interest.
This volume is accompanied by a gazetteer giving details of all recorded sites within the
study area. The copyright of the maps presented in this gazetteer belongs to the
Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland and are reproduced with the permission of the
Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. Note that unauthorised reproduction
infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings.
I should like to thank a number of individuals for their assistance in the preparation of
this report: Gareth Nelson for piloting me up and down the river; Stephen Douglas, Joe
Gillespie, Derek Cathcart, Robert Hanson, Davy McKendrick, David McLaughlin, Ivan
Smyth of Waterways Ireland; Thomas McErlean, Rory McNeary and Kieran Westley of
the Centre for Maritime Archaeology at the University of Ulster, Coleraine; Captain Pat
McKeegan, Harbour Master at Coleraine; and also Robert Anderson, Colin Becker
(Inland Waterways Association of Ireland), Philip Carson (University of Ulster), Tina
Clarke (Northern Ireland Environment Agency), Pat Close (Lough Neagh Fishermen’s
Co-Op), Sam McAleese (Newferry Waterski Club), Dr William McCurdy (Agrifood &
Biosciences Institute), Teddy Rowan (formerly at Movanagher Fish Farm), Michael
Savage, Mark Scott (Rivers Agency); and Robbie Warke (former lock keeper at Cutts).
Technical support was provided by Sabine Browne and Mary Mulholland of Waterways
Ireland. Finally, but by no means least, my thanks to Eamonn Horgan, Waterways
Ireland’s Environment Officer, for his patient supervision of this project.
Fred Hamond
Industrial Archaeologist
75 Locksley Pk, Belfast BT10 0AS
December 2013
SUMMARY
1. Introduction
1.1 This report was commissioned by Waterways Ireland in 2010 to identify and record
built heritage features along the Lower Bann between Lough Neagh and the Barmouth, where the river enters the sea.
1.2 It encompasses all structures and buildings which are associated with the waterway and selected sites adjacent to it but which are not directly associated with it,
including sites of pre-1700 AD date.
1.3 A range of documentary sources was used to identify these built heritage features:
Ordnance Survey maps, databases held by the Northern Ireland Environment
Agency, Centre for Maritime Research, and Waterways Ireland. Historical publications were also gleaned for information. The sites thus identified were supplemented with extra ones discovered during the course of fieldwork.
1.4 The fieldwork was conducted during the summer and autumn of 2010 and encompassed approximately 400 sites of potential interest. Some were eliminated as
they were found not to be heritage features, whilst others were amalgamated.
1.5 The outcome was the recording of a total of 343 built heritage sites, of which 224
are directly related to the waterway. Waterways Ireland has a stake in 37 of them.
1.6 These sites were categorised into 35 different types. As the primary focus of this
study is on the actual waterway, features thus associated were classified in
greater detail than for other categories.
1.7 The data generated by the paper and field surveys were inputted to Access 2000
and MapInfo databases for ease of storage, analysis and retrieval. A gazetteer
detailing the history, state and significance of each site accompanies this report.
2. Prehistoric and historic settlement
2.1 People have exploited the Lower Bann for some 10,000 years. Its rich ecological
diversity, and abundance of salmon and eels in particular, attracted seasonal
Mesolithic hunters and gatherers, the presence of whom is clearly evident in the
numerous flint artifacts recovered from the river, banks, and coastal sand dunes.
2.2 Although settlement continued into the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron ages, its
physical manifestations are less marked save for artifact findspots, the most
notable of which is Camus Ford where the Bann Disc was recovered.
2.3 The Medieval period witnessed the advent of monastic sites such as Camus and
the Christianisation of the area. The late 12th century saw the coming of the AngloNormans and the subdivision of the region between the Earls of Ulster and Gaelic
landowners. During this time Coleraine came to prominence.
2.4 The post-Medieval period is marked by the Plantation of Ulster in the early 1600
by James 1. Coleraine and its hinterland were granted to the Honourable the Irish
Society who administered the region’s colonisation on the king’s behalf. The
county of Londonderry was also created and settled by various London guilds who
established permanent settlements such as Movanagher.
2.5 Since Anglo-Norman times, Coleraine has been the region’s principal administrative centre and foremost port. In the late 1700s and 1800s, the town also
became a minor industrial centre, particularly in relation to linen production and
grain milling.
3. Non-tidal river drainage and navigation
3.1 Although it is usually much cheaper to make a river navigable rather than to
construct an artificial canal, the operation of a navigation is considerably more
problematic. This is particularly so in the case of the Lower Bann, the catchment of
which comprises almost 40% of the land surface of Northern Ireland. This river is
prone to flooding and fast moving currents, both of which make navigation
extremely difficult.
3.2 The alleviation of flooding and the discharge of water along the river as rapidly as
possible, satisfying the requirements of the fishing interests along the river, whilst
at the same time maintaining a sufficient depth of water for navigation are issues
which have bedevilled the operation of the Lower Bann Navigation to the present.
3.3 From the early 1700s, various schemes were proposed to alleviate flooding and
improve the river’s navigability. It was not until the mid-1800s, however, that
matters were taken in hand by John MacMahon of the Commissioners of Public
Works (Ireland). Between 1847 and 1857, lateral canals, regulating weirs and
locks were built, shoals removed, the bed of the river dredged, and bridges
modified to facilitate river traffic between Lough Neagh and the Cutts at Coleraine.
3.4 In 1859, the Commissioners transferred their responsibility for the Lower Bann to
the Lough Neagh Drainage Trust and Lower Bann Navigation Trust. By this time,
however, the railways had come to the area, so the anticipated traffic along the
river, and revenues which might otherwise have accrued, was never realised.
Flooding also continued to cause problems from time to time.
3.5 Numerous reports were commissioned on how best to deal with the recurring
issue of flooding whilst taking into account a navigation which, although fit for
purpose, now had no real purpose. These issues were revisited in the 1920s by
the newly-established Government of Northern Ireland and proposals put forward
by Major Percy Shepherd were implemented between 1930 and 1932. These
entailed the installation of flood control sluices (notably where the river exits Lough
Neagh) and further extensive dredging of the river.
3.6 Since then, the level of Lough Neagh has been lowered several times and is now
over two metres lower than it was prior to MacMahon’s scheme. Control of the
level and flow of the river is in the hands of Rivers Agency, whilst the Navigation,
still essentially as built in the mid-1800s, is administered by Waterways Ireland.
4. Tidal river navigation
4.1 The tidal stretch of the Lower Bann runs from the Cutts, via Coleraine, to the
Atlantic Ocean at the Barmouth. The obstructions to shipping posed by the sandbar and rocky shoal across the mouth of the river were formidable obstacles to the
development of Coleraine as a maritime port, so much so that Portrush was
developed as an out-port for the town in the 1830s.
4.2 In the 1860s, the Coleraine Town Commissioners appointed John Coode to
dredge the Barmouth. He was retained by the Coleraine Harbour Commissioners
to carry out a more ambitious scheme from 1879 to 1888 which entailed the
construction of two long moles where the river enters the sea at the Barmouth.
4.3 Extensive repairs and partial rebuilding of the Barmouth moles were carried out
between 1929 and 1943. Further dredging of the river upstream to Coleraine was
also undertaken during this period.
4.4 The success of the two Barmouth schemes and dredging of the river is evident in
the physical expansion of the quays along the Coleraine waterfront downstream of
the Town Bridge. The harbour was also served by spur off the main BelfastColeraine-Derry railway line between 1892 and 1966.
4.5 The gradual downturn in maritime traffic in the post-War period has seen the contraction of the port and its partial selling off for commercial purposes. In order to
generate fresh traffic, a marina has also been lately established by the Harbour
Commissioners for recreational boating.
5. Fishing
5.1 The Lower Bann was, until recently, abundant in salmon and eels, both of which
have been exploited since Mesolithic times. Both drainage and navigation interests
have always had to take account of fish movements, even in the 19th century.
5.2 Salmon are netted during the spring and summer on their way upstream to spawn.
Until recently, most were caught in nets on the tidal section of the river at the
Cranagh and in traps built into the navigation weir at the Cutts.
5.3 To conserve stocks, salmon fishing has now ceased on the tidal stretch. The Irish
Society still retains the fishing rights above the Cutts, but only permit rod fishing
under license.
5.4 In contrast to salmon, eels are trapped on their way downriver in the autumn and
winter. Eel weirs were established at the rocky shoals at Toome, Portna,
Movanagher, and the Cutts, where they could be caught most easily. Some weirs
were removed during MacMahon’s mid-1800s works or were replaced by new
ones after the 1930s’ dredging operations.
5.5 Eels, like the salmon, have declined in numbers and in an endeavour to conserve
stocks, only the traps at Toome and Portna are now used by the Lough Neagh
Fishermen’s Co-Operative Society.
6. Extractive industries
6.1 The geomorphology of the Lower Bann lends itself to the exploitation of stone,
clay, diatomite, peat and sand, some of which was also transported along the
waterway by barge.
6.2 Basalt was quarried in the vicinity of the river at Carnanee and Tamlaght for the
construction of the Barmouth moles and navigation weirs respectively.
6.3 During the 19th century, clay was dug extensively along the banks of the river,
particularly between Toome and Agivey, for locally-made brick.
6.4 The clay is rich in diatomite and lenses of this particular mineral were specifically
exploited during the first half of the 20th century for industrial purposes (e.g. fillers),
particularly at Toome and Newferry.
6.5 The industrial exploitation of peat also started in the early 1900s and continues to
this day for horticultural purposes at Ballynease, north-west of Newferry.
6.6 The dredging of sand from the bed of Lough Neagh plays a key role in supplying
Northern Ireland’s construction industry, but is largely outside the study area.
7. Manufacturing and power generation
7.1 Until the widespread adoption of steam engines in the mid-1800s, water was the
principal source of power for manufacturing purposes. However, the Bann itself
was difficult to harness, on account of its relatively shallow gradient and massive
volume of water.
7.2 The only major industrial site which made use of the actual river was a large flour
mill erected in the early 1800s at the Cutts. Unfortunately, it was gutted by fire in
1820 and demolished in 1840 to make way for a new quay above the navigation
lock.
7.3 Smaller water-powered corn milling and flax scutching mills are also to be found
on the river’s tributaries. Much larger steam-driven grain and textile mills also
made their appearance in the Coleraine and Ballymoney districts in the mid-1800s.
Other minor 19th century industries recorded in the study area include distilling,
brewing and saw milling.
7.4 Several relatively modern industries are also noted in Coleraine: the 1940s
Benger’s Factory, 1950s Chemstrand Factory where Acrilan was produced, and
1960s Spanboard Factory where chipboard was manufactured.
7.5 Although MacMahon had envisaged the falls at each of the navigation weirs being
harnessed for hydro-power, this never came to pass. Nor did the various schemes
proposed in the 1900s for the large-scale production of electricity, having fallen
foul of the constraints demanded by navigation and fishing interests.
8. Railways
8.1 By the time the Lower Bann Navigation was completed in 1857, Coleraine was
already connected by railway to both Belfast and Derry and a line also ran through
Toome from Randalstown to Cookstown. To this network was subsequently
added the Derry Central Line on the west side of the Bann, from Macfin to
Magherafelt. As a consequence, much of the trade envisaged for the newlyopened waterway was transported by rail instead.
8.2 The river was crossed by railway bridges at Coleraine, Macfin and Toome. All had
opening sections to permit the passage of vessels underneath.
8.3 Only the Belfast-Coleraine-Derry line remains in use. Its most notable feature is
the bascule bridge at Coleraine which dates from 1924 and replaced a timber
bridge of 1860 further upstream.
9. The Second World War
9.1 In the early 1940s, airfields were constructed at Mullaghmore (Aghadowey) and
Toome for the training of RAF and USAAF airmen en route to Europe. Extensive
remains of both survive, as do a substantial number of living quarters and ancillary
facilities associated with the former.
9.2 Military camps were also established at Ballyscullion and at Brecart Lodge, near
Toome.
9.3 The threat of invasion was counteracted with the construction of pillboxes at
strategic locations on both sides of the river, including the Barmouth. Demolition
chambers were also inserted in all the bridges to enable them to be blown up at a
moment’s notice should an invasion have actually occurred.
10. Recreational use
10.1 Commercial traffic was largely confined to the transportation of bricks, diatomite
and sand, but now the traffic along the Navigation is solely of a recreational
nature.
10.2 River cruising is, by far, the most popular pastime. Seven marinas and over 100
moorings, landing and launching facilities have been recorded. Some are public
facilities owned by Waterways Ireland or by local authorities, but the majority are
privately operated.
10.3 The Coleraine Yacht Club is active on the tidal stretch of the river, whilst rowing is
represented by the Bann Rowing Club and Coleraine Inst. A long-distance canoe
trail along the Lower Bann has been devised by the Canoe Association of
Northern Ireland. Water- and jet-skiing are, however, restricted to five relatively
short stretches of river.
11. Sites of heritage significance
11.1 The criteria devised by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage – notably
their archaeological, architectural, artistic, cultural, historical, social and technical
attributes - were used to assess the heritage merit of all the recorded sites. They
were then rated as being of negligible, low, medium or high significance.
11.2 Ninety-four sites were rated as being significant, of which 23 were of low, 35 of
medium, and 36 of high merit. Waterways Ireland owns 19 of these sites, most of
which are features of the original mid-19th century Navigation (e.g. lateral canals,
weirs, locks and moles).
12. Conservation Issues
12.1 Thirteen of the surveyed sites have been designated by the Northern Ireland
Environment Agency as Listed Buildings and 20 are Scheduled Monuments (three
of which are also in State Care).
12.2 Of the eight sites where physical conservation actions are recommended, minimal
aesthetic work or minor repairs are suggested for seven of them. Only in the case
of the breakwater belonging to Rivers Agency at the Lough Neagh entrance to the
river are significant repairs potentially required.
1. METHODOLOGY
The first task in this project was to define the geographical extent and time period of the
built heritage sites to be included. This was then followed by a review of a wide range of
written sources and other relevant databases in order to highlight potential sites which
met the above spatial and temporal criteria. These sites were then systematically
surveyed: relevant sites were recorded, irrelevant ones eliminated, and new sites found
during fieldwork added. The data thus amassed as a result of these paper and field
surveys were then put into computer databases to facilitate their analysis, interpretation,
and production of a comprehensive built heritage inventory of the Lower Bann.
1.1 Scope of survey
The initial brief required a survey of all the architectural, engineering, industrial and other
built heritage features along the Lower River Bann Navigation from where it exits Lough
Neagh to where it enters the sea at Barmouth, a total length of 60.4km. This comprises
the 48.9km long river down to the Cutts Weir and also the 11.5km tidal section from
there to the sea; the latter includes a 9.0km stretch from Coleraine to Barmouth which is
under the control of the Coleraine Harbour Commissioners rather than Waterways
Ireland (fig 1.1).
Barmouth
Portrush
Coleraine
Ballymoney
Limavady
Kilrea
Ballymena
Portglenone
Tidal
Toome
Non-tidal
Antrim
Lough Neagh
Fig 1.1 Map of Lower Bann showing principal towns along its course.
1
Although the survey zone was, in theory, confined to a 50m wide corridor along each
bank, more distant sites whose curtilage impinged on the waterway were also to be
included.
As well as buildings and structures directly related to the Navigation (e.g. lateral canals
and locks), unrelated ones (e.g. country houses and military sites) and buried archaeological sites, where known, were part of the brief. Structures such as clay pits and
quarries were also included if within the 50m survey corridor or if formerly associated
with the Navigation where they lie further away.
The survey was also extended to include those sections of the river which were not part
of the actual Navigation. Also included were selected sites up to 500m or even further
away which complemented the understanding of the sites within the focus zone.
1.2 Paper survey
In compiling a list of sites of potential relevance to this survey, the first port of call was
the Ordnance Survey (OS) which, since the 1830s, has provided systematic, comprehensive and accurate maps for the entire area (fig 1.2). These proved to be a firm basis
for the construction of a built heritage database for the Lower Bann. Moreover,
comparing sequential editions of the same map shows better than any other single
source how the area’s built heritage has changed over time, and its rate of
development.
For much of its course, the Bann marks the boundary between counties Londonderry
and Antrim. The Antrim side of the study area was surveyed in 1829-33, and the Derry
side in 1831-32. Both were at a scale of six inches to a mile (1:10.560) which is
LDY 02
1:10,560 County Series maps Antrim
LDY 03
Surveyed: 1829-33, 1855-57, 190204, 1920-22, 1950
LDY 07
LDY 08
1:10,560 County Series maps L’derry
ANT 16
LDY 12
Surveyed: 1831-32, 1848-52, 190406, 1922-27, 1939-50
ANT 21,22
LDY 19
1:10.000 Irish Grid Series maps
LDY 27
ANT 26
Sheets: 12, 13, 21, 31, 41, 42, 54,
66, 79, 94
Surveyed: 1965-75
LDY 33
LDY 37,38
LDY 42,43
ANT 31
ANT 36
ANT 42
Fig 1.2 OS 1:10,560 and 1:10,000
coverage for the survey area.
The map at left shows the areas
covered by the 1:10,560 map sheets.
2
sufficiently detailed to show most physical features. Some sites are also captioned by
function and name as well, e.g. locks, bridges and mills. Map revisions were carried out
in 1848-57, and the entire area was resurveyed in 1902-06, with full or partial revisions
in the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘50s.
Larger scale maps, at 25 inches to a mile (1:2500) also became available from the early
1900s and these were also used for urban areas such as Coleraine where the detail
provided by the six-inch maps was sometimes unclear.
The period since the mid-1900s is covered by 1:10,000 maps which first appeared in
the 1960’s and ‘70s. The Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland website also has current
maps, as well as crisp aerial photographs.
The OS maps are, however, not the only source for identifying sites of potential interest.
Some may not have been mapped if they came in and out of use between surveys, or
left little or no physical remains. Other databases were also examined, notably those
compiled by the Northern Ireland and Environment Agency (NIEA) for archaeological,
military and industrial sites, historic parks and gardens, and listed buildings. Waterways
Ireland’s bridge database was also trawled for relevant sites. Not only did these highlight some new sites, but sometimes also provided additional details on sites already
known from the OS maps.
A bibliography of all relevant documents is given in Appendix 1. The principal sources,
notably the report of the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, yielded detailed
contemporary accounts of the construction of the Lower Bann Navigation in the mid1800s. The Ordnance Survey Memoirs, meticulously compiled in the 1830s at the same
times as the first maps, also provided a useful commentary on the region prior to the
inception of the Navigation. The Public Record Office of N. Ireland’s searchable on-line
index also proved invaluable for locating historical information such as the minutes of
the Coleraine Harbour Commissioners from 1879 to 1956. Captain Pat McKeegan, the
Harbour Master at Coleraine, kindly gave me access to more recent volumes.
Published articles were equally invaluable in bringing together the researches of others.
Coleraine Library proved to be a fruitful source of general information, whilst Ruth
Delany’s Ireland’s Inland Waterways (1986) and W.A. McCutcheon’s Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland (1980) gave excellent overviews of the Navigation. The
various articles by prolific local historian Robert Anderson on Coleraine town, its
harbour and shipping were also extremely enlightening. Information on the Navigation
as it is today was also gleaned from the publications of the Lower Bann & Lough Neagh
Association, the Lower Bann Advisory Committee, and Waterways Ireland.
1.3 Field survey
All the sites highlighted as being potentially relevant to the project were then visited over
the course of 14 days between May to November 2010. Initially, all the sites were
accessed from the land, which sometimes necessitated driving down unsurfaced tracks
and lengthy trudges across fields to access those at or near the water’s edge.
Three boat trips were also undertaken over the entire length of the river and lateral
canals, from Lough Neagh to the sea. The purpose of this was to record sites which
were inaccessible from the land, and also to find new sites not previous identified during
the paper survey or spotted during the land-based fieldwork (e.g. remote private landing
stages).
A few sites found to be natural features or otherwise irrelevant were eliminated as a
result of this fieldwork. Those of interest – 343 in total as it subsequently turned out 3
were described, their completeness and condition noted, and at least one digital photograph taken where there were above-ground remains.
1.4 Site numbering and classification
All built heritage sites on the Lower Bann were designated by Waterways Ireland as
having numbers from 4000 to 4999. These numbers are prefixed by ‘WIIAH’ to signify
that they are part of the Waterways Ireland Inventory of Architectural Heritage. The
numbers start at 4000 at the Barmouth end of the river and end at 4342 at Lough
Neagh. Future sites can be added, beginning with 4343, but these will obviously not be
in north-to-south order.
As the focus of this survey is primarily on waterway-related sites, these have been
classified in greater detail than others. Structures to facilitate embarkation and landing
have the largest range of types and have been differentiated according to table 1.1.
Jetty
A fixed platform, usually of timber, projecting at right
angles from the bank.
Landing
place
A place along the bank to embark or disembark. No
built structures are generally present, except perhaps
for a small cutting into the bank.
Landing
stage
A fixed timber platform aligned parallel with the bank
to facilitate access to and from boats.
This sub-category also includes masonry or concrete
steps to facilitate the launching of canoes and rowing
boats.
Pier
Pier-Slipway
Similar to a jetty but of solid construction, usually
stone and/or concrete.
A projecting pier, the deck of which slopes down to
the water thus enabling the launching of boats;
similar to a slipway.
4
No image
No image
Pontoon
A floating platform aligned with, or projecting from,
the bank. The floatation units are generally of
concrete, fiberglass or plastic, and the decks of
timber, metal and/or concrete. Smaller pontoons
(mooring fingers) often project.
Quay
A sizeable stone or timber structure aligned parallel
with the edge of the bank. Also known as a Wharf.
Slipway
A sloping ramp into the water for launching or taking
out boats. Can be cut into bank or project outwards
from it. Unlike a landing place, the ramp (and often
the sides) is surfaced (e.g. with concrete). Also called
a Boat slip or Landing slip.
Table 1.1 Classification of embarkation and landing structures.
Thirty-five site categories emerged from this survey, many of which encompassed a
number of sub-categorised site types (table 1.2).
Category
Sub-category
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir
Barrage; Eel weir; Fish pass; Fish trap; Navigation weir; Salmon weir
Boat
Barge; Boat
Boat house
Boat house; Boat maintenance shed
Bridge (aerial)
Aerial ropeway
Bridge (foot)
Bridge (foot/water)
Bridge (rail)
Bridge (rail/water); Contractor's railway bridge (rail/water)
Bridge (road)
Bridge (road/water)
Canal
Canal
Club house
Rowing club house; Yacht club house
Coastguard station
Coastguard station
Dry dock
Dry dock
Ecclesiastical
Church; Graveyard
Estate building/structure
Farmyard buildings; Pigeon house
Ferry
Ferry
Ferryman's house
Ferryman's house
Fishing building/structure
Fish farm; Fishery building; Fishing hut; Ice house; Salmon fishery. See
also ‘Barrage/dam/sluice/weir’ for fish passes and weirs.
Ford
Ford
Hotel
Hotel
House
House. See also ‘Pre-1700’ for earlier houses, castles etc.
5
Industrial building/structure
Brickfield; Brick kiln; Brick yard; Chimney; Clay pit; Concrete block works;
Corn & flour mill; Corn kiln; Corn mill; Diatomite works; Distillery; Factory;
Flax mill; Flax spinning mill; Gasworks; Industrial railway; Mill race; Peat
works; Pipe; Potato factory; Pottery; Quarry; Sand processing site; Saw
mill; Shirt factory; Store; Weaving factory; Woollen mill. See also ‘Railway
building/structure’ for industrial railways.
Jetty/Pontoon
Jetty; Landing stage; Pontoon
Landing place
Landing place
Lock
Lock
Lock/Sluice keeper’s house
Lock keeper's house
Military building/structure
Airfield; Military building; Pillbox; Prepared demolition chamber
Mole
Mole; Training bank
Navigation marker
Leading light; Navigation marker
Pier/Quay
Pier; Pier-Slipway (i.e. sloping pier); Quay
Pre-1700
Battle site; Bawn, Bullaun; Castle; Church; Crannog; Cross; Earthwork;
Enclosure; Find spot; Graveyard; House; Mass rock; Monastery; Motte;
Mound, Settlement; Souterrain; Standing stone
Pump house
Pump house; Wind pump
Railway building/structure
Contractor's railway; Industrial railway; Level crossing house; Railway;
Railway siding; Railway station. See also ‘Bridge (rail)’ for railway bridges.
River drainage deposit
Cairn (river drainage)
Slipway
Pier-Slipway (i.e. sloping pier); Slipway
Utility block
Utility block
Water gauge station
Water gauge station
Table 1.2 Site classification categories.
Some sites have more than one type of built feature; e.g. Newferry Diatomite Works
(WIIAH 4276) encompasses not only the diatomite works where the clay was
processed, but also an industrial railway, quay and water pump. Such sites have
multiple classifications, in this case ‘Industrial building/structure’, ‘Pier/Quay’, and ‘Pump
house’.
1.5 Computer Databases
All the data collected during the course of the paper and field surveys were transferred
to Access 2000 and MapInfo computer databases for the purposes of analysis and outputting in both hard-copy and digital formats.
Access database
The data were arranged into Site Records, one for each site. Each Record contains a
wide range of data fields:
6
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Site number
Name
Site type
Waterway link (check box)
Address (townland, postal town, county)
Ownership
IG and ITM Grid east/north co-ordinates
History
Surveyor
Survey date
Completeness
•
•
•
•
•
•
•




Condition
Description
Heritage interest (check boxes)
Evaluation
Significance
Action
Statutory protection
Other databases
Action
References
Photographs
Both Irish Grid (IG) and Irish Transverse Mercator (ITM) grid co-ordinates are given.
The former were generated using MapInfo and then converted to the latter using the
Ordnance Survey Ireland batch co-ordinate converter (downloadable from www.osi.ie).
The ITM system will eventually supersede IG and has already been adopted by Waterways Ireland for the entirety of the island of Ireland.
Fuller details of each field will be found in Appendix 2. Using Access’s sort and filter
tools, the database can be analysed using various selection criteria either singly or in
combination. The database’s ‘Report’ mode also enables a hard-copy of the site
inventory to be produced, with all the above data fields as well as actual photographs.
MapInfo database
Each site was also digitally overlaid on Ordnance Survey maps using MapInfo. As noted
above, this program was used to determine each site’s Grid co-ordinates to the nearest
meter (i.e. to a precision of 12 figures). This is more consistent and repeatable way of
ascertaining a site’s location than doing it in the field, where there may be no visible
remains or access to the actual site is sometimes not possible. The co-ordinates thus
generated are likely to be within 20m of those of the actual site.
All the data contained in the Access database were included in the MapInfo tables
except for the ‘history’, ‘description’ and ‘evaluation’ fields as these are memo-type
fields and not transferable; nor were the reference and photograph data transferred.
Once inputted into the MapInfo database, the site can then be overlaid on OS maps at
various scales and order to see where exactly they are located and to gain an overview
of their distribution (fig 1.3). By clicking on a particular site, all its recorded data can also
be viewed (fig 1.4).
Moreover, using filters, sites meeting specific criteria (e.g. sites of a particular type
and/or in a particular ownership) can also be selected in order to analyse their distribution; this facility has been used extensively to generate the various thematic maps
used in the remainder of this report.
7
Fig 1.3 Surveyed sites
overlaid on Discovery
Series OS map.
Fig 1.4 Example of site
distribution map for
Portglenone area.
It also shows the data
retrieved for site 4260
(Portglenone Bridge)
using the ‘Info Tool’
facility in MapInfo.
8
2. PREHISTORIC AND HISTORIC SETTLEMENT
Numerous archaeological finds attest to the occupation of the Lower Bann valley over
the past 10,000 years. These take the form of artifacts dredged from the river and
upstanding monuments along the valley corridor; a total of 46 sites of pre-1700 date
were recorded within the study area (fig 2.1).
Fig 2.1 Map of pre1700 sites along
Lower Bann.
2.1 Prehistoric period
Mesolithic and Neolithic ages
The earliest material found on the Bann dates from the Mesolithic period (c.8000 - 4000
BC). Indeed, the Bann is one of the richest areas for such artifacts in the whole of Ireland on account of diversity of its micro-environments and the opportunities created by
the civil engineering works along the river for the discovery and recovery of this material
by archaeologists over many decades. Extensive analysis of this material has been
carried out, notably by Professor Peter Woodman, and the reader is referred to the
bibliography in Appendix 1 for references to more in-depth discussions, for example on
9
the differences between the Early and Late Mesolithic and between the Mesolithic and
Neolithic in terms of their material remains and site distributions.
During the Mesolithic period, people relied exclusively on hunting, fishing, and gathering
for their survival. Because of the seasonal nature of these resources, people were
forced to move according to where and when a particular foodstuff was most readily
available. The technology used to exploit them was based on wooden implements and
tools fashioned from flint (this occurred as lenses in the chalk of the Antrim Plateau, and
as washed-out nodules in the river). Because of their lifestyle, the material remains from
this period are in the form of
temporary
encampments
which are now indicated by
scatters of burnt charcoal,
bones, and flint implements
(fig 2.2).
Fig 2.2 A selection of Early Mesolithic flint artifacts: axes, scrapers,
burins and scalene triangles. The
right-hand object is a reconstructed
harpoon made up of flint microliths
inserted into a wooden shaft (after
Mallory and McNeill, 1991, figs 115 to 1-22).
Whilst the Early Mesolithic period is characterised by microlithic flints used to make composite
implements, the Late Mesolithic sees the widespread adoption of larger flint artifacts, notably
the butt-trimmed flake, or ‘Bann flake’ as it is
commonly known because of the thousands
which have been found along the river, such as
at Newferry. Mudstone axes were also used (fig
2.3).
Fig 2.3 Left: Bann flake. Right: Mudstone axe (after
Mallory and McNeill, 1991, figs 1-29 and 1-30).
The Neolithic period (‘new’ Stone Age) spans the period from c.4000 to 2500 BC and
marks the inception of agriculture in the form of cultivated crops and domesticated livestock. Whilst wild plants and animals continued to be exploited, increasing reliance on
agriculture enabled permanent settlement. Flint tools continue to be used, but this
period is also characterised by the appearance of pottery. The increasing attachment of
people to particular areas is reflected in the use of megalithic burial tombs.
Since the later 1800s, a number of amateur archaeologists have collected thousands of
artifacts from these two periods along the Lower Bann. Ballymena-based W.J. Knowles
was particularly active throughout north-east Ulster in the later 1800s, and much of his
attention was focused on the Culbane district, on the west bank between Portglenone
and Newferry. At that time, there was much diatomite cutting for the manufacture of
10
locally-made bricks and a wide range of artifacts characteristic of the Mesolithic and
Neolithic periods was uncovered as a result of these workings, e.g. flint cores, flakes,
arrowheads, blades, scrapers and polished stone axes.
The diatomite cuttings on the east side of the
river at Newferry were another rich hunting
ground for archaeologists in search of artifacts
(fig 2.4).
.
Fig 2.4. Amateur archaeologists examining prehistoric
hearths in diatomite workings at Newferry (Woodman
et al, 2006, fig 7.8).
The dredging of the Lower Bann in the 1930s also resulted in the discovery of numerous prehistoric artifacts in the dredged spoil thanks to the tireless efforts of the next
generation of amateur archaeologists such as Coleraine-based Andrew May.
Countless artifacts doubtless escaped notice due to the vast scale and mechanised
nature of the dredging operations. Their invisibility was further compounded by the subsequent planting of trees on many of the dumps by the Department of Agriculture.
In 1994, the harvesting of the timber on a dump at Kilrea by Forest Service afforded
archaeologists from the Ulster Museum the opportunity to survey it before replanting
and resulted in the discovery of several Late Bronze Age artifacts. The following year, a
combination of archaeological excavation and metal detection on a dump at Gortgole,
north of Portglenone, uncovered flint flakes, a Bronze Age axe and sword, and a piece
of Hiberno-Viking ring money of Early Christian date.
The artifacts thus collected found their way into private and public collections, notably
the Ulster Museum and National Museum of Ireland. The Ulster Museum alone holds
some 1773 archaeological objects form the Lower Bann. An analysis of this database
by Rory McNeary showed virtually all to be of pre-Medieval date and 76% (1339) could
be attributable to the Mesolithic period. The vast majority (1713) were made of flint and
only 46 of metal. Toome was, by far the most prolific findspot with 2855 hits, followed by
the Portna-Kilrea-Culmore area (841 hits), and Portglenone-Glenone (375 hits).
The predominance of Mesolithic objects reflects the importance of the river and its
environs at that time. However, because most of the objects were recorded to townland
level only, rather than more specifically, and the fact that they are split up over many
collections, it is now difficult to interpret the variations in their distribution pattern. This
difficulty is compounded by the fact that the proximity of archaeologists to opportunities
to collect material (such as in diatomite workings and during river dredging operations)
has also had a strong bearing on the type and location of the material collected.
Several specific areas are particularly rich in Mesolithic and Neolithic material. The sand
dunes at the Bann estuary (4019, 4020) contain much evidence of temporary camps
from these periods in the form of charcoal-rich soil horizons and scatters of worked flints
and pottery (fig 2.5). The discovery of over 2000 flint artefacts and associated debris on
the Portstewart dunes indicates that tools were sometimes fabricated as well. Such
sites are generally buried and only become apparent after storms when sand blows
uncover burnt soil lenses. They are sometimes also unearthed during landscaping
works to the golf courses which now extend over parts of the two dune complexes.
11
Fig 2.5 Numerous flint artifacts
have been found in the sand
dunes west of Portstewart (left)
and east of Castlerock (right).
The best known Mesolithic site is that at Mount Sandel (4086). This unassuming flat
open area just north-east of the much more prominent earthwork of the same name
(4087) was excavated by Peter Woodman of the Ulster Museum in the 1970s in
advance of a nearby housing development. He uncovered traces of up to seven circular
huts. They were dated to 7600-7900 BC, making them the earliest man-made habitable
structures yet recorded anywhere in Britain and Ireland up to then.
Hundreds of microliths, countless hazel nut shells, and bones of fish, birds, pigs, hares
and deer were also discovered. This abundance of such specific material, coupled with
the fact that at least four of the huts had been rebuilt, indicated that this was an
encampment which was visited repeatedly as part of the seasonal round. The discovery
of Neolithic artifacts as well supported the view that the Mesolithic way of life - hunting
and gathering - continued to some extent after the inception of agriculture.
Just downstream from Mount Sandel is Sandel Ford (4083) where numerous prehistoric
artifacts have also been found over several centuries. William Gray, writing in 1888,
noted "At this ford a large number of worked flints were found and their general character very much resembled the worked flints from the field at the back of Mount Sandel
and the peculiar form of rough celts of flint were well represented here". Flint artifacts
continue to be found and the fact that they are not water damaged implies that they
originated from the locality.
Flint artifacts of Mesolithic and Neolithic date have also been found at Camus Ford
(4116), in fields above Portnakim Ford near Portglenone (4252), at Newferry (4278), on
Coney Island in Lough Beg (4293), and in the vicinity of the Toome Canal (4336) where
there was once a fording point where the Bann emerges from Lough Neagh. Whether
because of the congregation of people at these crossing points, or because of the
shallowness of the river at such points, fording places have also yielded copious
material dating from later archaeological periods as well.
A number of dug-out canoes have been found along the Bann estuary, including one at
the confluence with the Bann Brook at Grange More (4021). Another was also found
south of Toome, but their precise dates are uncertain.
Bronze and Iron Ages
The Bronze Age runs from c.2500 to 500 BC and sees the inception of the use of metal
(bronze and gold) and new pottery types (e.g. beakers and food vessels). Whilst certain
types of megalithic tombs remain in use, we now also see single burials (both inhumations and cremations), in pits and stone-lined cists. Stone circles and standing stones
are also characteristic of this period, as are mounds of burnt charcoal and stone which
are interpreted as cooking places (fulachta fiadh).
A Bronze Age sword was found by anglers on the east shore of Lough Beg at Ballyscullion East (4292). Prior to the lowering of the lough in the mid-1800s, this find spot
would have been well out from the shore. This suggests that the sword was either
accidentally dropped from a boat or was a ritual deposit.
12
Also in the same townland is a standing stone which could
also be from the same era (fig 2.6). It now serves the rather
more prosaic use of a cattle rubbing post.
Fig 2.6 Standing stone at Ballyscullion East (4283).
The Iron Age runs from c.500 BC to 450 AD and, as its name suggests, marks the
inception of the use of iron. Few remains are presently known from this era, possibly
because of a lack of recognition by archaeologists.
The best known artifact from this period is the so-called Bann disc which was discovered in March 1939 during dredging of the river in the vicinity of Camus Ford, between
Camus Graveyard and Loughan Island (4116).
This 10cm diameter bronze disc was decorated
in the La Tƒne style and has been dated to
between the first and third centuries AD (fig
2.7). Whilst it may have been lost accidentally, it
has been suggested that it was deliberately
deposited in the river as a votive offering to a
water god.
This ford’s continuing importance into historical
times is reflected in the strategic positioning of
an earthwork (4110), motte (4111), and castle
(4115) overlooking the ford on the right bank.
Fig 2.7 The Bann Disc with its La Tƒne embellishment
is now the emblem of the Ulster Museum.
2.2 Medieval period
Early Medieval Period
This period runs from c.450 AD to the coming of the Anglo-Normans to Ireland in the
late 12th century and is also known as the Early Christian Period as it coincides with the
coming of Christianity to Ireland.
Small farmsteads enclosed by one or more circular banks and ditches (know as raths),
are common in this period, as are cashels (farmsteads enclosed with circular stone
walls), crannogs (farmsteads on man-made platforms in lakes), souterrains (underground passages), and ecclesiastical sites. Apart from the modern era, there are more
visible monuments from this period in Ireland than from any other.
Craig-an-Ariff Fort, an enclosure possibly dating from this period, formerly stood in
Carnanee townland but was destroyed during 19th century quarrying operations (4025).
13
Given its strategic location overlooking the river and Sandel Ford, it is not impossible
that Mount Sandel Fort also originated during this period (4087).
Several enclosures survive elsewhere along the Bann, at Landagivey (4151), Carranroe
(4173), and Ballymaconnelly (4209); of these, only the last survives above ground (fig
2.8). Without excavating them, they are impossible to interpret and it is quite possible
that some or all of them are of much later date, if not natural features.
A souterrain survives in the grounds of
Moore Lodge (4204). Its entrance has been
blocked and there are now no visible
remains.
Fig 2.8 This tree covered rise above the east bank of
the Bann at Ballymaconnelly may be an Early
Medieval settlement feature.
McGreary’s Island (4185) may have been a crannog but nothing of it survives. Its exact
whereabouts is unknown other than that it was on the river near the Vow Ferry.
Shemy’s Island on Lough Beg is also said to be a crannog (fig 2.9). Although now
accessible by land, it would originally have been entirely surrounded by water.
Fig 2.9 Shemy’s
Island (4286) is
marked by shrubs
and trees rising
above the
reclaimed bed of
Lough Beg.
Turning to ecclesiastical sites, St Patrick reputedly founded a monastery at Coleraine
around 450 AD, with St Carbreus as its first bishop. The precise location of this foundation is uncertain, but it is believed to have been in the vicinity of the present St
Patrick’s Church of Ireland on the east bank.
Camus Graveyard (4106) is on the site of a monastery though to have been established
in the later 6th century AD and which was associated with St Comgall's monastery at
Bangor, Co Down. After abandonment, the surviving buildings were dismantled and
their stones used to build the wall around the graveyard, which is still in use.
Fortunately the shaft of the high cross associated with the original monastic settlement
survives (fig 2.10). It is the only such cross in Co Londonderry and the only tangible
evidence of an Early Christian ecclesiastical site within the survey area. A carved stone
fragment salvaged by the Ulster Museum from a farmhouse at Drumeil (4164) may have
come from this monastery originally.
Church Island, on Lough Beg, is also said to mark the site of a monastery founded by St
Thaddeus (4291).
14
Fig 2.10 The elaborately carved sandstone shaft of
Camus High Cross, with the river in the background.
Later Medieval Period
This period begins with the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in Ireland in 1169 and ends
with the start of the reign of James I (James VI of Scotland) in 1603. Diagnostic of this
era are the mottes with their flat-topped, steeply-sided defendable earthen mounds.
Some mottes had larger, but lower flat bailies beside them surrounded by a bank and
ditch where the actual permanent settlement would have been.
The Anglo-Normans led by John de Courcy arrived in Coleraine area in the 1170s and
established bases in the vicinity of Coleraine - at Ballycairn, Gallows Hill, and possibly
also Mount Sandel (fig 2.11). Because this last site has been subjected to so much later
disturbance, it is now difficult to tell to what extent, if any, it made use of an existing
earlier earthwork.
Fig 2.11 Far left: Ballycairn
Motte (4030). Left: Mount
Sandel (4087).
The lands occupied by de Courcy around the coast of counties Down and Antrim
became the Earldom of Ulster and were subdivided amongst the Earl’s chief retainers
who, in turn, erected their own mottes and attendant settlements. The earthwork at Mill
Loughan, overlooking Camus Ford, appears to have an attached bailey and was
possibly one such a motte (4111).
15
During the Earldom, Coleraine became the region’s principal town due, in no small
measure, to its access to the sea and therefore to trading ports in Britain and elsewhere.
The Dominicans followed in the Anglo-Normans’ wake and established St Mary’s Priory
near St Patrick’s former monastery in 1244. Along with one at Newtownards, this was
the earliest Dominican friary in Ulster. No visible traces survive as the Diamond
Shopping Centre now stands on its site.
The Earldom of Ulster was largely confined to the coastal areas of counties Down and
Antrim. However, some mottes lie outside its boundaries and are therefore presumed to
have been built by native Gaelic lords such as the O’Cahans who controlled much of the
land west of the Lower Bann.
There are also a number of enigmatic earthen mounds along the Lower Bann corridor,
but which, if any, were mottes is by no means clear. It has been suggested that some
were actually post-Medieval signal stations, and that others, such as Knockantern
(4103) and Ballymaconnelly (4209), are natural rather than man-made. The dates and
functions of the two mounds on Loughan Island (4118, 4121), and the ones at Colebreene Upper (4132) and Glenstall (4139) are also uncertain.
By the end of the 14th century, the influence of the English crown had largely waned
outside the towns such as Carrickfergus and most of Ulster was controlled by Gaelic
lords. Drumtarsy Castle, at Coleraine, was an important O’Cahan stronghold. During the
15th and 16th centuries, various tower houses were erected elesewhere, such as the
ones at Castle Roe (4099), Fish Loughan (4115) and possibly also at Toome (4332);
there also appears to have been a timber stronghold on Loughan Island (4120).
2.3 Post-Medieval period
This period witnesses the Plantation of Ulster in the early 1600s which signified the
takeover by English and Scottish colonists of lands previously held by the Ulster Earls
and Gaelic lords.
In 1603, James VI of Scotland succeeded Queen Elizabeth I as ruler of England
(becoming James I). The following year he put Thomas Philips in charge of the small
settlement which had evolved around the erstwhile abbey at Coleraine.
Following the flight of the Earls in 1607, all of Ulster west of the Bann was confiscated
by the Crown. To control his newly acquired lands and prevent a repetition of the
attempt by Spain in 1588 to invade Britain through the ‘back door’ of Ireland, James
resolved to settle this territory with loyal English and Scottish ‘planters’.
Accordingly, in 1610, he divided up much of Co Tyrone and all the lands between the
Bann and Foyle (formerly O’Cahan lands known as the County of Coleraine) amongst
12 London livery companies. These organisations comprised craftsmen, merchants and
artisans incorporated by Royal Charter as self-regulating guilds. James’ grant was conditional upon the guilds establishing villages, colonising them with British settlers, and
developing a market economy.
Creation of Co Londonderry
The London companies wished to include the town of Coleraine and its hinterland in
their plantation scheme. St Mary’s had been confiscated by Henry VIII in the 1540s and
now belonged to Sir Thomas Philips. He surrendered his holding to the Crown in
exchange for lands at Limavady and Toome. Sir Randall MacDonnell, who had been
16
granted much of Co Antrim by James in 1603 also agreed to surrender a hinterland of
about three Irish miles (6km) around the town.
The Liberties of Coleraine, as this area was known, were then allocated along with the
town of Coleraine and the fishing rights of the Bann to the “Society of the Governor and
Assistants, London, of the New Plantation of Ulster, within the Realm of Ireland”.
Subsequently known as the Honourable the Irish Society, this body was not a guild, but
rather a management company charged with administering the Plantation on behalf of
James I. He also granted the Society the town of Derry and Foyle fishery. Coleraine’s
daily affairs were overseen by a Corporation which received its Royal Charter in 1613.
In the same year, the King created County
Londonderry by amalgamating the new
Liberties on the east side of the Bann with
the former County of Coleraine on its west
side. This explains why Coleraine and its
hinterland are not in Co Antrim as
geography would seem to dictate (fig
2.12). The North-West Liberties of Londonderry which formerly lay in Co Donegal
and the Barony of Loughinsholin in Co
Tyrone were also put into the new county.
Fig. 2.12 The boundary of Co Londonderry
east of the Bann (in purple) coincides roughly
with a radius of three Irish miles (6km) around
the centre of Coleraine (blue circle).
Plantation villages
Apart from the Irish Society, six of the London companies were granted lands along the
Lower Bann. From north to south they were: (1) the Clothworkers with a headquarters at
Articlave, (2) the Merchant Taylors focused on Macosquin, (3) the Ironmongers at
Agivey and subsequently
Garvagh, (4) the Mercers at
Movanagher
and
then
Kilrea, (5) the Vintners at
Bellaghy, and (6) the Salters
at Salterstown and then
Magherafelt
(fig
2.13).
Smaller tracts of land were
also given to the Church and
to native freeholders.
Fig 2.13 Villages of the London
companies with Co Londonderry.
Key: B – detached bawn; C –
Coleraine; F – garrison fort; L –
Londonderry; P – Sir Thomas
Phillips’ manor and tenant village
of Limavady (Blades, 1986, fig.1).
17
Whilst these settlements were reliant primarily on agriculture and trade, the Lower
Bann’s natural riches – woodland, salmon and eels - would doubtless have been a
considerable economic draw for these companies.
The administrative headquarters of the Clothworkers’ Guild was at Articlave (near
Castlerock), but it also owned the former O’Cahan stronghold of Drumtarsy Castle on
the west bank at Coleraine. The castle was superseded by Jackson Hall (4057) which
was built, along with a bawn, by William Jackson, one of the Guild’s tenants, around
1680. It became known as the Manor House and was last used as offices by Londonderry County Council before
being demolished in 1984.
Further upriver, a manor house,
bawn and village were built
between 1611 and 1618 by the
Mercers’ Company at Movanagher
(3196). Thomas Raven’s map of
1622 shows a fortified house and
bawn, eight houses, and a
watermill (fig 2.14).
Fig 2.14 Raven’s map of Movanagher showing houses, castle and
bawn (top right) and water-mill
bottom right).
A contemporary description noted the manor house as being "of lyme, loame and stone,
42ft long, 26ft broad, two storeys high, slated and cellared". The bawn was of identical
construction was 120ft square, 3ft thick and 12† ft high. Raven’s map shows four of the
houses to be of half-timbered construction (as one might find in England).
At that time, Movanagher had a population of three freeholders, 52 British and 145 Irish
men (and families). Despite this degree of integration with the natives, the settlement
was sacked during the rebellion of 1641-42. The Mercers abandoned it and moved to
Kilrea. Despite its relatively short life, substantial vestiges of the castle and bawn still
survive to this day, incorporated into a farmyard (fig 2.15).
Fig 2.15 Although now reduced in height, the bawn at Movanagher is substantially intact and incorporates
two of its original four corner turrets. The ground floor of the fortified house survives inside.
18
Portna House (4236) was the scene, in January 1642, of the slaughter of soldiers under
the command of Archibald Steward, agent to the Earl of Antrim by the rebels. Bellaghy
was also wiped out during the rebellion, but Coleraine, where many of the planters had
fled to seek refuge, managed to hold out during its four month siege.
2.4 Development of Coleraine
Under the terms of its grant, the Irish Society had to enclose Coleraine and establish a
market within seven years of its charter commencing. A map prepared by Lord George
Carew in 1611 shows the rapid progress of this work, with a rampart enclosing the
streets laid out on a grid centred on the Market Place (now the Diamond; fig 2.16).
Going clockwise from its north-west end, the rampart, which was of earth with an external moat, followed the present-day Mall and Church Lane as far as the north-east
end of St Patrick’s Church, then cut south along Society Street to its junction with New
Row. From here it ran west along Blind Gate Street, then north-west along Abbey Street
and down what was once Ferry Quay Street to the river.
There were two gates into the town – the King’s Gate along the east side (21) and Blind
Gate at south (22). Houses had already been completed along some streets such as
17
16
15
14
18
25
1
2
20
4
3
5
6
7
8
19
21
10 9
12
13
11
23
22
24
Fig 2.16 Map of Coleraine, 1611. Key: 1- Market Place; 2- Bridge or quay into the Bann, 60ft x 12ft; 3House adjoining old Abbey, 72ft x 27ft; 4- House for two smiths; 5- Foundations and frames for 14
tenements; 6- A row of 10 tenements nearly finished; 7- Foundations for 12 houses and frames almost
ready for erection; 8- A row of 5 tenements, 3 finished and 2 nearly finished; 9- A new row of 30
tenements; 10- A row on the west side of the former street containing 23 tenements; 11- A row of 12
tenements of stone walls; 12- A brew house, 70ft x 20ft; 13- Palisades intended to be built into river; 14The old Castle of Coleraine. 15- A wharf and stairs to go down to the river; 16- Three tenements for a
butcher smith and glazier; 17- Postern gate; 18- The old bridge over the brook; 19- A five mill dam, with a
mill house for millers; 20- the new Pound; 21- Port [gate]; 22- Port; 23- The lime kiln; 24- The Shipwreck
House; 25- The Market Place (of Saturdays). After Girvan, 1999.
19
New Row and others were in progress. By way of encouragement, tenants were given
monetary grants to construct the houses and long leases at nominal rents. The principal
house adjoined the old abbey (3) and belonged to Sir Thomas Phillips. Below it on the
riverbank was the quay, a timber structure some 60ft long by 12ft wide. There was also
a wharf a short distance downstream on the same side (15). An animal pound (19) and
watermill (20) lay just outside the East (King’s) Gate. On the opposite bank were
Drumtarsy Castle (14) and the site of a weekly market (25).
Thomas Raven’s map of 1622 shows a similar plan, but now with the addition of a
bridge over the river which probably followed the line of the early 14th century one.
After the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII c.1540, St Mary’s Priory (4065)
reverted to non-ecclesiastical uses and was eventually cleared in the later 1600s to
make way for redevelopment.
It was always the intention that the town’s defences would be strengthened and to this
end work started on what became known as the ‘Citadel’ around 1630. It was situated in
the vicinity of where the Bann Rowing Club now stands on Hanover Place (4066). However, it was never completed and the vestiges of its 3m high earthen platform were
eventually cleared away in the 1830s.
The Irish Society’s objective of establishing a market town at Coleraine appears to have
succeeded. A document of 1637 records that upwards of ten ships were based here
and their construction is also noted. A customs house had also been established by this
time in the Market Square.
Unlike some smaller plantation settlements such as Movanagher, Coleraine successfully held out against the Irish during the 1641 rebellion and was eventually relieved by
General Robert Monro in 1642. Although taken by Cromwellian forces in 1648 it did not,
unlike Derry, suffer much physical damage.
A timber bridge was erected across the river to Killowen in the early 1670s. In 1679, a
new quay was constructed, probably in place of the one shown on the 1611 map. This
was, in turn, superseded by yet another quay in the 1710s, still on the same bank but on
the downstream side of the bridge. Adjacent to it, at the river end of Bridge Street, a
new customs house was also erected.
In addition to grain milling, other small-scale industries such as tanning and brewing had
been established at Coleraine by the early 1700s. The town also became an important
flax and linen market, serving the weavers and bleach greens in the surrounding area.
Its reputation for the weaving of fine quality linens is reflected in them being termed
‘Coleraines’.
Coleraine in the modern era
Coleraine’s growing civic identity was manifest in the erection of a Town Hall in the
Market Place in 1743 (and which was replaced by the present one in 1859). Around this
time, the timber bridge was completely rebuilt, but now with more durable masonry
abutments and piers.
The 1831 Ordnance Survey map shows how the town had evolved since the early
1600s (fig 2.17). By now it had expanded beyond the confines of its ramparts on the
east bank and also westwards beyond the far bank.
Samuel Lewis, writing in 1837, noted that the town contained some 7650 inhabitants on
both sides of the river. The town had its own Court, Member of Parliament and Poor
House. Since 1830 it also had a purpose-built market place known as the Shambles (on
the site of St Mary’s Priory).
20
Fig 2.17 OS six-inch map of Coleraine, 1831 (rescaled).
The main imports at that time were textiles (woollen and cotton), iron, sugar, fish, coal,
general hardware, ashes (for linen bleaching), and salt. The principal exports were oats,
meal and flour, bacon, butter, flax and linen. Livestock, poultry, eggs and fruit were also
traded through the out-port of Portrush, from which there were also regular steamer
services to Glasgow and Liverpool. This harbour was constructed by Coleraine
merchants in the 1820s to circumvent the restrictions placed on the size of their vessels
by the sand bar at the mouth of the Bann. In 1835, the value of exports from Coleraine
and Portrush jointly amounted to ‡105,685 and imports to almost ‡66,000
The town’s prosperity during the mid-1800s is reflected in the appearance of terraced
housing, substantial detached houses, Union Workhouse, gasworks, churches of
various denominations, a new court house and several sizeable schools (such as
Coleraine Academical Institution).
By 1844, the old timber Town Bridge had become unfit for purpose and was replaced
with an elegant triple-span masonry bridge of finest Scottish granite (fig 2.18).
At its west end, the Clothworkers’ Arms Hotel opened two years later. The railway
arrived from Derry in 1853, and a rail link with Belfast and Portrush was established in
1855 (railways will be discussed in detail in chapter 8).
21
Fig 2.18 The new Town Bridge in late 1800s (4064). Note the ships berthed at the Quay on its downstream bank at its far end (NLI: Lawrence Collection).
The town’s civic development went hand in hand with its industrial growth. A brewery
had been set up on New Row in the 1780s and a distillery in Killowen in the early
1800s. A second distillery opened in Newmarket Street in 1820. A steam-powered flour
mill began operations at Bannfield in the 1830s (where Tesco’s supermarket now
stands). In the 1850s and ‘60s, steam power was also utilized to power a weaving
factory opened on the Strand, a spinning mill at Bannfield, and saw mill at Beresford
Place. Kennedy’s Foundry was established on the Mountsandel Road in the 1840s and
expanded in the 1870s to become the largest such enterprise in the region. Shirt
making was also an important industry in the later part of the 1800s. These various
manufactories will be discussed in more detail in chapter 7.
The upgrading of the entrance to the Bann at Barmouth in the 1880s and subsequent
development of harbour facilities at Coleraine will be considered in the next chapter.
22
3. NON-TIDAL RIVER DRAINAGE AND NAVIGATION
The Lower Bann Valley has been a corridor into and out of the heartland of Ulster since
prehistoric times. Legend has it that Turgesius, a Viking chief, sailed up the river to
Lough Neagh in the 830s AD en route to invading Armagh.
The river drains out of the north-west corner of Lough Neagh, the largest freshwater
lake in Britain and Ireland by surface area. Whilst its catchment is 910sq.km, its feeder
lough draws its water from an area of 4840sq.km extending over five counties in
Northern Ireland and one in the Republic. In combination, the river and lough drain
water from almost 40% of the land surface of Northern Ireland (fig 3.1).
Fig 3.1 Catchment of Lower Bann
and Lough Neagh.
3.1 Drainage and navigational issues
The geomorphologic peculiarities of Lough Neagh, its juxtaposition to the Lower Bann,
and the extent of their combined catchments has created on-going issues relating to
flooding and the utilization of the river for inland navigation.
Lough Neagh sits in a very shallow basin such that even a small rise in water level due
to prolonged rainfall will rapidly inundate extensive areas around its shoreline unless the
excess water can be quickly discharged. However, it has only one outlet – along the
Lower Bann at Toome – and it is along this channel that the run-off from a catchment
over five times that of the river must flow.
Until their relatively recent removal, numerous shoals along the riverbed, particularly at
Toome and Portna, greatly impeded the river’s flow and therefore the rate of discharge
of excess water from the lough. For these reasons, the Lough Neagh lowlands have
always been prone to flooding, particularly around the lake’s south end.
In prehistoric times, hunters and gatherers doubtless welcomed regular inundations of
the land and the deposition of enriching sediments to sustain the varied ecology upon
which they depended. However, with the development of permanent settlement and
agriculture, flooding came to be viewed as a threat rather than a blessing, more
especially with the inception of urbanisation and more intensive farming in the 1800s.
The Parliamentary Gazetteer of 1844-45 noted: “The waters of Lough Neagh usually
attain a surface elevation in winter about 7ft [2.1m] higher than that of summer; and
23
they, in consequence, effect wide-spread inundations every season, covering upwards
of 50,000 acres [20,000ha] of good land, and a vast aggregate of bog-lands and
morasses; while, about probably every 15 years, they achieve so great and expansive a
flood as threatens to render a large portion of the peopled shores totally uninhabitable”.
The need to discharge the water rapidly from the lough to alleviate flooding was
countermanded by the aspiration to develop the Lower Bann as a navigable waterway.
Various entries in the mid-1830s Ordnance Survey Memoirs for parishes along the
Lower Bann allude to sail-assisted lighters, typically of 40-60 tons burthen and 5-6ft
draft, bringing coal, iron, slates etc to Portglenone and Kilrea from Belfast via the Lagan
Canal and Lough Neagh. Despite their relatively small size, these vessels were
restricted to operating in the winter months and at periods of high water in the summer
owing to the shallows encountered along the way. The rapids at Movanagher and the
Cutts, downstream from Kilrea, were out of the question.
Finding a satisfactory balance between flood alleviation and navigational improvements
has been the focus of much debate and expenditure of millions of pounds (in today’s
terms) over the past two centuries.
3.2 Developments up to the 1840s
The 1700s and first half of the next century saw a number of proposals being made to
alleviate flooding and improve navigation, but very few of which were realised.
Eighteenth century schemes
In the 1720s, the Bishop of Down and Connor, Francis Hutchinson of Portglenone
Castle, petitioned the Irish Parliament to alleviate flooding by removing a rocky shoal in
the vicinity of Portna. Work was apparently about to start but was abandoned when the
bishop died in 1729.
In 1763, the Irish Parliament granted ‡1000 towards improving the navigability of the
Bann, but to whom it was made and precisely for what are also uncertain.1
The 1836 Ordnance Survey Memoir notes the New Cut as having been made “about a
century ago” at the south end
of Lough Beg (fig 3.2). It
provided the river with a short
cut into the lough and bypassed a meander around its
south-west side. Whether it
was excavated to improve the
run-off along the river or its
navigability
(or
both)
is
uncertain. If the OSM date is
NEW
CUT
correct (i.e. 1730s), Hutchinson
may well have been behind it; if
not, it might be an outcome of
Old river
the work grant–aided in the
meander
1760s.
Fig 3.2 The New Cut at south end of
Lough Beg (Ordnance Survey, 1831).
1
Public Record Office Northern Ireland: T3019/4768.
24
Earlier 19th century schemes
In 1803, Sir Charles Coote, in his statistical survey of Co Armagh for the Royal Dublin
Society, also advocated the benefits of making the Lower Bann navigable. Around the
same time, Richard Owens, the engineer behind the Lagan Canal (opened in 1786),
suggested lowering the level of Lough Neagh some 15 inches (38cm) in order to
alleviate flooding. He proposed an artificial cut from Brockish Bay, on the Co Antrim
side, to Lough Beg which he estimated to cost ‡10,000.
In 1812, Thomas Townshend, Engineer to the Bog Commissioners in Ireland, took
soundings at regular intervals along the Lower Bann between Lough Neagh and the
Cutts at Coleraine. He concluded that the river could be made navigable along its entire
length by constructing canals to by-pass the rapids, and also by removing the shoals
along the river, all for an estimated cost of ‡100,000.
Around 1820, the channel through the bar where the river exits Lough Neagh was
apparently deepened to improve its navigability, but who carried it out is unknown.
Perhaps the most ambitious scheme to date was that proposed in 1828 by Alexander
Nimmo, the Scottish-born civil engineer. Charged with examining the feasibility of upgrading the link between the Newry Canal and the sea, he suggested that the existing
summit-level canal between Lough Neagh and Newry might be replaced by a flat, lockfree channel cut through the drumlins between its two end points. The lough would then
act as a gigantic feeder, its winter level would be lowered, and the water flowing along
the canal could be harnessed for mechanical power at Newry. He also surmised that,
for little extra effort, the navigation could be extended along the Lower Bann to Portglenone, thus creating a 60-mile (96km) link to Newry and the sea.
The first bathymetric survey of Lough Neagh was carried out by Lieutenant Thomas
Graves for the Admiralty in 1832, and published at 1:63,360 scale in 1835 (chart 5074).
In 1836, Sir John Macneill, who was later to become one of Ireland’s most eminent civil
engineeers, recommended to the Lough Neagh Improvement Company that the shoals
at Portna be removed and that a combined drainage and navigation scheme would cost
just under ‡105,000, not dissimilar to Townshend’s estimate some 25 years previously.
Thomas Rhodes, a prominent canal engineer, concluded in a report to the Board of
Works that the lowering of the lough and creation of a navigable waterway would not
only bring up to 30,000 acres (12,000ha) of flooded land into cultivation, but also stimulate commerce and industry through the use of the waterway and the harnessing of its
waterpower. As with all the other reports to official bodies, nothing more came of it.
Drainage Act
In 1842, a Drainage Act was passed “to promote the drainage of lands, and improvement of navigation and water power in connection with such drainage in Ireland”.2
Under its provisions, landowners could now petition the Commissioners of Public Works
in Ireland (established in 1831) to carry out such schemes, the costs of which would be
met by the owners in proportion to the benefits they derived.
The following year, Francis Giles, a London-based civil engineer, and James McCleery,
formerly an engineer with the Lagan Navigation Company, surveyed the river with a
view to making it more navigable. They proposed to bypass the rapids with canals, the
locks of which would be 12ft wide by 70ft long (3.7m x 21.3m); these dimensions are the
same as the Ulster Canal, opened the year before.
2
Drainage (Ireland) Act 1842 (5 & 6 Vict. c.89).
25
Although a prospectus was issued with a view to implementing the scheme, nothing
came of it. This was fortuitous given the narrowness of the proposed locks, a major
factor in the demise of the Ulster Canal.
Despite this false start, the Drainage Act of 1842 paved the way for the first concerted
attempt at government level to alleviate flooding and improve the Bann’s navigation.
3.3 MacMahon’s scheme
In 1844, various landowners petitioned the Commissioners of Drainage for a survey of
Lough Neagh and the Lower Bann with a view to improving its drainage and navigability
as prescribed under the 1842 Act. The task of looking into their demands fell to John
MacMahon, an experienced canal engineer who had joined the Drainage Department of
the Board of Works the previous year.
MacMahon’s challenge was to resolve the seemingly irreconcilable demands of drainage, navigation and fishing. If the level of the lough could be lowered its storage
capacity would be increased, so reducing the frequency of flooding some 25,000 acres
(10,000ha) of land in the drainage basin, particularly during the winter. Navigation, on
the other hand, required a sufficient depth of water during the summer for boats not to
be impeded at shoals. Even if the shallows were cut through, the faster currents resulting from the increased run-offs due to these flood alleviation measures could potentially
hinder the upstream progress of boats.
The trapping of salmon and eels necessitated the presence of weirs across the river, all
of which also impeded the current and hindered traffic. However, given the substantial
revenues generated by fishing, such structures also had to be accommodated, as far as
possible, in any improvement scheme.
MacMahon’s objective was therefore to lower Lough Neagh so that it could better
accommodate the winter run-off, whilst also ensuring that there was an adequate depth
of water in the river during the summer for navigational purposes. If the lough’s level
was reduced to too low a level, expensive dredging and rock excavation would be
required along the river to create a sufficient depth for boats. Conversely, if set too high,
the lough’s winter storage capacity would be compromised.
MacMahon’s proposals
Following a detailed survey and assessment of the river between Lough Neagh and the
Cutts, MacMahon published his initial proposals in 1845. His scheme entailed removing
the bar at the Toome end of the lough and erecting a weir such that its summer level
would be fixed at 46ft above low water ordinary Spring tide at Coleraine. This was 2ft
(0.6m) lower than its previous summer average, and apparently the summer level which
had been determined by John Killaly in 1826, presumably in connection with his work on
the Ulster Canal. Relative to Coleraine datum, MacMahon calculated that this level
would result in a consequential lowering of normal winter floods to 47†ft, rising to 48ft
during heavy floods, and 48†ft in extreme ones (all relative to this datum). As the winter
levels could be from 54ft to 56ft, his scheme would thus reduce the lough’s winter level
by at least 6†ft (2m) and reclaim a significant acreage of land for agricultural purposes.
Setting the weir’s crest at 45ft above Coleraine datum would give at least 8ft (2.4m) of
depth along the waterway as far as the Cutts, assuming that 12in (30cm) of water was
flowing over the weir and that the downstream weirs and channels were designed
appropriately; this would give a sufficient depth for navigation during the summer
months. Just as importantly, the reconfigured exit at Toome would also create sufficient
26
reserve storage in the lough for it to absorb winter run-offs. Navigation would thus be
improved and flooding alleviated.
Locks
The length of the river between Lough Neagh and the Cutts is 30† mls (48.5km). Given
an average height of the tidal river immediately below the Cutts of 4ft-3in (Coleraine
datum), the average gradient is therefore 16† inches per mile (26cm/km). In theory, this
hydraulic gradient is negotiable by boats. In practice, however, the river passes over a
series of rapids, notably at the Cutts, Carnroe, Movanagher, Portna and Toome. Here
the current is generally too strong in winter and too shallow in summer for vessels to
pass. It was at these five points, therefore, that MacMahon proposed to construct locks,
weirs and, where necessary, short lateral canals to bypass the rapids (fig 3.3).
Fig 3.3 Locations of proposed locks.
In theory, the overall height difference of 41ft-9in between the lough and tidal river
should have been accommodated by a difference of just over 8ft (2.4m) at each of the
five locks. In practice, the difference varied according to the size of the adjoining rapid.
The smallest change in height was at Toome Lock, which was a mere 4ft (1.2m).
Movanagher had the single biggest fall at 10ft 6in (3.2m). The fall at Portna was bigger
– at 14ft 5in (4.4m) – but split over two successive chambers (table 3.1; fig 3.4).
27
2. Minimum
weir crest
level relative
to datum
3. Summer
water level at
bottom of lock
relative to
datum
4. Minimum
weir crest
height above
top cill of lock
5. Lock top cill
level relative
to datum [2-4]
6 Lock bottom
cill level
relative to
datum
7. Fall in lock
[5-6]
Depth of water
above bottom
of lock
[1-5; 3-6]
Weir
1. Summer
water level at
top of lock
relative to
datum
Lock
Lock
1
2
1 Cutts
10ft 7in
10ft 1in
4ft 3in
7ft 6in
2ft 7in
– 3ft 9in
6ft 4in
8ft 0in
2 Carnroe
17ft 1in
16ft 1in
10ft 7in
7ft 0in
9ft 1in
2ft 7in
6ft 6in
8ft 0in
3 Movanagher
27ft 7in
26ft 7in
17ft 1in
7ft 0in
19ft 7in
9ft 1in
10ft 6in
8ft 0in
4 Portna
42ft 0in
41ft 0in
27ft 7in
7ft 0in
34ft 0in
19ft 7in
14ft 5in
8ft 0in
5 Toome
46ft 0in
45ft 0in
42ft 0in
7ft 0in
38ft 0in
34ft 0in
4ft 0in
8ft 0in
3
4
5
8
7
6
Table 3.1 Height levels of weirs and locks. Datum is low water ordinary Spring tide level at Coleraine. Based on 1858 OPW drawings (PRONI FIN/9/2/4).
46ft 0in
42ft 0in
Summer water level above low water
Spring tide at Coleraine.
Overall height difference = 41ft 9in
27ft 7in
Lough
Neagh
17ft 1in
Lock 5: Toome
Single lock, 4ft 0in
10ft 7in
4ft 3in
Lock4: Portna
Double lock, 14ft 5in
Tidal
Lock 1: Cutts
Single lock, 6ft 4in
Lock 3: Movanagher
Single lock, 10ft 6in
8ft minimum water
depth in all reaches
(assuming 1ft depth
of flow over weirs)
Lock 2: Carnroe
Single lock, 6ft 6in
Weir
Lock
28
Fig 3.4 Heights of weirs
and locks along Lower
Bann. Reaches between
locks to scale, but vertical
heights exaggerated.
8
MacMahon standardised the lock chambers to 130ft long by 20ft 6in wide (39.6m x
6.2m; fig 3.5); these could accommodate vessels up to 120ft by 20ft (36.6m x 6.1m).
The locks were much wider that those on the other canals linking into Lough Neagh:
11ft on the Ulster Canal, 14ft 6in on the Coalisland and Lagan canals, and 15ft on the
Newry Canal. Their size reflects the fact that it was now possible to use steam-powered
vessels instead of the traditional horse-drawn barge. Similarly large locks were also
being constructed around the same time on the Shannon and Newry Ship Canal to
facilitate steamers. The same dimensions were also used by MacMahon when building
the Eglinton Canal around Galway c.1850.
Fig 3.5 Board of Works drawing of 1858 showing detail of Carnroe Lock.
MacMahon also envisaged that water power could be harnessed for industrial purposes
at each of the locks. In the event, however, only one mill race was actually constructed.
This was at the Cutts but, although there had been a large flour mill hereabouts in the
early 1800s, no actual mill was ever built to take advantage of this provision.
Lateral canals
Canals were created on the approaches to the locks and, where necessary, also
extended to bypass the rapids as well (table 3.2). The canals’ combined length of 3.1km
is, however, a mere 6% of the river’s 48.5km between the lough and the Cutts.
At the Cutts and Carnroe, only short sections of canal – typically 100m long - were
necessary to bypass the rapids. Here the canals were created by building a stone
causeway (mole) between the intended canal and river, and then excavating the riverbed as required to and from the lock.
Lock
Length (m)
1. Cutts
102
2. Carnroe
117
3. Movanagher
1276
4. Portna
609
5. Toome
966
Total
3070
Table 3.2 Length of canal at each lock.
At Movanagher, Portna, and Toome, by contrast, it was necessary to excavate the
banks to form an artificial channel. The one at Movanagher was the longest, at 1.3km
(fig 3.6); here MacMahon was mindful of the need for the canal “to be kept as near the
29
Canal
Lock
Weir
Eel traps
Eel traps
Fig 3.6 Board of Works plan of Movanagher showing lateral canal (4198) bypassing eel traps and
rapids. Note the mole at the canal’s upstream end, just above weir, and the lock at its downstream end.
river-course as practicable, to save waste of land and severances”. The canal at Portna
was only half as long, but considerably more expensive to construct owing to the excavation of a considerable amount of very hard rock. In all cases, the excavated material
was used to consolidate the embanked island between the canal and river, the canal
sides of which were also pitched with stone.
The canals had a uniform cross-section of 36ft at bottom (but 50ft at Portna), with their
sides sloped to give a 60ft wide by 8ft deep channel at summer water levels (18.3m x
2.4m). The bank between the canal and river was also to be 2ft above the highest
winter floods.
Because of the close proximity of the regulating weir to the upstream entrance to the
canal at Movanagher, a mole extension was made to the bank to prevent boats coming
too close to the weir and being swept over (fig 3.6 above). The Toome Canal was also
extended well into deep water in the lough by means of a long mole. No such extension
was made to the mole at the Cutts, and it is still dangerous to approach from the upstream direction when the river is in spate.
As MacMahon envisaged only steam-powered vessels plying the Navigation, he did not
allow for any towpath along it, as would have been the case had horse-drawn barges
been the only option several decades before.
Regulating weirs
In the vicinity of each of the five sets of locks, substantial masonry weirs were erected
across the river to impound the water and thus create a sufficient depth of water for
navigating between the canalised sections.
The weirs at Carnroe, Movanagher and Portna were of broadly identical design, zigzag
in plan and 600ft along their crests (fig 3.7). The one at the Cutts was slightly shorter, at
523ft (159m), and incorporated four fish traps towards its centre. The weir at Toome
was slightly curved in plan and measured 1200ft (366m) along its crest. Their lengths
were set at these dimensions so as to handle the winter floods (estimated at
400,000cu.ft/ 11,300cu.m per minute) without backing up the water unduly.
Fig 3.7 Carnroe Weir (4179). Left: Plan of 1858 showing lock and weir. Right: Weir from canal end.
30
In calculating the height of each weir, the summer level of the lough was the crucial
determinant as it was necessary to maintain a sufficient minimum depth of water during
that season so that boats did not run aground.
The crest of Toome Weir was set at 45ft above Coleraine datum to give a one foot
minimum depth of flow over it. The cill at the nearby lock was set 7ft (2.1m) below the
top of the weir, thus giving an 8ft (2.4m) minimum depth of water along the canal
between the lough and lock (assuming a 1ft depth of flow over the weir) - more than
adequate for navigation.
The crests of all the other weirs were also set 7ft above their respective lock cills (but 7ft
6in at the Cutts). With a one foot depth of flow over each weir, this also resulted in an 8ft
depth of water between locks (q.v. table 3.1 and fig 3.4 above).
A fish weir and elver slips were also incorporated into the face of each weir to allow the
free passage of fish as stipulated by the Fisheries (Ireland) Act of 1842.
Riverbed
Whilst the major rapids were bypassed by means of lateral canals, there were numerous smaller shoals for which it was more cost-effective to remove than to bypass. This
entailed both blasting away of rock and the dredging of clay, sand and gravel bars. It
was also imperative to remove the bars at the exit from Lough Neagh and at both ends
of Lough Beg to minimise any impedance to the flow, especially in winter (fig 3.8).
Fig 3.8 Cross-section of Lower Bann in vicinity of Toome, as surveyed by John MacMahon in 1844
(appended to his 1845 report). He proposed to remove those sections of riverbed shown in red in order to
enhance the river’s run-off and improve its navigability. The existing river levers are shown in blue. His
proposed winter and summer levels are shown as red and purple dotted lines respectively.
Their removal and levelling of the river bed between locks not only ensured an
adequate navigational depth, but also increased the river’s run-off capacity thereby
improving the drainage of the entire Lough Neagh basin.
MacMahon stipulated that the Navigation channel was to be a minimum of 60ft (18.3m)
wide. Provided this was achievable, it was unnecessary to excavate the entire width of
the river. However, additional excavation would be required where the river was not
wide enough to handle winter floods.
31
At Loughan Island, only the west branch of the river was to be excavated, whilst in
Lough Beg, a 200ft (61m) wide channel marked by beacons and buoys would be
needed. The entrance to the former river meander at the south end of the lough, which
had been bypassed by the New Cut in the 1730s, was to be blocked to ensure that the
flow was wholly directed along the dredged channel, thus ensuing its natural scouring
and mimimising a build-up of sediment.
Bridges
At the time MacMahon was formulating his plans, the river was crossed by five road
bridges – at Coleraine, Agivey, Kilrea, Portglenone and Toome. As his focus was on the
non-tidal section of the river, the one at Coleraine did not concern him; he mentions in
passing, however, that a 200yd canal with lifting bridge
would be necessary to bypass it.
At Agivey, a timber bridge had been newly erected in
1834. Here it was necessary only to insert an opening
section at its eastern end (fig 3.9). This was also the
case with the masonry bridge at Kilrea, although
underpinning was also required because of the
dredging.
At Portglenone, the late 18th century masonry bridge
was in a very poor state: "The entire structure is in a
very ruinous condition; the piers have been founded on
or near the compressible bed of the channel, and from
unskilfulness in construction have yielded to an
alarming extent, as the numerous settlements and
fissures in this dislocated structure attest. The
materials and workmanship are of the most inferior
description, and no warranty, short of reconstruction,
can be offered for its security. ... Destruction has got it Fig 3.9 Board of Works plan showing
so firmly grasped that no mechanical expedient will Agivey Bridge with opening section
at one end.
long procrastinate its doom."
Such was this bridge’s condition that the Grand Juries of counties Antrim and Londonderry agreed to meet the cost of its replacement. Again, there was to be an opening
section at one end. It is of note that the existing bridge had seven arches, whereas the
replacement had only three plus the Navigation span. Because there were now fewer
piers, there was obviously less obstruction to the flow of the river.
Toome Bridge was also impeding the river’s flow due to the thickness of its piers in
relation to its nine spans. Here MacMahon proposed to underpin and remove all surplus
material from the piers and abutments and also insert a lifting section at its Antrim end.
Fish traps
MacMahon proposed the replacement of the existing fish traps at the Cutts with four
new ones, complete with free gap. He also proposed to move the eel traps at Portna
downstream of the regulating weir; they would otherwise have impeded the Navigation
as well as being drowned by the greater depth of water created by the weir. At Toome,
the eel weir just above the road bridge was also moved further upriver so as not to
obstruct the Navigation.
32
Collateral works
Because the water level in Lough Neagh was to fall, it was also necessary to lower the
floors of first locks chambers on the Lagan, Newry, Coalisland and Ulster canals.
Various quays around the lough also had to be underpinned. Improvements were also
to be made to the tributaries flowing into the lough and several new bridges constructed
thereon.
Feasibility
In his 1845 report, MacMahon presents a cost-benefit analysis of his proposals.
Excluding contingencies and interest repayments on loans, he estimated the cost of the
scheme to be ‡163,486 (table 3.3).
Item
Cost (‡)
% total
Excavations
80,648
49
Locks (4 single + 1 double)
21,500
13
Bridges (4 no)
15,000
9
Weirs (5 no)
12,200
7
2600
2
31,538
19
163,486
100
Fishing interests
Works in Lough Neagh and Upper Bann
Total
Table 3.3 MacMahon’s estimated costs of proposed scheme (to nearest ‡).
As can be seen from this table, excavations along the bed of the river and formation of
the lateral canals accounted for slightly under half the total cost. Within the confines of
the Lower Bann, locks were the next most expensive item, at ‡3500 each (but ‡4000 for
the one at the Cutts). Works to the bridges accounted for almost 10% of the total; the
new one at Portglenone was the most expensive, at ‡8000, and was to be paid for by
the Grand Juries of Antrim and Londonderry. The five regulating weirs accounted for
just over ‡12,000 and cost between ‡2000 (at the Cutts) and ‡4800 (at Toome). The
provision of new eel traps was a comparatively small expense, but the collateral works
around the lough and its tributaries accounted for almost one-fifth of the total.
Adding contingencies (10%) and interest, MacMahon estimated the total cost of the
scheme to be just under ‡196,000. He also noted that carrying out the drainage and
navigational works simultaneously was cheaper than doing so one after the other.
MacMahon envisaged three significant benefits arising from his proposed scheme:
(1) The reclamation of some 25,000 acres (10,000ha) of agricultural land currently subject to regular inundation, 90% of which was around Lough Neagh and its tributaries. He
estimated that the rental value of each acre would be increased by six shillings, thus
generating an extra annual income of ‡7500.
(2) An increase in trade and commerce along the Navigation: “If … the waters of Lough
Neagh be united to the port of Coleraine by a commodious navigation, the enterprising
Coleraine merchants will have opened to them the markets of a large share of the
produce of those districts impinging on the Lough, which are now … quite beyond their
reach”. Were 30,000 tons of cargo to be carried the full length of the Navigation per
year, with a toll charge of one (old) penny per ton per mile, the gross income from tolls
would be ‡4000.
33
(3) The potential to harness waterpower for industry. Based on a summer discharge of
100,000 cubic feet of water per minute from Lough Neagh, he estimated that 2457
horse-power (1.8 MW) could be harnessed at Portna, 1606hp (1.2MW) at Movanagher,
and 945hp (0.7MW) at both Carnroe and the Cutts. He reckoned that the water rights to
this motive power were worth at least ‡21,000 per annum.
Taking running costs into consideration, MacMahon postulated that an annual income of
‡14,180 would result from the increased land rentals, navigation tolls and water power
rights – a return of almost 8% on the capital outlay. He optimistically stated: “Thus, in
liitle more than 12 years from the completion of the undertaking, the project will work out
its own redemption”.
Implementation of scheme, 1847-59
A further parliamentary act was passed in 1846 which enabled the Board of Works to
carry out drainage schemes on its own initiative rather than having to rely on the private
sector.3 The schemes’ costs could be partly met by the government in the form of an
outright grant and also by a treasury loan repayable through a levy on the beneficiaries
by means of the rates (county cess). The landowners could, in turn, recoup their costs
by increasing the rental on the reclaimed lands as they would now be less prone to
flooding and therefore agriculturally more productive.
Empowered by the 1846 legislation, the Board could now commence implementing
MacMahon’s proposals. This they duly did over a 13-year period from 1847 to 1859.
To spread the work, the river was divided into four sections - (1) Coleraine Division from
the Cutts up to and including Agivey Bridge, (2) Movanagher Division from Agivey
Bridge up to and including Kilrea Bridge, (3) Portna Division from Kilrea Bridge to just
before Portglenone, and (4) Toome Division from Portglenone to Lough Neagh.
Progress
The scheme’s progress is detailed by Charles Ottley, its Resident Engineer, from 1848
onwards in the annual reports submitted to parliament by the Board of Works (table 3.4;
Appendix 3).
Work was carried out simultaneously on each section, with priority initially being given to
the works at the Cutts and the canals at Movanagher and Portna which, when
completed, could be used to ferry equipment and materials up and down to the various
other site works. Portna was the last of the weirs to be started - in August 1854 - having
been deliberately delayed to maintain a strong flow for as long as possible through
Lough Beg to help scour the bed of the channel being dredged along it.
Along the river, the priority was to excavate the intended Navigation channel to improve
the river’s run-off capacity. This was followed by the removal of whatever else was
necessary to give the river a sufficiently large cross section to cope with winter
discharges without flooding. Where possible, two steam-powered dredgers were used,
but where hard material was encountered, coffer dams were thrown up, pumped dry
and excavated manually, doubtless assisted by gunpowder. In all over 1† million cubic
yards of material were excavated. This was usually dumped on the adjacent banks,
levelled, and then covered with soil to make it fit for cultivation.
3
Drainage (Ireland) Act 1846 (9 Vict. c.4).
34
Year
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855
1856
1857
st
1 Division
Cutts
Weir
Quay
Lock
Lock ho
Agivey
Navigation br
Quay
nd
2
Division
Carnroe
Weir
Lock
Lock ho
Movanagher
Lock
Weir
Lock ho
Kilrea
Quay
Navigation br
rd
3 Division
Portna
Lock
Weir
Lock ho
th
4 Division
Portglenone
Bridge + Nav br
Quay
Toome
Bridge + Nav br
Lock
Weir
Quay
Rail br + Nav br
Lock ho
Table 3.4 Progress of Lower Bann Scheme, ordered by Division and completion date.
The stone used for the various weirs, locks and bank pitching came from the excavated
material. It was supplemented by quarries at Tamlaght, near Movanagher (4190), and
another near Toome. Exceptionally, brick from Coalisland was used for the lock (4333)
and lock-keeper’s house (4328) at Toome.
Problems encountered
Despite the fact that the scheme was being carried out in the immediate aftermath of
the great famine, finding labourers was sometimes problematic. Typically, over 1500
men were engaged at any one time on the scheme, but locals were sometimes otherwise engaged in seasonal activities such as harvesting and fishing.
Wages were also an issue. In the Board’s report of 1854, it was noted that the Belfast –
Ballymena railway was in the process of being extended to Coleraine. The going rate for
a labourer was normally one shilling per day, but William Dargan, the railway’s contractor, was now paying his men 1s.6d. Consequently, Ottley remarked “we have been
35
obliged to give increased prices and wages to induce those we have had to remain
upon the drainage works”.
Flooding sometimes also delayed work. For example, the completion of the Cutts Weir
had to be held over from 1850 until the following season owing to floods. Likewise, the
Board noted that excavations at Carnroe could have been finished in 1852 “but for
floods which came three months earlier than in 1851”.
Works’ completion
Sadly, MacMahon did not live to see
his scheme in action, having died in
1851 with the bulk of it still to be
completed. It was not until 1855 that
the new Navigation’s weirs, locks,
lateral canals, and road bridges were
finished. Piled beacons were also
erected between Coleraine and
Kilrea the following year. By the end
of the 1857 season, various quays
and lock houses (all to a standard
design) had also been built (fig 3.10).
Fig 3.10 The brick lock house at Toome, now
For all practical intents, work on the superseded and demolished (4328).
scheme was now complete and the
focus switched to Lough Neagh. A new quay and canal were built on the Six Mile Water
at Antrim, and the outlets from its various other canals and tributaries altered to take
account of the lough’s lower water level. On the Lower Bann Navigation, all that
remained was to dredge a channel through Lough Beg and this was eventually finished
in 1861.
Plans of the various features along the Lower Bann Navigation, as the new waterway
was called, were published by the Commissioners in 1858. They show that, by and
large, the scheme was implemented as MacMahon had intended save for some minor
variations. From the financial perspective, however, there was a significant divergence,
the total cost having come to ‡264,000 – over ‡100,000 more than the original estimate.
Regarding the structural variations, at the Cutts, for example, the lock was originally to
have been on the right (east) bank, but it was actually built on the left side to be
adjacent to an existing public road. All the locks were also originally designed with invert
floors (a shallow upside-down arch) to prevent their sides from caving in. However, such
an arch was found to be unnecessary at Portna once excavation revealed that the walls
could be founded on solid rock.
At the south end of Lough Beg, a pair of moles, each c.500m long, were constructed
along each bank (4294). Their purpose was to confine the river to one channel, thereby
enhancing its scouring effect and reducing the deposition of sediment as the water’s
velocity diminished on entering the lough from the Lough Neagh direction.
Whereas lifting bridges (bascules) were envisaged over the Navigation channels at
each of the existing road bridges, cast-iron swivel bridges were actually constructed.
These were manufactured by Thomas Grendon & Co of the Drogheda Iron Works (fig
3.11).
Also not anticipated by MacMahon was the Carlisle Railway Bridge at Toome (4323),
where the Cookstown Line crossed the river. Opened in 1856, this also required a
swivel section over the Navigation channel.
36
Fig 3.11 Agivey Bridge (4142). A six-span timber road bridge (above)
was built by William Bald in 1834. The Board of Works replaced an
end span with a swivel bridge (left) over the Navigation in 1855. The
rest of the bridge was replaced by a metal one in 1860. The swivel
section was removed when the present bridge was built in the 1980s.
Another change of plan was Toome Bridge which it had been initially proposed to
underpin. In the event, it was replaced with a two-span metal girder bridge and a swivel
section at its east end (fig 3.12). With only one pier on the main section of the watercourse, the new bridge impeded the water’s flow to a significantly lesser extent than
before.
Fig 3.12 Toome Bridge (4315). The late 1700s nine-arch masonry road bridge (left) was rebuilt as a threespan metal bridge (with opening section) in 1853 (right). In was replaced with a concrete bridge in 1968.
Interestingly, no navigation opening was inserted at Coleraine Bridge, a triple-arch
masonry road bridge which replaced a previous timber bridge in 1844 (fig 2.18). The
size of vessels plying between Coleraine Harbour and the river above the Cutts was
therefore limited to the air draft of the central bridge arch – 13ft 7in (4.14m) at low water
spring tide. If forced to wait until low water to clear the bridge, a vessel might then have
to await the incoming tide to ensure a sufficient depth to reach the first lock at the Cutts.
Moreover, because the bridge has three arches, the current can be dangerously fast
when the river is in flood, making it impossible to ply upstream.
As regards the eel fisheries, the Board decided that it would be more prudent to buy out
the various eel fisheries affected by the scheme rather than lay themselves open to
compensation claims for loss of fish. Once the affected traps were rebuilt in new
locations, they were leased out, although this proved problematic at Portna (4227)
where cast-iron skeaghs were now being used instead of traditional hazel ones.
In his 1845 report, MacMahon mentioned
only one quay – at Toome (4321). This
was a cut-in, at right-angles to the river,
built by Lord O’Neill which the Board
proposed to enlarge on the same
alignment. In the event, it was replaced by
a new one set parallel with the bank
(4320), along with others at the Cutts
(4094), Agivey (4141), Kilrea (fig 3.13),
and Portglenone (4258).
Fig 3.13 Kilrea Quay on downstream side of
road bridge; the shed is a later addition (4210).
37
Two slips were also constructed near Portna to give livestock access to the river for
drinking– at Gortereghy (4234) and Moneygran (4233); they appear, however, to have
been obliterated by subsequent dredging in the 1930s.
Water level changes
The effect of the works was to lower the level of Lough Neagh by approximately 6ft
(1.8m) and enabled upwards of 30,000 acres (12,000ha) of land around its shoreline to
be reclaimed for agriculture.
Land was also released around Lough Beg as a result of its drop in level, particularly so
along its west and south-west sides. (fig 3.14). Such land is marked “Intake” on the
1854 OS maps.
Three quays which were at the edge of Lough Beg in the 1830 OS map (4288-4290)
were high and dry by 1854, although it was probably possible to use them if the
reclaimed land in front of them was ever flooded.
Fig 3.14 Comparing the shorelines of
Lough Beg in 1830 and 1854 shows
the land (in green) reclaimed as a
result of the Bann Scheme. The river
is marked in dark blue.
38
The early 1900s OS maps show the exposure of yet more land as a result of the water
continuing to drop in the later 1850s and 1860s. As a consequence, it was also sometimes necessary to extend the various minor tributaries and drains out into the new
shoreline. The so-called Bishop’s Canal at Ballyscullion (4285), on the western shore of
Lough Beg, may have been one such alteration to an existing stream.
1830 shore
1905 shore
Quay
1854 shore
In the case of the quay at
Ballyscullion, it was necessary to
dig a channel out to the new
shoreline sometime between 1854
and 1905 (fig 3.15). This may, in
fact, have been the real Bishop’s
Canal, the so-called one noted in
the previous paragraph being no
more than a drainage ditch.
Lough
Beg
Fig 3.15 The changing shoreline at
Ballyscullion Quay (4288).
The level of the river also fell as a result of its excavation and dredging. The change in
water level at the Cutts required the deepening of the head and tail races at Castleroe
Mill (4097), replacement of its waterwheel with a larger one, and the underpinning of the
building.
3.4 Kitty of Coleraine
With the completion of the Lower Bann Navigation, the way was now open for the
development of river traffic between Lough Neagh and Coleraine. The Lough was also
the meeting point for four inland waterways – Newry Canal, Coalisland Canal, Lagan
Navigation from Belfast, and Ulster Canal from Upper Lough Erne - so there was also
scope to attract traffic to Coleraine from considerably further afield as well.
In the event, the growth of traffic along the river was stymied by the navigable limitations
of the river itself, the advent of the railways (chapter 8), and position of Coleraine; both
Belfast and Newry were much better placed for the transhipment of goods conveyed
along the existing canals to and from cross-channel ships.
The only serious attempt to establish a regular service along the Lower Bann stemmed
from the establishment of the Lower Bann Steamship Company by Thomas Barklie in
1862. The following year, his Harland & Wolff built steamer Kitty of Coleraine (fig 3.16)
commenced a twice-weekly passenger and goods service between Coleraine and
Toome.4 It called en route at the Commissioners’ recently built quays at Agivey, Kilrea
and Portglenone.
4
The vessel is named after a well-known Irish folk song believed to have been penned as a poem by
Edward Lysaght in the early 1800s.
39
Fig 3.16. Painting of Kitty of Coleraine (Coleraine Library),
Unfortunately, with an engine of only 10hp (7kW), Kitty proved not powerful enough to
go against the current at times of high water. To remedy the situation, Barklie introduced the Banshee in late 1868, but its draft was too deep at times of low water, just
when the current would have been at its weakest. Both vessels were replaced by the
Shamrock but it, too, proved unviable and all services were withdrawn in June 1869.
Thereafter, the only traffic was of a small-scale industrial nature relating to the transportation of bricks and diatomite (chapter 6).
3.5 Developments and proposals, 1859 – 1925
The Board of Works divested its drainage and navigational responsibilities in the Lough
Neagh drainage basin to three Trusts in 1859. Although it no longer had direct oversight
of the Lower Bann, it nevertheless commissioned various schemes over the next 65
years to further improve the drainage of the lough.
Drainage and Navigation Trusts
In 1859, the Commissioners of Public Works transferred responsibility for the completed
works to three separate bodies – the Lough Neagh Drainage Trust, Upper Bann Navigation Trust, and Lower Bann Navigation Trust.
Each trust comprised representatives appointed by the Grand Juries within its respective geographical remit. These authorities not only had to repay the original government
loan for the scheme out of their rates, but also underwrite the running costs for which
they were now liable.
The remit of the Drainage Trust extended along both the Upper and Lower Bann as far
as the Cutts, as well as in and around the lough itself. On the Lower Bann, it was
charged with maintaining the weirs and those sections of the river which were bypassed
by the lateral canals.
40
The Lower Bann Navigation Trust had complementary responsibilities, namely the
maintenance of the navigable sections of the river, the canals and locks, and the
collection of tolls from lock users. Although MacMahon’s scheme ended at the Cutts,
the jurisdiction of the Trust extended for a further 2.4km along the tidal section of the
river as well, up to Coleraine Bridge.
One of the first actions of the Lower Bann Navigation Trust appears to have been the
commissioning of James Barton to carry out a detailed inspection of the works they had
just acquired. In his report of the same year, Barton found that apart from the minor
dredging works still being carried out by the Board of Works, the delivered scheme was
fit for purpose. He concluded: “the works were a credit to the country as a public work
… they bear strong testimony to the skill and discretion of those who carried them out”.
Whilst the tripartite division of responsibilities between the trusts may have appeared
logical on paper, in practice the arrangement proved to be very unsatisfactory.
Lock tolls fell far short of expectation due to under-usage of the Navigation by commercial traffic. Not only did the sometimes strong currents prove to be too much for vessels
heading upstream, but the railway also captured much of the Navigation’s potential
goods traffic (chapter 8). Moreover, no takers could be found for any of the potential mill
sites which MacMahon had envisaged at the locks. In 1861, a mere ‡11 was received
for the grass harvested from the fenced-off sections reserved for the mills.
With income falling far short of maintenance costs year after year, it was little wonder
that the Lower Bann Navigation Trust was unenthusiastic in maintaining the waterway.
In a letter of February 1880, the Drainage Trust informed the Navigation Trust that it had
just spent ‡5000 on removing a shoal at Toome and asked for them to play their part by
dredging the river between Toome and Lough Beg, the continual silting up of which
would otherwise eventually undo its good work at Toome.
In short, whilst the Navigation Trust was responsible for c.95% of the non-tidal portion of
the river, in practice it was spending a miniscule amount compared with the Drainage
Trust’s outlay on the mere 5% under its control.
Manning’s report, 1877
The ‘Great Flood’ of February 1877 due to an exceptionally wet winter was the biggest
inundation yet experienced since the completion of MacMahon’s scheme. Although
actually lower than extreme floods prior to the scheme, it persisted for five months and
caused extensive disruption in the Upper Bann district, particularly at Lurgan. Its impact
seems to have been the catalyst for a reappraisal of the effectiveness of the drainage
aspects of the Lower Bann Scheme. The Board of Works commissioned Robert
Manning, its chief Engineer, to ascertain why the flood occurred, what could be done to
prevent a recurrence, and the costs involved.
Manning’s examination of the records revealed that there had, in fact, been flooding
over the winter months in virtually every year since the mid-1860s. Soundings
suggested that their cause was a gradual accumulation of sediment on the ToomePortna stretch of the river, thereby reducing the river’s discharge capacity as modelled
by MacMahon. For example, the cross sectional area of the river at the south end of
Lough Beg was 1660sq.ft at the completion of MacMahon’s scheme, whereas in May
1877 it was only 800sq.ft, less than half of this.
He concluded that, whilst it was impossible to prevent floods arising from exceptional
rainfall, dredging of the channel from Toome to Portna would probably alleviate any
flooding arising from normal winter rainfalls.
41
Monck Commission, 1882
In 1882, a Commission chaired by Lord Monck reported on the impact of various inland
navigations upon the drainage of their respective river basins. In regard to the Lower
Bann Navigation, the commission noted that for the five years ending 30 June, 1880,
the average annual expenditure on drainage was ‡1155, whereas the average annual
income from tolls, wharfage, rents etc for the same period was a mere ‡94. The
massive deficit was made up by the Grand Juries of Antrim and Londonderry.
Monck doubted whether the financial situation would ever improve, particularly as there
were now railways down both sides of the river. Although the first Barmouth Scheme,
commenced in 1879, was designed to encourage shipping to and from Coleraine.
(section 4.1), none of the incoming cargoes were ever transhipped up the Navigation as
it was more efficient to dispatch them onwards by train. Monck also noted that the
effectiveness of the weir at Toome in alleviating flooding was compromised by the need
to maintain the depth in what he regarded as a “useless” navigation, and that the
discharge along the river left much room for improvement.
He concluded by recommending the installation of sluices at Toome Weir to better
control the lough’s level. More radically, he also advocated the abolition of the Navigation and that Lower Bann be regarded solely as a drain, the control of which should
be vested with the Drainage Board.
Manning’s report, 1884
In 1884, Manning submitted an updated report on the drainage of the Lough Neagh
District to the Board of Works. Unlike Monck, he was of the opinion that it would not be
politically or financially feasible to abandon the Navigation and that the river’s use for
this purposes was not necessarily incompatible with drainage. He concluded his report
with four recommendations:
(1) Dredging of the Toome-Portna section to bring it back to its state when MacMahon’s
scheme was handed over;
(2) Additional excavations at Portna and Loughan Island;
(3) The erection of embankments along the lower parts of tributaries flowing into the
Lower Bann;
(4) The installation of sluice gates in the weirs at the Cutts, Portna and Toome to
improve their effectiveness in discharging the water.
Allport Commission, 1887
The Royal Commission on Irish Public Works, chaired by Sir James Allport, remarked in
its report of 1887 that the Navigation Trustees had “neglected the work of dredging the
channel very much” and that the Navigation did not pay. They noted that in the period
1878-80, the Drainage Trust had expended ‡6000 in maintaining those sections of the
river under their jurisdiction, “without any beneficial result, because it was of no use
unless the other portions of the river, which are in the charge of the Navigation
Trustees, were also cleared out.”
The Commission concurred with Lord Monck that, subject to the agreement of the
Grand Juries of Antrim and Londonderry, the Navigation should be abandoned.
42
Gamble’s proposals and Bann Drainage Bill, 1887-89
On the basis of the Monck and Allport Commissions, and the County Antrim and
Londonderry Grand Juries having agreed to abandon the Navigation, a bill was presented to parliament in 1889 to enact fresh proposals for the drainage of the Bann.
These had been drawn up by John Gamble, newly appointed as Chief Hydraulic
Engineer to the Board of Works, and who had surveyed the river in detail.
He proposed to install sluice gates at Toome and lower all the weirs to enable the more
rapid discharge of winter floods. Although the Navigation was to be abandoned, a
minimum summer depth of 5ft was to be maintained and all the locks retained should it
ever be revitalised. Selective dredging and embankation were also envisaged.
To implement this scheme, the bill sought to replace the existing Drainage and Navigation Trusts with a single Bann Conservancy Board. It would be up to it to decide
whether Gamble’s scheme should be progressed. If the board decided to do so, the
government would give a grant of ‡20,000 and a repayable loan of ‡45,000 towards its
‡65,000 estimated cost.
The bill passed the committee stage but was abandoned when it ran out of time during
that parliamentary session. It was never reintroduced, possibly because Mr Gamble, its
chief proponent, died of typhoid in 1889.
Dick report, 1904
Frederick Dick, Second Engineer to the Board of Works, was tasked with formulating
fresh proposals for alleviating flooding, and these he presented in 1904. He concluded
that Gamble had underestimated the discharge from the lough and recommended that
the Toome Weir’s crest be lowered. He also recommended further deepening of the
channel from Toome and Portna over and above what Gamble had recommended. He
also remarked in passing that “in order to render the Lower Bann Navigation a useful
one, an opening span would have to be introduced into the bridge at Coleraine”. The
estimated cost of his scheme was ‡150,000 - more than double that of Gamble.
Binnie’s report, 1906
In 1905, the Board of Works commissioned Sir Alexander Binnie, Chief Engineer to
London County Council and President-elect of the Institution of Civil Engineers, to make
a detailed report on the drainage of the Lough Neagh Basin. This he presented in 1906.
As with previous observers, he was equally unimpressed by the level of commercial
traffic along the waterway. Whilst he acknowledged some brick traffic at Portglenone
and Aghivey, he doubted whether it used the locks. Moreover, “During my residence of
over seven weeks at Brecart Lodge, near Toome … I never saw any traffic of any kind
with the exception of a pleasure steamer on two occasions, passing up or down the
Navigation”. Given that the volume of traffic was very unlikely to increase owing to the
competition from the railways, he, too, recommended that the Navigation be abandoned
and that the Lower Bann be regarded henceforth solely as a drainage outlet for Lough
Neagh.
Despite advocating the Navigation’s abandonment, he advocated that MacMahon’s
ordinary summer water level should be retained. He also proposed that Toome Weir, by
now badly leaking, be repaired and that the adjacent canal lock gates be replaced with
a sluice. To cater for the commercial fishing interests on the lough, he proposed a railway from the lough to the main line at Toome for the dispatch of fish. The weir at
Movanagher was also to be retained in the interests of fishing, but those at Portna and
43
Carnroe were to be removed. The Cutts weir was to be lowered and its lock gates
replaced with a sluice. He estimated the cost of his scheme at ‡76,000, including
dredging and excavation.
Despite, Binnie’s eminent professional standing, the government shelved his scheme
and took no further action on it.
3.6 Shepherd’s scheme, 1925
In 1925, Major Percy Shepherd, Director of Works for the newly-established Government of Northern Ireland was tasked by the Ministry of Finance to address the issue of
flooding along the Bann. He presented his report Proposals for Measures to Alleviate
the Flooding Caused by Lough Neagh and the River Bann the following year.
Shepherd’s initial proposals
Shepherd found all the schemes proposed since MacMahon to be contradictory in their
explanations of the causes of the flooding, and in their estimated costs of alleviation. He
also commented that “the history of the River Bann, from the time of the completion of
Mr MacMahon’s scheme ... is one continuous record of engineering reports and Royal
Commissions, resulting in no actual remedial works”.
He noted that flooding occurred once the water level rose above 53†ft OD (Poolbeg).
This had happened no fewer than 65 times in the 68 years from 1859 to 1926 inclusive;
the flood of 1877 remained the highest ever recorded over this period (57ft-9in OD).
Moreover, some floods were of such duration that they disrupted the autumn harvest
and the planting of crops the following spring.
Having thoroughly analysed the rainfall and flow data, Shepherd concluded that the runoff was higher than MacMahon had calculated due to improvements in field drainage
but that the discharge capacity of Toome Weir was less than calculated. The discharge
from the lough was also impeded by the restricted channel between Toome and Portna.
He found that despite the lack of dredging, there had been no appreciable build up of
silt since 1860. However, soundings also revealed that some rock sections of the riverbed had not been as fully excavated as MacMahon had specified, possibly as a costcutting exercise after his death in 1851. He also recognised that whilst it was technically
possible to relieve all flooding, it would have been too expensive and not cost effective
to do so. Whilst floods were inevitable, Shepherd’s objective was to devise a scheme
which reduced their magnitude, frequency and duration.
Shepherd recommended no change to the ordinary summer level on which MacMahon
had based his scheme; this would thus maintain the Navigation in a serviceable state
and require no alterations at the lough ends of the Lagan and Newry canals. However,
so as to increase the storage capacity of the lough and river, he recommended the
installation of sluice gates in the weirs at Toome, Portna and the Cutts; the existing weir
at Portna was to be demolished in its entirety to make way for the new sluices. These
gates would make it possible to discharge excess water in the winter without having to
wait until it overtopped the crests of the weirs.
The sluices were of a type devised by Francis Stoney and had been used on Lower
Lough Erne at Belleek as far back as 1883. They comprised a row of vertical metal
gates set in roller bearings within their emplacements. The gates were counterbalanced
in such a way that they could be easily raised and lowered manually despite the force of
the water behind them (fig 3.17).
44
Fig 3.17 Elevation and plan of sluice gates and fish pass at Toome Weir (Civil Engineering, 1932).
Shepherd estimated the cost of the sluices, dredging along the Bann and its tributaries,
and rock excavation to be ‡825,400. Contingencies, fees and compensation payments,
brought the total cost up to ‡1 million.
Drainage Advisory Committee review, 1928
The Northern Ireland Drainage Advisory Committee was constituted under the Drainage
Act (NI) 1925 and comprised representatives from various government ministries,
county councils, agricultural and fishing interests.
Having consulted with parties affected by Shepherd’s proposals, the committee found
that the relevant County Councils were not prepared to contribute half the cost of the
scheme, as was expected of them. As the government would therefore have to pay
more than it intended, Shepherd was asked to prepare a new, cheaper scheme.
A major saving could be made if the amount of rock excavation was reduced and
dredging increased. Whereas it cost ‡1 to excavate a cubic yard of rock, it only cost
1s.4d to dredge a cubic yard of mud, sand, gravel etc – 15 times cheaper. The same
cross-sectional area could be achieved by dredging a wide channel as by excavating a
narrower but deeper one through rock.
The revised cost was ‡534,100 (excluding contingencies etc) – a saving of over
‡290,000 on the previous scheme. Its breakdown was as follows: dredging - 70%
(previously 37%), rock excavation - 22% (previously 57%), sluice gates - 7% new sluice
gates, work at existing weirs - 1%. Including contingencies, fees etc, the total cost was
reckoned to be ‡643,100, of which the county councils would pay a maximum of
‡200,000 and the government the rest.
There had been some discussion whether or not a hydro-electric power scheme should
be implemented at the same time. In an interim report of 1927 on Shepherd’s scheme,
the committee had decided it would be financially prudent to carry out drainage and
hydro-power schemes simultaneously. However, having examined Shepherd’s revised
scheme, approval was given for the drainage works only.
45
The committee also recommended the abolition of the Lough Neagh Drainage and
Lower Bann Navigation Trusts and the transfer of their powers to the Ministry of
Finance: “We regard it as essential that the supreme authority should have power in the
last resort to act without being trammelled by any other interests.”
Implementation of Shepherd’s scheme, 1930-42
With the enactment of the Drainage Act (NI) 1929, control of both the drainage and
navigational aspects of the Lower Bann was vested in the Ministry of Finance, as the
Advisory Committee had recommended.5 Although Shepherd’s scheme overlapped
chronologically with the Coleraine Harbour Commissioners’ improvements to the
Barmouth from 1929 to ‘43 (section 4.1) and with the dredging work on the tidal portion
of the river in 1938-39 (section 4.2), there was no connection between them.
In March 1930, the contract for Shepherd’s revised scheme was awarded to the James
Dredging Towage & Transport Co Ltd of Southampton. They, in turn, sub-contracted the
rock excavation, weir and sluice works to Walter Scott & Middleton of Westminster. The
sluice gates were supplied by Ransomes & Rapier of Ipswich. The work seems to have
been well advanced by the mid-1930s, although it appears not to have been fully
completed until 1942.
The bulk of the rock excavation (120,000 cubic yards/ 92,000cu.m) took place in the
vicinity of the Cutts, Movanagher and Portna weirs; two-thirds of the excavated rock
was from this last area alone. The river was divided into sections and then split longitudinally with a coffer dam. One half was then dewatered and excavated, and the
process then repeated on the adjacent half of the river.
Almost 5.2 million cubic yards (4 million cu.m) of non-rock material was also dredged,
over half of it from Toome – Portna section. The size of the dredgers was limited by the
restricted headroom at Coleraine Bridge, and by the size of the locks.
Whilst some of the spoil was dumped in Lough Neagh and Lough Beg, it was generally
more convenient just to dump it along the banks of the river adjacent to where it was
being removed. In some instances,
compensation was given to landowners
where dumping devalued the land’s
agricultural value or curtailed the extraction
of diatomite (section 6.3). Many of these
‘Bann dumps’, as the dredged piles are
known, were subsequently planted with
trees for commercial forestry (fig 3.18).
Fig 3.18 Bann dump at Glenone (4266).
As noted in chapter 2, many prehistoric
artifacts were also recovered during
dredging, including the Bann Disc near
Camus Ford.
The most obvious indications of Shepherd’s scheme are the sluice emplacements in the
weirs at the Cutts, Portna and Toome; the weirs at Movanagher and Carnroe were left
as they were. The sluices and elver pass at the Cutts were the first to be constructed, in
place of the west half of the existing weir (fig 3.19).
5
The Upper Bann Navigation Trust was unaffected and continued to operate until taken over by the
Ministry of Commerce in 1954 under the provisions of Inland Navigation Act (NI) of that year.
46
Fig 3.19 Sluice gates under
construction at the Cutts, early
1930s. Note the eel pass in the
wall at middle foreground (Civil
Engineering, 1932).
Next came Portna, where the original weir was demolished and replaced by four gates
and a fish pass (fig 3.20). The removal of this weir was crucial to the success of the
scheme as the hydraulic gradient of the river, and thus its rate of discharge, could now
be increased at will.
Fig 3.20 Sluice gates at Portna (4229).
The last set of sluices was at Toome, where five gates and a fish pass were inserted in
the centre of the repaired weir; a footbridge was also constructed to access them from
the Co Antrim side. In all cases, the gates are c.60ft (18.3m) wide and their bottom cills
are c.8ft (2.4m) below the crests of their adjoining weirs, thus allowing plenty of scope
for discharging excess water according to its volume.
The level of the river was also monitored at water
gauge stations at Camus (fig 3.21) and at Toome
(4335). The former was linked by a telegraph wire to
the lock keeper’s house at the Cutts. When the river
rose above a certain level, an alarm at the station
was triggered and a warning transmitted to the Cutts.
The lock keeper then opened the sluice gates to
alleviate the impending flood.
Fig 3.21 Water gauge station on left bank at Camus,
upstream from the Cutts (4124).
47
Disturbance of the fish was a major concern during the execution of the works. To avoid
disrupting the elvers on their upstream run, a ‘trap and transport’ method was devised
whereby they were caught in tanks at the Cutts and then transported by road up to
Lough Beg and Lough Neagh where they were released (section 5.2). Two eel weirs
which were obstructing the flow at Toome were replaced with a new one of radically
different design, and a new one was also constructed at Portna.
The final piece of work appears to have been in 1942 when the Ministry of Finance
constructed a dry dock in the upstream approach to the lock (4223; fig 3.22). It is unique
in an Irish context in being on the actual canal
rather than in a side basin, and would have
resulted in an interruption in river traffic whilst in
use. It was presumably deemed necessary to
service the increasing amount of river traffic
generated by the establishment of military camps
and airfields in the region during the Second World
War. Indeed, the 1940s saw the most traffic on the
Navigation since its inception.
Fig 3.22 Portna Dry Dock (Michael Savage).
The effect of the Shepherd scheme was to reduce the normal level of Lough Neagh by
c.0.7m (2ft-3in) and also reduce the height of extreme floods by upwards of 1m (3ft-3in).
One casualty of the lowered level was the quay and late 19th century canal at
Ballyscullion, noted above as having been built in response to the MacMahon scheme,
but now impassable.
3.7 Post World War 2 developments
There have been no major drainage or navigation projects on the lough or Lower Bann
since the Shepherd scheme. There have, however, been some minor alterations to the
levels of Lough Neagh, and changes in the organisations controlling the river’s drainage
and navigation.
Lough Neagh levels
The Lough Neagh & Lower Bann Drainage and Navigation Act (NI) 1955 empowered
the Ministry of Finance to regulate the level of the lough as it saw fit in the interests of
drainage. This it did through the enactment of the Lough Neagh (Levels) Scheme 1955
which came into force on 1 January 1959. This scheme stipulated that, insofar as rain
and wind conditions permitted, the lough’s level would be maintained within the range
50ft-0in to 50ft-6in OD (Poolbeg) as measured at a gauging station at Toome.6
The main impact of the lowering of the water from its previous level was to enable the
reclamation of 28,000 acres (11,200ha) of land for agriculture. However, as the upper
limit has sometimes been exceeded during periods of heavy rain or snow, this land has
been subjected to short-term inundations from time to time.
Under the provisions of the Lough Neagh Drainage (Amendment) Act (NI) 1970, the
Ministry of Agriculture was further empowered to permit the level of the lough to fall
below the above levels in order to counteract any diminution in the flow of the Lower
Bann resulting from permitted water abstractions.
6
Belfast Gazette, no.1954, pp 389-390 (5 Dec 1958).
48
The level of the lough was further adjusted under the Lough Neagh (Levels) Scheme
(Confirmation) Order (NI) 1999 which came into effect in March 1999.7 This specified
that the lough’s level would henceforth be restricted to the range 12.45m – 12.60m OD
(Belfast). This is equivalent to a drop of three inches compared with the previous level.8
The Lough Neagh (Levels) Scheme 1999 was amended in 2004 and again in 2010.9 In
both cases however, the changes therein relate to additional gauging stations where the
lough’s level is measured, and not to its actual level above sea level.
Drainage and navigation control
As noted above, responsibility for Lough Neagh and the Lower Bann was transferred
from their respective Trusts to the Ministry of Finance in 1929. It was this ministry which
was behind the rebuilding of the lock-keepers’ houses at the Cutts (4092), Carnroe
(4177), and Portna (fig 3.23) in the 1950s.10
Fig 3.23 The rebuilt lock-keeper’s house
at Portna (4221).
Ministry of Agriculture and DANI
On 1 January 1965, drainage and navigation responsibilities were transferred yet again,
this time from Finance to the Ministry of Agriculture.11
Following the abolition of the Stormont Parliament and the introduction of direct rule
from Westminster in 1972, these powers were transferred to the Department of Agriculture Northern Ireland (DANI). Within this department, operational matters were
carried out successively by its Drainage Division, Watercourse Management Division
and, from October 1996, by Rivers Agency (fig 3.24).
7
Belfast Gazette, no.6012, p.183 (26 Feb 1999).
Comparing the 1999 heights to the 1959 levels is complicated by the fact that the latter are expressed in
metric and relate to a new Ordnance datum. Northern Ireland adopted its own datum at Belfast Harbour in
1957; this is 2.71m above Poolbeg datum. The 1999 Order is therefore equivalent to the range 49ft-9in –
50ft 3in OD Poolbeg,
9
Lough Neagh (Levels) Scheme (Confirmation) Order (NI) 2004. Ditto, 2010.
10
The replacement lock house at Carnroe has since been demolished, and the original ones at Movanagher and Toome were replaced in the 1970s (by 4192 and 4239 respectively).
11
This transfer was enabled by thee pieces of legislation: the Drainage Act (NI) 1929, Part 1 section 2,
Lough Neagh and Lower Bann Drainage and Navigation Act (NI) 1955, section 6.3, and Ministries of
Northern Ireland (Transfer of Functions) (No 2) Order 1964.
8
49
DARD and DCAL
In 1999, following devolution and the creation of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the
Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (DARD) took over from DANI. The
Rivers Agency also moved into DARD as well and
continues to be responsible to this day for all issues
relating to drainage and flooding on the Lower Bann.
In 2006, Rivers Agency electrified the sluice gates at
the Cutts, Portna and Toome, thus doing away with
the original manual system of raising and lowering.
The new system was designed such that it could be
operated both on-site and remotely from the agency’s
offices at Coleraine.
Fig 3.24 This sign on the downstream face of Coleraine Bridge
(4064) is now the only tangible evidence of Rivers Agency’s
involvement with the Lower Bann Navigation. Its logo is at the
bottom right-hand corner.
Waterways Ireland
At the same time as DANI’s responsibility for the drainage of the Lower Bann moved to
DARD in 1999, navigational matters were transferred to the Department of Culture, Arts
& Leisure (DCAL). Within DCAL, the management and maintenance of the Lower Bann
Navigation were transferred to Waterways Ireland (WI) on 1 April 2000.12 This NorthSouth body was created under the Good Friday Agreement and is jointly funded by
DCAL and the Department of Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs in the Republic of
Ireland. It is responsible not only for the Lower Bann, but also for all usable navigable
waterways throughout Ireland.
WI has a dedicated regional office for
the Lower Bann at the Cutts (fig
3.25). The various boating facilities it
has constructed along the waterway
since its formation are discussed in
section 10.1.
Fig 3.25 The original lock house at the Cutts
was replaced in 1951. It was then refurbished
in 2004-05 as WI’s regional office for the
Lower Bann Waterway (4092).
The shifts in responsibility for the drainage and navigational aspects of the tidal and
non-tidal sections of the Lower Bann are summarised in table 3.5.
12
The transfer to Waterways Ireland was enabled by the Department (Transfer and Assignment of
Functions) Order (NI) 1999, and the North/South Co-operation (Implementation Bodies) (NI) Order 1999.
50
Barmouth to
Millennium Br
Millennium Br
to Town Br
Town Bridge to
the Cutts
Portrush Harbour Company
The Cutts to Lough Neagh
Date
Board of Works
1846
Board of Works
1852
Lower Bann Navigation Trust
1859
Portrush Harbour Company
Lough Neagh Drainage Trust
Lower Bann Navigation Trust
Coleraine Town
Commissioners
1863
Lough Neagh Drainage Trust
Lower Bann Navigation Trust
Coleraine Harbour
Commissioners
1879
Lough Neagh Drainage Trust
Ministry Finance
Coleraine Harbour
Commissioners
1929
Ministry Finance
Ministry Agriculture
Coleraine Harbour
Commissioners
1965
Ministry Agriculture
Department Agriculture NI
Coleraine Harbour
Commissioners
1972
Department Agriculture NI
Dept Culture, Arts & Leisure
Coleraine Harbour
Commissioners
Coleraine Harbour
Commissioners
Coleraine
1999
Dept Agriculture & Rural Dev (Rivers Agency)
Dept Culture, Arts & Leisure (Waterways Ireland)
2000
Dept Agriculture & Rural Dev (Rivers Agency)
?
Dept Culture, Arts & Leisure (Waterways Ireland)
2002
Harbour Commissioners
Navigation
Dept Agriculture & Rural Dev (Rivers Agency)
Drainage
Emboldened sections denote changes in organisation.
Table 3.5 Changes in responsibility for the tidal and non-tidal sections of the Lower Bann.
51
52
4. TIDAL RIVER NAVIGATION
The five mile (8km) tidal stretch of the Lower Bann from the quays at Coleraine to the
Barmouth, where it flows into the Atlantic Ocean is officially known as Coleraine
Harbour. The navigational difficulties presented by the Barmouth, the relative shallowness of the river along this stretch, and the limitations of the town’s quays have all been
the focus of various improvement schemes since the late 1700s and are the subject of
this chapter.
4.1 The Barmouth
Navigational difficulties at the Barmouth
The biggest single impediment to the development of Coleraine as a maritime port was
the entrance to the Bann where it met the Atlantic Ocean at the Barmouth. Here the
mariner was faced with a number of navigational challenges when attempting to negotiate the mouth of the river.
The first difficulty was a shallow bar across the mouth of the river, created through the
deposition of silt and sand as the river slowed on meeting the sea. Such was the buildup of sediment that it was a recognised fording point as late as the mid-1800s (fig 4.1).
Fig 4.1 Barmouth
ford and ferry as
captioned on 1853
OS six-inch map.
The second obstacle was a shallow rocky shoal which extended upriver and on which
vessels could also potentially run aground once over the sandbar (fig 4.2).
Had there been a sufficient depth of water, neither obstacle would have been a problem. However, as the 1837 Ordnance Survey Memoir (OSM) noted, whilst the depth of
water at the Bar averaged 10ft at high water spring tides, it was only 3ft at low water
spring tides.13
13
When the earth, sun and moon are in line, the tide's range is then at its maximum and is termed a
spring tide. High waters at spring tides are higher than average, and low waters are lower than average.
There is approximately a week between spring and neap tides.
53
Fig 4.2 Rock cill extending
diagonally across the mouth of
the river at Barmouth. Part of it
has now been cut away to form a
navigable channel (Anderson,
2000, p.45).
A third problem was that the increased speed of the water as it passed over these
shallows made it particularly difficult for sailing ships to steer a safe course along the
deepest channel. As the 1837 OSM noted, “the tide rushes over the bar with more
rapidity at the turn of the tides. Vessels leaving the port [of Coleraine] drop down from
the bridge at the commencement of ebb [out-flowing tide] and wait inside the Bar until
the return of ebb enables them to pass the obstacle. Vessels entering the river meet
with more difficulty. To cross the Bar they must be favoured by a moderate breeze at
the time of high tide; the last of flood [in-flowing tide] is the most favourable time.”
A fourth problem was that, because of the very exposed coast hereabouts, the wind
could have a strong influence on the depth of the water and also make it very choppy,
particularly when the river was fast flowing and met an incoming tide.
According to the 1837 OSM, “In stormy weather the passage is always dangerous and
sometimes impracticable, and this is partly the reason for which very few vessels ever
cross the river from the month of October till May. Another cause is that the time of high
spring tides at the bar happens about 6am and 6pm when there is no daylight, and that
then is the time always chosen if possible for crossing. Otherwise the passage is as
easily effected in winter as in summer, in calm weather, ceteris paribus [all else being
equal], but masters of vessels, even with the opportunity, are generally unwilling to
enter the river during the winter months, as then the chances of leaving it when
necessary are much more precarious.”
All these problems were exacerbated by the lack of any depth chart or navigation lights
(the Barmouth was not properly surveyed until 1850). Successful negotiation of the Bar
was therefore wholly dependant not only on the type and size of a vessel and the skill of
its skipper, but also external factors such as the state of the tide, wind’s strength and
direction, and whether it was day or night.
As a consequence of these impediments, vessels of more than 100 tons seldom
ventured up the river (and then only at high water spring tides) and it took a very experienced pilot to bring one exceeding 200 tons over the Bar.14
During the first half of the 19th century, various experts put forward proposals for
improving the navigability of the river and thus increasing traffic to and from Coleraine.
14
Registered Tonnage does not refer to the weight of the vessel (whether loaded or empty), but to its
cargo carrying capacity; one registered ton equates to 100 cubic feet of cargo space. Today ‘gross
tonnage’ is used instead as a measure of a ship’s size and is based on a fraction of all its internal spaces.
54
Roach’s proposal
In November 1781, John Roach submitted a proposal to the “Committee appointed for
the improvement of the navigation of the River Bann” for the construction of an
embankment on the left bank of the river immediately downstream from the Articlave
River. By thus narrowing the river channel rather than letting it dissipate over the strand,
he reasoned that the ensuing stronger current would continuously scour the bed of the
river and prevent the accumulation of sand and silt at the Barmouth.
To effect this, he proposed a 0.8 mile (1.3km) long earthen bank standing stand 8ft high
and measuring 27ft across its base (20ft across its top), all secured with a core of timber
piles at c.4ft centres (fig 4.3). In addition to an estimated cost of ‡758 on this substantial
structure, he also recommended dredging the river hereabouts to a depth of 4ft to
enable boats of up to 200 tons burthen to pass.
As was to be the case with this and most subsequent proposals, no action was taken to
implement Roach’s proposals.
Fig 4.3. Roach’s 1781 proposal for an embankment
along the left bank of the Bann, downstream from the
Articlave River.
It was to run for 124 perches (794m) along the river,
with 307m and 211 long returns at its up- and
downstream ends.
Its approximate position in relation to the present
course of the river is shown at left.
Rennie’s proposal
In 1803, a number of Coleraine merchants commissioned John Rennie, the eminent
Scottish civil engineer, to come up with proposals to improve the river’s navigability. In
January of that year he took soundings along the tidal section of the river. These
55
showed that that although its depth was generally in excess of 14ft up to Coleraine, it
was only 9-10ft at the Bar at high water neap tides.15
He concluded “No doubt considerable improvements might be made by a judicious and
well arranged plan but these would not only be enormously expensive but would not be
attended with advantages adequate to the expense. It seems therefore to me that all
idea of making the Ban[n[ a good harbour must be given up”.
Rennie dismissed Portstewart as a possible site for an out-port for Coleraine on the
grounds that it would be too expensive to construct a harbour at such an exposed
coastal location. Instead, he proposed that one be built at Portrush, then a small fishing
harbour further east along the coast where there was a sheltered anchorage on the
west side of Ramore Head. He estimated that such a harbour could be built for ‡11,120
and that it could be linked to Coleraine by a horse-drawn tramway.
As with Roach some 20 years previously, no further action was taken on Rennie’s
proposed scheme.
Townsend’s proposal
In 1812, Thomas Townshend, whilst surveying bogs in NE Ulster for the Bog Commissioners, took soundings along the Lower Bann to assess its feasibility for navigation.
Although his survey was confined to the non-tidal section from Lough Neagh to the
Cutts, he recognised the advantages of Portrush as an out-port and proposed to link it
with Coleraine by a canal. However, because the intervening ground was higher,
locking up and down to a summit level would be required, and a connection with the
River Bush to supply it.
The impracticality of such a proposition had already been recognised by Rennie, and
Townsend’s scheme was not progressed either up- or downstream from the Cutts.
Macneill’s proposal
Sir John Macneill, the eminent Dundalk-born civil engineer, also turned his attention to
the navigational difficulties presented by the Bar. As with the previous schemes, he also
proposed that it should be avoided and that Portrush be developed as a port instead of
Coleraine. In addition, he proposed that it be linked to Coleraine by a conventional railway. Again, nothing came of this scheme.
Portrush Harbour
In 1827, a group of Coleraine merchants, businessmen and landowners successfully
steered an Act through Parliament to establish the Portrush Harbour Company and
empower it to construct an out-port at Portrush as envisaged by Rennie a quartercentury previously.16
Work began in 1828 under the direction of Rennie’s son (also John) and was finished by
1836 at a cost of ‡16,226, all of which was raised privately through the issue of shares.
Samuel Lewis, writing in 1837, noted that the entrance to the new harbour was 27ft
deep at low water spring tides (i.e. lower-than-average tides), and that vessels drawing
up to 17ft could negotiate it in perfect safety. This was a significant improvement on the
15
When the the sun and moon are separated by 90 degrees when viewed from the earth, the tidal range
is at its minimum; these are termed neap tides.
16
An Act for improving the Harbour of Portrush in the County of Antrim, 1827 (7 & 8 George IV, c.103).
56
depths at the Barmouth and enabled ships of up to
500 tons to enter the new harbour at all states of
the tide (figs 4.4 & 4.5).
Portrush also served as a refuge for vessels en
route to Coleraine, enabling them to await suitable
wind and tide conditions before negotiating the
Bar. Sometimes vessels off-loaded some cargo at
Portrush before continuing on to Coleraine, their
reduced drafts having reducing the risk of running
aground. For the same reason, additional cargo
could also be picked up at Portrush by out-bound
ships.
The Portrush Harbour Company also had the
monopoly on piloting ships along the Bann to
Coleraine. The sea pilots were based at Portrush,
whilst a river pilot was stationed on the left bank of
the river near the Bar.17
Fig 4.4 Aerial view of harbour on west
side of Ramore Head (OSNI).
Fig 4.5 View of Portrush Harbour, late 1800s (National Library Ireland: W. Lawrence 1057).
17
Until 1925, pilots were rowed out to the waiting ships. In that year, the Coleraine Harbour Commissioners introduced the motorised pilot tender Violet Clarke. She was superseded by S.G. Martin in 1967
and then by Borderer in 2000.
57
The importance of steam ships is well illustrated by the shipping figures for Coleraine
and Portrush for 1841-42. During this period there were 861 passages of loaded ships
in and out of Coleraine/Portrush, carrying a combined total of 108,724 tons (table 4.1).18
Although steamers comprised just under half of all passages (47%), they accounted for
83% of the total tonnage through these ports. On average, each sailing vessel carried
42 tons of cargo, whereas steamers averaged 221 tons - over five times as much.
Vessels
in
Tonnage
in
Tons in per
vessel
Vessels
out
Tonnage
out
Tons out per
vessel
Sail
312
12739
41
142
6230
44
Steam
209
45860
219
198
43895
222
Table 4.1 Ships and cargo traffic in and out of Coleraine/Portrush, 1841-42.
Whilst steamers would have been better equipped to negotiate the Bar, the risk of them
going aground would also had been greater because of their increased tonnage and
deeper draft. Given the increasing numbers of steamers as the 19th century progressed,
it is not surprising that Portrush quickly eclipsed Coleraine as the region’s principal port,
being future-proof to the extent that it could handle vessels up to 500 tons burthen
(compared with only 200 tons through the Bar).
Commercial trade apart, the general public also benefited from the new harbour with the
inception of steamship services to Glasgow, Liverpool and Fleetwood over the next ten
years; cross-channel steamers to and from Derry also called at Portrush en route.
Forsyth’s proposal
Following the passing of the Drainage (Ireland) Act in 1842, an ambitious scheme was
proposed for the improvement of the drainage and navigability of the Lower Bann from
Lough Neagh to the Cutts at Coleraine (as noted in chapter 3).
Because the tidal section of the river did not feature in this proposal, some concerned
Coleraine townsfolk successfully petitioned the government for a survey with a view to
improvements. A hydrometric survey was carried out by the Admiralty on behalf of the
Board of Works. It was on the basis of the results of this survey that William Forsyth
proposed a scheme in January 1850 to solve the Bar problem once and for all (fig 4.6).
Forsyth’s scheme entailed dredging the bar to a depth of 8ft below low water spring
tides for a distance of 1‰ miles (2km) upriver from Barmouth. He also noted that
although the river’s scouring action would keep the dredged channel free of sediment,
fresh deposits would accumulate as the river’s current was dissipated beyond the
shoreline. To prevent this, he proposed extending the river out into deeper water where
the sediment would be dissipated by the sea. This extension was to be achieved using
a pair of moles (low causeways) set 600ft apart at their ends. The west one was to be
1850ft long, with a lighthouse at its end. The east mole one was 3000ft long and would
also act as a breakwater. A series of groynes (narrow walls) were also to be constructed
out from the left bank to funnel the river along the dredged channel (training walls were
also considered but discounted as being too expensive). He estimated the cost of the
entire works to be just over ‡50,000.
18
Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland, 1844-45, p.9.
58
Fig 4.6 Forsyth’s proposed improvements at the Barmouth, 1850 (not to stated scale). The moles are
shown in blue and the groynes in green. The red line denotes the proposed level of the dredged channel.
Encouraged by these findings, the Portrush Harbour Company obtained statutory
powers to (1) improve the navigability of the Bann from the Salmon Leap at Castleroe
(above Coleraine) to the sea, (2) remove the bar and ford at Barmouth, and (3) erect a
swivel bridge at Coleraine.19 However, the company failed to follow through on any of
these proposed actions and Forsyth’s scheme lapsed.
Dredging at the Bar
Under an Act of 1863, the Coleraine Town Commissioners were empowered to
purchase the Portrush Harbour Company’s rights to the tidal section of the Bann.20
19
Portrush Harbour Amendment Act, 1852 (Local and Personal Act, 15 & 16 Victoria I, c.80, s.6).
An Act for the improvement by the Coleraine Town Commissioners of the navigation of the River Bann,
1863 (25 & 26 Victoria I, c.100).
20
59
Some three years later, the Commissioners asked John Coode, an eminent English
maritime engineer, to advise them on the removal of the sand bank at the Bar. Based
on his recommendations and with a grant from the Irlsh Society, a 12ft deep channel (at
low water spring tides) was dredged through the Bar. It was completed in 1872.
Although scouring kept the channel free of sediment although there appear to have
been localised silting due to sand blowing off the adjacent dunes (for which Coode
suggested wattle palisades along the banks).
Whilst the deepened channel from c.5ft to 12ft undoubtedly reduced the likelihood of
steamers grounding at the Bar, it was too great a risk for some. In 1865, a year before
the inception of Coode’s proposal, Messrs Laird’s steamer, the Myrtle, began plying
between Coleraine and Glasgow. However, she was relocated to Portrush within three
months due to the sandbar at the Bar and did not return to Coleraine until 1884, only
after further improvements had been made at the Bar.
First Barmouth scheme
In 1878, the Town Commissioners returned to Sir John Coode (knighted in 1872 in
recognition of his work at Portland Harbour, Dorset) for advice on further improving the
navigability of the river to Coleraine.
His report, delivered the same year, recommended two moles out to sea at the end of
the river. He had, in fact, made such a proposal back in 1866 (following Forsyth in this
respect), but it had not been implemented on grounds of cost. He now suggested a
820ft long embankment from Ballyaghran Point on the Portstewart side of the river,
beyond which a mole was to extend half a mile into the sea. There was to be a similar
mole on the Castlerock bank, but only one-third of a mile long and set 500ft apart.
Ideally, he wanted each mole to be 200ft longer but accepted that this would be too
expensive.21
Coode suggested that the moles might utilize some of the material dumped hereabouts
during dredging some ten years before. However, the bulk of it was to be stone quarried
in the townland of Carnanee, 2Š miles (4.4km) upstream on the right bank, loaded on to
barges and brought downriver. It was then to be off-loaded on to bogeys running along
temporary timber gantries erected over the course of the new moles. The stone was
then to be tipped from the bogeys directly on to the seabed and the process repeated
until the moles were emerged above the waterline. Although his preference was for
concrete moles, he settled for rubble stone as the cheaper option.
Such an ambitious scheme would require considerable expenditure and a level of
commitment well beyond the Commissioner’s usual responsibilities. With Coode’s
scheme in mind, and despite the opposition of some locals who viewed the Barmouth
Scheme as a waste of money, the Coleraine Harbour Commissioners were established
under an Act of 1879 to take over the responsibilities of the Town Commissioners in
respect of the town quay and tidal portion of the river downstream from Coleraine
Bridge.22 Twelve of this 19-man body were, in fact, nominated by the Town Commissioners and the remainder by the Coleraine Board of Guardians. Significantly, this Act
21
Although the Commissioners agreed to the lengthening of the moles in 1883, the extensions were put
on hold in early 1884 and were never carried out.
22
An Act for the incorporation of the Coleraine Harbour Commissioners, for vesting in them the powers of
the Coleraine Town Commissioners with respect to the Navigation of the River Bann under the River
Bann Navigation Act, 1863; for the repeal of the said Act; for the improvement of the said Navigation,
1879 (42 & 43 Victoria I, c.175).
60
also empowered the new body to raise finance for the pursuance of improvement works
along the tidal stretch of the Bann.
The Barmouth scheme commenced in the same year, 1879, under Coode’s direction. It
was carried out by a contractor named Lawson and financed by a loan from the Public
Works Loan Commissioners and grant from the Irish Society.
In addition to transporting the quarried stone by barge, it was also conveyed along a
railway from Carnanee Quarry to Ballyaghran Point. From here it continued along an
elevated timber gantry over the intended line of the East Mole. Stone-laden bogeys
were manually pushed along it and their load dumped to gradually build up the mole.
Originally Coode had suggested that stone for the West Mole be brought by railway
from a quarry at Articlave. This proposal was subsequently found to be too expensive
so it was decided to continue the existing line on a timber trestle bridge across the river
south of the East Mole. Unlike the mainline railway bridge at Coleraine (opened in
1860), it could not be opened so the channel was closed to shipping for the duration of
the work. At the west end of the bridge, the line headed north alongside the edge of the
river and then continued on an elevated gantry over the line of the West Mole.
As built, the ends of the moles were some 360ft apart rather than the 500ft originally
envisaged by Coode. After completion in 1888, most of the railway bridge was removed
to allow ships free passage once again. The gantries were also taken down except for
their seaward ends (fig 4.7).
Whether they were retained as a
cost-cutting exercise or as
navigational aids to make the
Barmouth more visible from afar
is uncertain.
Fig 4.7 Barmouth moles c.1900, with
remains of elevated bogey gantries
(Anderson, 2009, p.91).
The new moles undoubtedly created a safer passage than before and sailing vessels
could also avail of the Commissioner’s steam-driven tug Alderman Ridley to tow them
up the river. Not surprisingly, there was a marked increase in the number of vessels
visiting Coleraine; whereas there were only 75 vessels in 1878, there were 211 in 1888
(when the moles were finished), and 239 the following year.
Training wall
Finances dictated that only the moles could be built initially. However, following the Irish
Society’s offer of a further grant, a training wall was also built in the early 1890s along
the west bank, from north of the contractor’s rail bridge to just beyond the landward end
of the West Mole, a distance of 430m. This is only 60% of the length of today’s training
wall (see below) and there was a considerable gap between its north end and the mole,
making the bank susceptible to wave erosion. Indeed, Sir John Coode had warned the
Harbour Commissioners in 1888 that this would be the case. Why it was not continued
as far as the actual mole is uncertain: perhaps funds ran out before it could be
completed.
61
Second Barmouth scheme
Because the moles were founded on sand rather than rock, it was inevitable that there
would be some undermining and settling. Subsidence was, in fact, already evident by
the turn of the century but the First World War precluded any remedial action being
taken. It was not until 1925 that the Harbour Commissioners asked T.S. Gilbert, Civil
Engineer to the Belfast Harbour Commissioners, to report on their condition.
Gilbert found that both moles had subsided to such an extent that 400ft of the seaward
end of the East Mole and 300ft of the west one were almost permanently submerged.
Fortunately the ends of the bogey gantries left over from the 1880s’ scheme were still in
position, so vessels would have been aware of the moles’ presence even if they could
not be seen. Another problem was that sand was once again being deposited at the
Bar as the moles were no longer able to scour the channel between them to the same
degree as before. As more sand accumulated, so the situation got increasingly worse.
Gilbert also noted that the training bank along the left side (then a mere foot above high
water mark) was not as effective as it could be as it stopped short of the West Mole and
created eddies which impeded the downstream flow of the current.
To rectify this situation, Gilbert recommended that both moles be raised and topped with
concrete to a height of 7ft above the high water mark (at ordinary spring tides) and also
that the training wall on the left bank be extended.
A scheme of works was drawn up by the Commissioners’ consultant engineers
Henderson & Nicol of Aberdeen. It commenced in early 1929 with a Government loan
and funding under an unemployment relief scheme, and a grant from the Irish Society.
Whereas the previous scheme had taken 10 years from scratch, this one was to take 14
years. An insight as to why it took so long comes from the minutes of the Harbour
Commissioners’ meetings and diaries written by the Commissioners’ Resident Engineer
R.A. Chapman who was based at Carnanee Quarry.
The project was initially awarded to Messrs F Moore & Co of Morecambe, who started
work in May 1929. Initially work focused on repairing the jetty at Carnanee which dated
from the 1880s’ scheme, and laying a railway track within the quarry. Dumping of
quarried stones from barges on to the existing moles eventually got underway in
December of that year. One month on, however, Moore was in receivership owing to a
problem with his bank; his employees were given only two hours notice to quit the site!
In February 1930, the Harbour Commissioners re-awarded the contract to the next lowest tenderer, Romney Faris of Armagh. Coincidently, they had just awarded him the
contract to upgrade the quay at Coleraine (section 4.3).
Faris started in March and for the remainder of 1930 Carnanee Quarry continued to be
brought back into full operation. The course of the 3ft-gauge contractor’s line down to
the East Mole was repaired and a new track laid. Two 3ft-gauge steam locos were
purchased from the Giant’s Causeway Tramway to convey material along it and also a
2ft-gauge petrol loco for use on the bogey lines along the actual moles.
In November of that year, the first load of quarried stone to be brought by railway was
deposited on the mole (barges had been used until then). Once the loose stonework
had been raised sufficiently, it was then topped with a wall of shuttered concrete, cast
in 25-30ft long sections. Pouring of the concrete commenced in June 1931, prefabricated concrete blocks being utilized in the fill matrix to save time on site. Once it
had set, a temporary 2ft-gauge track was then laid on top so that bogeys could bring
material for the section beyond and to dump stone on either side of the wall (fig 4.8). As
work progressed, the remnants of the old gantry were also gradually removed.
62
Fig 4.8 Above: View of the newly-laid bogey track
along East Mole. Note remains of elevated railway
used in original scheme in background (Anderson,
2000, p.5). Right: Bogeys laden with quarried rocks
being moved into position along the mole 1931
(McDonald & Anderson, 1983, plate 110a).
At the same time as the upgrading of the East Mole, a seven ton aerial cableway was
erected from its south end across to the opposite bank so that wagons of quarried stone
etc could be brought across. Known as the ‘Blondin’ (after the French tightrope walker
who crossed Niagara Falls), its clearance of 69ft above high water level was sufficient to
allow ships to pass freely to and from Coleraine for the duration of the works (fig 4.9). At
the same time, the training wall on the other side was extended up to the mole with
stone dumped from barges. The cableway was finished in December 1931 and a 2ftgauge track laid along the extended
training bank to the landward end of the
West Mole.
The aerial ropeway enabled work to
progress on the West Mole in a similar
fashion to the first mole. The first pour
of concrete over the stonework took
place in March 1932.
Fig 4.9 Aerial ropeway across the Bann at
Barmouth, 1932 (Anderson, 2008, p.93).
Work on both moles was still in progress in 1936 when Chapman bemoaned the fact
that the project was already five years behind schedule. This he blamed on the
contractor’s poor organisation, equipment failures and lack of forward planning. Indeed,
since 1931, Henderson & Nicol had also been expressing concern at the poor rate of
progress. In fairness to the contractor, however, working was confined to the summer
months and was interrupted periodically by bad weather, rough seas, undermining of
the railway and sand drifts thereon. In some instances, entire sections of shuttered
concrete had to be redone, which necessitated the laborious process of cutting out what
had already set.
Concreting of both moles was eventually completed in 1937, some 1269ft and 1003ft
linear feet of concrete having been laid along the East and West moles respectively.
However, piece-meal underpinning of both moles continued over the next four years.
To terminate the ends of the moles, two hollow reinforced-concrete caissons were fabricated on the west bank just south of the West Mole in 1936-37. A dispute appears to
have then arisen between Faris and the Harbour Commissioners and his contract was
terminated in April 1939. Harbour & General Works Ltd of Westminster were then
63
brought in to complete the scheme; they were already engaged in dredging work for the
Commissioners (section 4.2).
Even though the moles were largely completed by 1939, they still presented a danger to
unwary skippers (fig 4.10). The onset of the Second World War in the same year was
also a hindrance to their completion. In
a Board minute of 2 May 1941, for
example, the Commissioners noted the
difficulty of obtaining a tug to tow the
caissons out to the ends of the moles.
Fig 4.10 S.W. Coe’s Briarthorn and
a dredger were both written-off at
the end of the West Mole in 1939
(Anderson, 1976).
This problem appears to have been resolved soon afterwards as, in June of that year,
the caisson for the East Mole was ‘launched’ down a rudimentary slipway. It was then
floated over a prepared base at the end of the mole and sunk into position. Its hollow
compartments were filled with concrete and decked out level with the top of the wall
along the mole. This work was completed in September of that year. The end of the
West Mole was launched in April 1942 and similarly finished off in July 1943.
The approximate total lengths of the East and West moles (i.e. the stone causeways,
concrete copings, and end caissons) was 595m and 540m respectively.
The two leading lights on the left bank, originally installed during the first Barmouth
scheme to enable ships to align themselves between the moles on entering the river,
were also upgraded. Because the upper leading light was becoming buried under sand
drifts, a new one was erected higher up the sand dune. This necessitated raising the
lower leading light so that one could be quickly lined up with the upper one when viewed
from sea. This work was completed in 1944, initially using oil lamps, each with a
continuous burning time of three months.
The final piece of the jigsaw was the erection of an oil-lit beacon on the end of the East
Mole in 1947. This lamp was replaced with a battery-powered one in 1952 (and latterly
with a solar-powered one). Two years later, in 1949, ‘Blondin’ was dismantled.
In terms of increasing the depth of the channel, the second Barmouth scheme was a
success. When the depths were measured at the Barmouth in 1945, they were found to
be 3ft-4ft greater than at the start of the scheme. The low-water sounding was 9ft 9in
(compared with 5ft 6in before), and the high-water depth 11ft 9in (previously 8ft 9in).
However, the Barmouth’s upgrading did not prevent all accidents, not so much from
ships running aground but from collisions with the moles themselves. In 1894, for
example, the steamer Christopher Thomas collided with the West Mole, as did the
Shilbottle in 1912. In 1915, Scottish & Laird Line’s Daisy struck the East Mole and
sank, putting paid thereafter to all cross-channel passenger ferries from Coleraine
(those from Portrush had already ceased the previous year). A vessel also hit one of the
moles in 1922 and was lost. Even as late as 1970, the Esso Tynemouth struck rocks at
the East Mole as a result of a strong river current, heavy swell and poor steering.
Maintenance of the moles has continued to occupy the Harbour Commissioners ever
since their completion in the 1940s. In 1957, for example, the Cementation Company
(Ireland) Ltd carried out extensive underpinning with concrete grout. In 2000, remedial
works were also carried out at a cost of ‡‰ million.
64
4.2 River improvements
As already noted above, the first concerted dredging programme was in the 1860s, but
was limited to the Barmouth area. The 1880s scheme at the Barmouth also resulted in
piecemeal dredging of the tidal section in order to maintain a 12ft deep channel at low
water ordinary spring tides.
Railway bridges
Apart from a limited amount of dredging, the only other major development on the tidal
section of the river during the 1800s came about as a result of the arrival of the railway
in Coleraine, initially from Derry in 1853 and then from Belfast in 1855. Each line was
served by its own terminus - Waterside Station at the west end of the Town Bridge for
the Derry line, and at Northbrook at Railway Place on the east bank for the Belfast line.
The two lines were eventually connected by a multi-span metal and timber bridge in
1860. As it was downstream of the quays, it had a swivelling opening section to allow
ships to pass through to and from the Barmouth.
This bridge was replaced by an all-metal one with vertically-lifting bascule section a
short distance downstream in 1924. Fuller details of both bridges are to be found in
chapter 8.
1930s dredging scheme
It was not until the 1930s, coincidental with the second Barmouth scheme, that the
entire length of the Bann from Lough Neagh to the sea was comprehensively dredged.
Responsibility for dredging the tidal section rested with the Harbour Commissioners (the
freshwater section was discussed in chapter 3). Harbour & General Works Ltd were
awarded the contract in 1938-39 (they also took over the Barmouth contract from Faris
in 1939). Most of the dredging was carried out at the Coleraine end of the river and
dumped on what are now Coleraine Inst’s playing fields on the left bank, and also on the
right bank at Millburn, between the quays and new railway bridge. This activity resulted
in a marked increase in dredger, barge and tug traffic along the river (fig 4.11). New
navigation lights and markers were also erected as part of this scheme.
Fig 4.11 Dredging operations on the tidal Bann
Left: Map showing location of material to be
dredged (hatched) and area of deposition (in red)
(PRONI: HAR/6/13/1).
Above: Tug, barge and bucket dredger at work in
the 1930s (McDonald & Anderson, 1981, plate 35).
65
Dredgers
Despite the recognition by the Harbour Commissioners and their precursors of the need
to maintain a navigable channel, it was not until 1977 that they purchased the Bar Maid,
a suction-and-grab-dredger built by Messrs Cooke of Wivenhoe, Essex (fig 4.12). She
was used to maintain the entrance to the river at c.14ft low-water depth and the harbour
at 12ft. She was also used to dredge Portrush, in
the maintenance of navigation lights and buoys
along the river, and also for work elsewhere
during slack periods. She remained in service
until sold off in 2000.
Fig 4.12 The Bar Maid dredging Portrush Harbour, 1993.
Thereafter, the Commissioners relied on
chartering the Londonderry port tug Otterbank
which used a plough system for seabed
leveling. In 2004, the tug Plym Echo was
bought from Plymouth. Renamed Confidence,
it uses a 3m wide plough fitted to an A-frame
pulled by two 450hp diesel engines (fig 4.13).
Fig 4.13 The Confidence at Coleraine, 2010.
4.3 Coleraine Port
The difficulties of negotiating the Bar in the early 1800s have already been noted. Even
if ships did manage to reach Coleraine, there seems to have been little in the way of
facilities when they arrived. The Quay had been relocated to the downstream side of the
Town Bridge in the 1710s and is described in the 1837 OSM thus: “The wharf is small,
permitting only one vessel to come alongside at a time, the rest lying contiguous to and
parallel to each other and the first. Close to the wharf the depth of water is only about 9
feet at high tide and the vessels in consequence do not come nearer to it than 10 or 12
feet, at which distance the depth is from 13 to 14 feet.”
The difficulty in berthing ships, particularly ones with deep drafts, made the loading and
unloading of their cargoes more time consuming than had they been able to tie up
alongside the quay. The OSM notes: “The method of loading and goods at the wharf is
by hand barrows for all articles that admit of this method of carriage. All goods, however, must be carried over planks which connect the wharf with the ship’s side.”
Although there was a timber and coal yard adjoining the quay at that time, the nearest
warehouse was a private concern in Hanover Place, on the upstream side of the bridge.
Moreover, the Custom House is described in the 1837 Memoir as “very bad” and
comprising but several rooms in the Customs Officer’s residence.
Early improvements
The 1830 and 1853 OS maps shows a small quay immediately downstream of the Town
Bridge (the precursor of the present bridge) on the right bank of the Bann at the mouth
of the Brook. It measured c.90ft along the Bann, and then turned along the left bank of
the Brook for a further 90ft (fig 4.14).
66
Fig 4.14 Coleraine
Quay, c.1860
(Anderson 1976).
The 1882 large-scale town map shows it to have been extended by c.45ft along the
Bann during the intervening period.
1883 quay
Concurrently with drawing up the first Barmouth Scheme, Coode also turned his
attention to improving the town quay, at that time a low revetted bank some 135ft long.
He proposed raising it to 6ft above high water spring tides and add a 350ft long section
to its downstream end. The river was also to be dredged to a depth of 12ft at low water
spring tides so that ships could tie up alongside. The new quays were to be fronted with
timber piles and backfilled with dredged spoil. The Brook (Lodge Burn) was also to be
redirected downstream from its present confluence with the Bann at the Town Bridge so
that the new quay could be accommodated. He also suggested that a quay might also
be constructed on the opposite bank at a later date.
Work began on the new quay in 1883, concurrently with the Barmouth Scheme. The
contractor was Messrs Fry & Hegarty who completed the job early the next year (the
new Town Bridge was also finished in that year as well).
The quay was significantly higher than the existing one and was faced with stone except
for a section at its downstream end which was open piles (fig 4.15). There was also a
goods transit shed alongside. As Coode had proposed, the Brook was also diverted
around the bottom end of the new quay. This brought the total length of the wharfage at
Coleraine to c.485ft.
1887 upgrading
The rudimentary nature of the old quay next the bridge was always an issue and the
Commissioners intended to raise it to the same height as the new one whilst the latter
was being built. Lack of finance seems to have limited them to piecemeal repairs. In
1887, however, they were in a position to replace a 45ft section next to the new quay
(this was probably the extension added in the mid 1800s).
67
Fig 4.15 North end of 1880s’ quay as viewed from opposite bank c.1900. Note also the goods transit shed
and railway wagons behind. The steam tug Confidence is in the foreground (Anderson 1976).
Harbour railway
Cargo handling facilities at the quay were further improved in 1892 with the opening of a
spur from the main Coleraine-Derry railway line. It was built by the Harbour Commissioners at the behest of the Irish Society as a condition of them funding dredging works.
Although this new line had a relatively steep gradient from the harbour up to the main
line and was therefore difficult to work with a heavy load, it did away with having to
transship goods to the railway station, some distance to the east (fig 4.16).
Coleraine
Station
Harbour
spur
Fig 4.16 Route of railway spur from main
line to harbour.
68
1912-13 quays
In 1912, the quay was extended downstream yet again, this time by 150ft, bringing the
wharfage to c.635ft. The next year, the 120ft-long open-piled downstream end of the
1883 quay was also replaced. Additional goods transit sheds were also built alongside.
The work was carried out by McLaughlin & Harvey Ltd of Belfast. Instead of timber piles
reinforced-concrete ones were used on both sections, to specifications drawn up by
Messrs L.G. Mouchel & Partners Ltd of Westminster. At that time, the use of reinforced
concrete was still in its infancy and Mouchel was one of the pioneers of its use.
1930s improvements and additions
Although steamers had
been in the ascendancy
since the late 1800s, it was
not until 1928 that the last
sailing
vessel
entered
Coleraine,
the
Danishregistered Merkur with a
cargo of timber from
Sweden (fig 4.17).
Fig 4.17 The Merkur was the
last unmotorised sailing ship
to visit Coleraine (Anderson,
2000, p.6).
During the 1920s, the Liverpool-based shipping line of S.W. Coe Ltd began operations
to Coleraine. Timber was imported from Scandanavia, barrels of petroleum from
America, and flour by Messrs Spillers. Seed potatoes were a major export.
In 1930-31, the surviving 230ft of the 1884 timber wharf was replaced with sheet steel
piling along its frontage. The older and much lower section nearest the bridge was also
brought out into line with it, heightened and rebuilt with sheet steel piling. The river in
front of the new quay was also dredged to improve access thereto. This work was
undertaken by Romney Faris who was also working on the second Barmouth scheme at
the same time.
In 1939-40, the quay was extended downstream yet again, this time by 250ft in
reinforced-concrete piling. This work was carried out by Harbour & General Works Ltd
(who had also taken over the Barmouth works from Faris) and brought the total length
of the quay to 885ft.
At the same time, the harbour railway was also extended to run alongside the new
quay. The opportunity was also taken to upgrade the actual railway track with heavier
lines and strengthen the bridge where it crossed the Brook to cope with the heavier
locos then in use. However, because of a dispute between the Commissioners and LMS
railway (whose rolling stock used the line) as to who should pay, this work did not get
underway until 1941. It was carried out by the Royal Engineers and the Commissioners
only had to pay for the materials, not the labour.
These improvements to the quay and river were certainly timely given the increase in
traffic through the port to service the various military camps established along the Bann
Valley during the Second World War. Coleraine was also, along with Warrenpoint, the
69
chief port in Northern Ireland for the importation of munitions and ordnance. In fact,
such was the strategic importance of Coleraine Port at that time that the Admiralty
requisitioned the recently completed quay extension for its own use (hence the input of
the military into the railway’s upgrading).
Mid-1900s improvements
The post-war era brought a marked increase in traffic through the harbour. In the 1950s,
there were at least 300 ships per year, with a peak of 449 vessels in 1955 (fig 4.18).
Imports at that time included timber, coal and fertilizer; potatoes were the main exports.
Fig 4.18 Ships through Coleraine, 1885-1975 (Anderson 1976).
In 1953-54, a separate 130ft reinforcedconcrete piled quay and associated transit
sheds were constructed just downstream
from the existing quay (fig 4.19). It was
built on ground reclaimed through
dredging in the late 1930s and was
primarily for the exportation of potatoes; it
is still known as the ‘Potato Quay’.
Fig 4.19 Potato Quay.
It was probably coincidental that the number of vessels peaked in 1955, as there was a
steady decline thereafter, irrespective of the new quay. However, this decline was offset by an increase in ship size as the small traditional steamers gave way to larger
diesel-powered vessels. The first of this new generation of ships to visit Coleraine was,
in fact, the Dutch-registered Flying Norseman as far back as 1932 and their number had
increased ever since.
70
Whereas the average net tonnage of the ships was c.150 tons in the mid 1950s, it
increased to 400 tons over the next 20 years. Steamers finally disappeared from the
port in the early 1960s, the last being the Monksville in 1963 (fig 4.20).
Fig 4.20 Left: S.W. Coe’s steam coal boats at Coleraine, c.1956. Right: The same scene in 1965, but now
Messrs Coe’s boats are all of Dutch design and powered by diesel engines (Anderson, 1976).
In 1961-62, the entire 270ft length of the concrete quay of 1912-13 was totally rebuilt
with reinforced-concrete piles. The metalwork of original ones had rusted in places and
caused the concrete to spall and weaken the structure. This work was carried out by
John Rainey (Construction) Ltd.
Later 1900s century developments
Much of the harbour’s post-war decline can be attributed to the modernisation of the
ports along the east coast, notably Belfast, Larne and Warrenpoint. Moreover, the upgrading of the province’s roads, improvements in bulk transportation, containerisation,
and the inception of roll-on/roll-off ferries have all made Coleraine and its hinterland just
as serviceable from the east coast as via the River Bann. The decline in traditional
cargoes through the port is reflected in the abandonment of the harbour railway in 1966,
three years after the departure of the last train.
Despite the decline in traditional goods, the harbour did attract specialist cargoes in the
wake of new industries being established in the town. In the late 1950s, for example,
Chemstrand (later Monsanto) opened a factory at Somerset for the production of
Acrilan. The basic raw ingredient of this synthetic yarn was acrylonitrile, a liquid
chemical which was imported in
bulk tankers from Rotterdam. It
was discharged at a jetty built
specifically for this purpose on
the west bank in 1958, whence it
was piped to the factory on the
outskirts of the town (fig 4.21).
Fig 4.21 The Leendert-B with her cargo
of acrylonitrile at the Chemstrand Jetty,
29 Aug 1958 (Anderson, 1976).
71
The replacement of the town’s Victorian coal gasworks in the mid-1960s with an oilbased plant in the mid 1960s also necessitated the regular importation of liquefied
naphtha from Esso’s oil refinery at Milford Haven. At the harbour it was piped into
purpose-built holding tanks on reclaimed ground just north of the Brook.
In the mid-1970s, considerable quantities of quarried stone were also exported through
Coleraine for use in the construction of oil rigs around the coast of Scotland.
The years 1985-86 saw the last major addition in the form
of a 180ft long piled reinforced-concrete wharf and associated storage sheds at Riversdale, just downstream from
the Potato Quay (fig 4.22).
The coal boats of Liverpool-based S.W. Coe Ltd were a
particularly familiar sight in the harbour since the 1920s
(fig 4.20 above). However, with the closure of the quayside coal depots of Kelly, Watt and Dalzell and of
Monsanto and the town’s gasworks in the 1980s, fewer
ships now had reason to visit Coleraine. In 1990, for
instance, only 32 used the harbour and 26 in 1993.
Fig 4.22 Riversdale Quay.
In the late 1980s, the 250ft long piled metal
sheet quay of 1931 (just downstream from the
Town Bridge) was abandoned. With the exception of short section nearest the bridge, it was
completely re-piled with sheet steel. This work
was carried out by McLaughlin & Harvey.
However, it was not until 1997 that the Bannside
Shopping Centre was completed on the ground
formerly occupied by the coal yards (fig 4.23).
Fig 4.23 Abandoned section of quay with Dunnes supermarket behind, in 2010.
In summary, although at least 11 phases of development actually took place since the
early 1800s, only six are now apparent along the Coleraine waterfront (fig 4.24).
Coleraine Port today
In 2003, as a result of the River Bann Navigation Order (NI) 2002, the jurisdiction of the
Coleraine Harbour Commissioners was slightly altered and now comprises the tidal
stretch of the river from the downstream side of the Millennium Footbridge (opened in
2001), rather than the Town Bridge as before. It also includes “so much of the sea
below high water mark as lies within a distance of 500m from any part of the East Pier
or the West Pier at the mouth of the said river and shall include all inlets and havens
whereof the entrances are within those limits and all landing-places, docks, piers, quays
and works for the time being vested in the Commissioners or lying within their
jurisdiction (other than railways and works connected with railways and road bridges).”
The mid-1980s’ Riversdale Quay is now the focus of Coleraine Harbour’s activities. The
piled concrete quays erected in the 1930s and ‘60s are also still in use but leased by the
Commissioners to a metal recycling firm for the export of scrap metal.
72
1. Pre-1853: Low quay c.90ft long.
Downstream
2. Pre-1882: Extended by 45ft to c.135ft long.
3. 1883-84: Extended by 350ft with timber piles to c.485ft.
4. 1887: 45ft section of pre-1882 quay replaced with timber piles.
5. 1912-13: Extended by 150ft with rfc piles to c.635ft; 120ft open
section of 1880s’ timber-piled quay replaced with rfc piles.
th
6. 1930-31: 19 C quays replaced with steel sheet piling.
7. 1939-40: Extended by 250ft with rfc piles to c.885ft.
8. 1953-54: Separate 130ft rfc-piled quay
added. Wharfage now c.1015ft.
9. 1961-62: Entire 1912-13 quay
replaced with new rfc piles.
10. 1985-86: Separate 180ft
rfc-piled quay added.
Total wharfage c.1195ft.
11. Late 1980s: Most of 1930s
quay re-piled with sheet steel;
this end of quay no longer used by port.
Fig 4.24 Sequence of quay development at Coleraine.
Today, Coleraine Harbour can accommodate ships up to 2000DWT, 85m long and
13.5m beam, with a maximum draft of 4.4m; larger vessels can also be berthed in
exceptional conditions. The heaviest cargo yet recorded is a 2135-tonne load of scrap
metal which was shipped to Spain in the Antina in June 2003 (over ten times the
tonnage two centuries previously). On 28 January 2012, the 87.95m long Nautica took
on a cargo of scrap metal destined for Spain. As the turning circle in the river hereabouts is 95m, its manoeuvring left little margin for error.
In late 2010, the Potato Quay of 1954 was abandoned to make way for a pontoon and
slipway for leisure cruisers. A second pontoon for recreational use has also been built
on the opposite bank near the Town Bridge.
Also in late 2010, the Department of Regional Development issued a consultation paper
for the transfer of the harbour from the Harbour Commissioners to Coleraine Borough
Council. It was argued that reuse of the harbour lands for purposes in addition to shipping would offer more potential for the town’s economic regeneration than currently
exists. At the time of writing (Spring 2011), however, this issue was still unresolved.
73
74
5. FISHING
Since Mesolithic times, the Lower Bann has long been renowned for its fishing, and for
its abundance of salmon and eels in particular. For many centuries, commercial
fisheries have made a significant contribution to the region’s economy, and continue to
do so today.
5.1 Salmon fisheries
Salmon have been exploited on the Lower Bann since people first inhabited the area
some 10,000 years ago. At Mount Sandel, for instance, countless salmon bones were
unearthed during the archaeological excavation of a seasonal Mesolithic encampment
(4086) overlooking the appropriately named Salmon Leap at the Cutts.
The life cycle of salmon
Unlike eels, Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) are anadromous, spending most of their time
at sea but migrating to fresh water to spawn. In the context of the Bann, their lifecycle
begins in the headwaters of its various tributaries, where their eggs are deposited and
fertilized in gravel depressions along the bed of the river. The eggs develop into fry
which, after several years, undergo a physiological change which enables them to
survive in salt water.
During the spring and early summer, the smolts, as the juveniles are now known, form
groups and migrate out to sea. Here they spend between one and eight years maturing
into adults. When ready to spawn they regroup and return in shoals between May and
October to the river in which they were born. As with eel migration, how they find their
way back to their particular rivers is something of a mystery.
Whilst salmon have no problem negotiating the various natural rapids along the river,
the weirs present more of an obstacle. At both Carnroe (4179) and Movanagher (4200),
diagonal fish passes are therefore an integral part of the navigation weirs erected
across the river in the 1850s in connection with the Bann Navigation scheme. The
1930s’ flood barrages at the Cutts (4096), Portna (4229) and Toome (4339) also all
have fish pass in the middle of their gate emplacements (fig 5.1).
Once back in their headwaters, the fish lay and fertilize their eggs, so starting the life
cycle anew. Unlike eels, the salmon do not die but return to sea. However, most are in
such a poor state after their exertions that few make it back again.
Fig 5.1 Left – Fish passes at Carnroe Weir. The one at the right is original and the one to its left was
added in the 1930s. Right – Fish pass let into the upstream face of flood barrage at Portna.
75
Salmon netting and trapping
Salmon stop feeding before the spawning part of their cycle and will therefore have built
up body reserves prior to ascending the river. They will thus be at their heaviest on
arriving at the mouth of the river. Not surprisingly, therefore, the principal salmon fisheries along the Lower Bann were on its tidal stretch as far as the Cutts, where the
freshwater begins. Over 100 tons of salmon per year are reported as having been taken
along this stretch in the 1790s.
Cranagh Fishery
Although salmon were netted at the mouth of the Articlave River (4018) near the
Barmouth, the first major fishery to be encountered was at the Cranagh (4032), just
downstream from what is now the University of Ulster. Here the salmon congregated as
they awaited the tide to take them upstream.
Richard Pococke, in his 1752 Tour in Ireland noted: “I rid a mile below Colerain to see
the salmon fishery which is very great; they catch 'em with what I think is called a seinenet that goes across the river, and so they draw in the net. They have caught
sometimes, tho' very rarely 2500 in a day; sell 'em here for a penny a pound fresh, but
most of 'em are salted.”
The aforementioned seine net (also called draft nets) was loaded into flat-bottomed
rowing boat known as a coble and ‘shot’ across the river in advance of the fish moving
upstream with the tide (fig 5.2). Upwards of 200m long by 4-5m high, such a net had a
rope along its bottom which was weighed to keep it on the bed of the river. Its top was
buoyed so that it floated, so forming a continuous net barrier across the river. Once the
fish had arrived at the net, one end of it was taken in a downstream direction across to
the opposite bank. The net thus formed an envelope around the fish, from which there
was no escape. As the net was hauled in, this envelope became smaller and smaller, so
concentrating the fish and making them easy to land. This procedure was repeated a
number of times according to the availability of the salmon.
Fig 5.2 Loading a net on to a coble
(McDonald & Anderson, 1981, plate 37).
Cutts Fishery
The Cutts were the next main fishery (4096). This is the first natural rapid on the river
and takes its name from an artificial cut made through it in 1613 to facilitate the passage
of timber being floated downriver to Coleraine. Unlike the Cranagh, the water was very
shallow at this point, enabling the fish to be caught with relative ease. Baynes’ depiction
of the Cutts c.1830 shows assorted ‘loopers’ awaiting the fish; they were, so-called
because of their use of a net on the end of a long stick, similar to those used by anglers
to land their catch (fig 5.3).
76
Fig 5.3 'The Salmon Leap near
Coleraine, Co Londonderry' by
T.M. Baynes, c.1830.
The Cutts, which also doubled as an eel fishery (section 5.2) is one of a number of
salmon fisheries along the North Coast which are cited in an inquisition of 1630. A fish
trap was constructed at it in the 1680s and others were added in the mid-1700s. Whilst
randomly passing fish could be netted individually by a looper, the fish trap enabled
them to be captured en masse and removed at will.
The waterfall at the Cutts was substantially remodelled in the 1850s when a weir was
built across the river by the Commissioners of Public Works as part of their Bann Navigation scheme. Set into it were four traps (also known as cribs), arranged as a pair on
either side of a free gap through which the fish could swim unhindered (fig 5.4). A row of
vertical timber stakes was placed across the top of the trap, the gaps being wide
enough to let water through, but not the fish. Stakes were also arranged in a V configuration across the downstream end of the trap, with the apex pointing upstream. A gap
in the apex allowed the fish, whose instinct was to move against the current, to enter the
trap. As they could neither return whence they came, nor exit upstream, they were thus
trapped. The cribs were then emptied of salmon at regular intervals.
Screen
Free gap
Crib
Direction of flow
Direction of
salmon
movement
Fig 5.4 Top left – Plan
of Cutts salmon traps,
1858 (Commissioners
of Public Works).
Above – The traps
today, looking upstream.
Left – Schematic plan of
traps (Mitchel 1949,
fig.19).
77
Fishing was carefully regulated so as not to deplete stocks. At the Cutts, the traps could
only be set on weekdays between March and mid August although, in practice, the main
runs were over the three summer months from June to August. At all other times, no
screens were allowed in the traps in order to give the fish a free passage.
Of the Cranagh and Cutts fisheries, the former was by far the more important. In 1835,
for example, the OSM reported that over 23,000 salmon were landed at the two
stations, of which 80% were netted at the Cranagh. In all 73 tons were caught and sold
at between four pence to one shilling per pound. Even at the minimum price, they would
therefore have generated ‡2714, equivalent to well over ‡130,000 in today’s terms. A
figure of ‡‰m is probably a more accurate estimate of how lucrative these fisheries
were at that time.
Upstream from the Cutts, there were small salmon fisheries at Portglenone, Newferry
and Toome, all of which were discontinued around 1940.23
Salmon fishing rights
Because of their economic value, the rights to catch salmon have always been zealously guarded. Their worth was well appreciated by the Anglo-Normans who settled the
area in the late 12th century. The Bann fisheries are cited in a document of c.1260 and
by 1300 had been granted by the Normans to Coleraine Friary. In 1608, James I
granted the salmon and eel fisheries of the Lower Bann from Lough Neagh to the sea to
the Irish Society to induce various London guilds to settle the lands confiscated by the
King following the ‘flight of the Earls’ the previous year.
The Irish Society did not manage the salmon fishery directly but, rather, leased it out.
The consistently high runs of salmon which returned to the Bann year after year meant
that very high rentals could be charged, the lessee then recouping his costs and generating a profit through the sale of the salmon which he now had the exclusive right to
catch. In the 1620s, for example, the Bann salmon fishery was leased at ‡800 per
annum (over ‡100,000 in today’s money). A lucrative salmon export trade developed,
the fish being dispatched as far afield as Venice.
In the mid-1840s, the fisheries were described thus: “The salmon fisheries of the Bann
at Coleraine are important, and afford a very considerable export. Three and four
hundred salmon have been more than once taken at a haul; and it is said that, on one
occasion, the enormous number of 1500 were taken at a haul. It is certain that 750 fish
were taken on one day, in July, 1824, the weight of which reached two tons”.24
Since the 1980s, the salmon fishery has been managed on the Irish Society’s behalf by
Bann System Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary. In 2011, this organisation was wound up
and the fishery is now administered directly by the Society.
Ice houses
Because of their highly perishable nature, salmon were traditionally preserved in salt
before being dispatched to market. During the early 1800s, the use of ice to preserve
the fish in a fresh state came into general use around the North Coast.
Ice houses were built to store ice gathered from shallow ponds over the winter months.
With the advent of the railway and steam ships, the exporting of salmon packed in ice to
Britain became a viable proposition and greatly boosted the fisheries’ value.
23
24
Bassett, G.H. (1888), Book of Antrim, p.43.
Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland, 1844-45, p.477.
78
One ice house is recorded within the study area, at
the Crannagh salmon fishery (4035; fig 5.5).
Samuel Lewis, writing in 1837, noted: “An extensive and lucrative salmon fishery is carried on at
Crannagh, on the Bann, under lease from the Irish
Society; there is but one season during the year,
beginning in May and ending on the 12th of
August. The quantity taken is generally about 190
tons the whole of which is packed in ice and
conveyed by smacks and steam-boats to Liverpool
and other distant markets, where they are in high
estimation for their size and flavour”.25
The ice house was demolished in 2006 to make
way for a new building and no traces survive.
Fig 5.5 Ice house at the Cranagh, 1960s
(NIEA: McCutcheon Collection).
Salmon conservation
As a result of disease and over-fishing at sea, the annual runs of salmon along the Irish
coast has been in decline since the later 1900s. This has forced many fisheries to close,
including the world-famous one at Carrick-a-Rede, near Bushmills in the early 2000s.
Since 1996, salmon trapping has been abandoned at the Cutts. In addition, the
Government bought out the Irish Society’s right to net fish on the tidal section of the
Bann in 2001 under the European Union’s Salmonid Enhancement Programme. Salmon
fishing by rod does, however, continue upstream from the Cutts as will be discussed in
section 5.3.
5.2 Eel fisheries
Of the various species of eel, it is the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) which is of relevance to the Lower Bann. On par with salmon in their nutritional value, they are highly
prized as a delicacy, being exported to Britain and the continent where they are jellied
and smoked. Their trapping along the river has been documented since the 16th
century and has been a major source of revenue ever since.
To better understand the prevalence of eels on the Lower Bann and how they are
caught in the way they are, an understanding of their life cycle is advantageous.
The life cycle of eels
Eels are hatched in the Saragossa Sea, off the Gulf of Mexico. Their eggs float to the
surface and are carried by the Gulf Stream north-eastwards towards Europe. By the
time they reach the Irish coast over the next three years or so, they have developed into
glass eels upwards of 8cm long and so called because of their transparency. As eels
are catadromous, they spawn in the sea but actually live in fresh water. Nearing land,
they therefore sense the freshwater discharging from major rivers such as the Shannon,
Erne, Foyle and Lower Bann.
It is the last river which attracts them especially as it discharges from Lough Neagh. At
just under 400sq.km in extent, this is the largest freshwater lake in Britain and Ireland.
With its oxygenated waters and abundant supply of food such as the larvae of the
25
Lewis, S. (1837), Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, vol.1, p.386.
79
Chironomid midge (Lough Neagh fly), it is the perfect environment for the maturation of
the eels.
On entering fresh water, glass eels pigment and lose their transparency. The elvers, as
they are now known, migrate upriver during the spring and early summer on spring
tides. These higher-than-average tides occur roughly once a fortnight and facilitate the
upstream movement of millions of elvers at a time; during the 1937 season, for
example, 42 million elvers are estimated to have migrated upriver.
Whilst eels have no problem negotiating natural rapids as they make their way up-river,
navigation weirs and flood control sluices are more difficult owing to their steepness.
Their first obstacle is the waterfall at the Cutts (4096). Here, William Thompson, writing
in 1856 noted: “At an early period of the summer it is an interesting sight to mark the
thousands of young eels there ascending the stream. Hay-ropes are suspended over
the rocky parts to aid them in overcoming such obstructions. At these places, the river is
black with the multitudes of young eels, about three or four inches long, all acting under
that mysterious impulse that prompts them to push their course onwards to the lake”.26
The various weirs built by the Commissioners of
Public Works in the 1850s as part of the Lower
Bann Navigation scheme also created potential
obstructions. To avoid impeding the elvers’
progress, narrow sloping channels were constructed at one or both ends of the weirs, up
which the elvers slithered, again assisted by
straw ropes to improve their grip (fig 5.6).
Fig 5.6 Elver slip on right bank at Cutts Weir (4096).
Once the elvers finally reach Lough Neagh, they develop into juveniles known as brown
or yellow eels, and finally into silver eels - fully mature adults aged 15-20 years old and
upwards of a metre long. Their instinct is now to return to the Saragossa Sea to breed,
spawn and die, thus bringing their life cycle full circle.
The exodus from the lough of silver eels occurs en masse during the autumn and early
winter, the vast majority departing between August and November. Their exact time of
departure depends on the phase of the moon, flow of the river and weather. Moonless
nights with a southerly wind and the river in spate are ideal conditions.
Eels cannot feed on their return journey to the Saragossa Sea as their gut disappears
once they enter saltwater. They therefore need to have built up sufficient reserves to
sustain them on their way. They are thus at their plumpest when leaving the lough. This,
coupled with the fact that they move in such vast numbers at fairly predictable times
down the only channel out of Lough Neagh makes them ideal for catching on an
industrial scale.
Eel weirs
On Lough Neagh, eels are caught with baited long lines and seine nets. Along the river,
however, they are taken using traps at purpose-built weirs. Thirteen such structures are
recorded, all concentrated at the four main rapids along the river (fig.5.7).
26
Thompson, W. (1856), Natural History of Ireland, vol.4, p.222.
80
Cutts
Movanagher
Portna
Toome
Fig 5.7 Location of
recorded eel weirs
on Lower Bann.
A traditional eel weir comprises a series of contiguous timber V structures across the
river, the points of which face downstream. The sides of these structures are of wattle
fencing (usually hazel) secured to stakes driven into the bed of the river. Known as
skeaghs, they direct the migrating eels into a hole, or eye, at the apex of each vee; the
fences are easily replaced if damaged by flotsam.
A net is set behind the eye to catch the eels as they pass through the eye of the trap.
Known as a coghill net, this long cylindrical net tapers to a closed end from which the
eels cannot escape. During the course of a night’s fishing, the net is regularly emptied
into an adjacent tank through which the water flows and where the eels can be held for
upwards of several weeks (depending on demand) prior to processing. During the day,
the nets were lifted out to dry and any necessary repairs effected.
Since the 1830s, eel fisheries are recorded as having operated at 13 points along the
Lower Bann at one time or another with concentrations at Toome, Portna and Movanagher, (fig 5.8). With the exception of the trap at the Cutts, all were purpose-built eel
weirs. The one where the river enters Lough Beg (4297) seems to have been a temporary structure, thrown up for the season and then taken apart; there may well have
been more of these transitory structures, yet to be recorded.
81
Fig 5.8 Aerial view of
Movanagher eel weir
(4197) in 1965, looking
downstream.
Most eel weirs were erected on shallow rocky shoals where the current was fastest and
the fish could more easily be funnelled into the traps. In most cases there was just a
single weir across the river, their number of eyes generally ranging from two to eight. In
the vicinity of Portna, there were three instances where the fishery had an upper and
lower weir within a stone’s throw of each other (4226, 4227 and 4231).
Since the passing of the Fisheries (Ireland) Act of 1842, the law has required the maintenance of a free gap at an eel weir. Also known as the Crown Gap, King’s or Queen’s
Gap (depending on the monarch), this amounted to at least one-tenth of the river’s
width. It gave eels (and other fish as well) the chance to pass unimpeded, thereby
increasing their likelihood of reaching their spawning grounds.
Navigation and drainage issues
Prior to the stipulation of a free gap, eel weirs were an obvious obstacle to navigation.
Moreover, because their skeaghs were densely woven to prevent the eels passing
through, the weirs also impeded the current and caused backwatering. This was
particularly problematic at Toome where even a small rise in the river’s level could
cause extensive flooding around the margin of the lough because of its flat topography.
Given that the aim of the 1850s Bann Scheme was to improve navigation and drainage,
the eel weirs presented a special challenge. Of the 10 fisheries known to have existed
prior to the mid-1850s, five were bypassed by canals during the scheme; of these, only
one was demolished (table 5.1). Of the five on the navigable stretches of river, four
were removed. The surviving one at Toome (4311) had a sufficient depth of water in its
free gap to allow navigation. The fact that most of the bypassed weirs were not
demolished and vice versa therefore suggests that the weirs’ hindrance of the navigation was of greater concern of the Commissioners of Public Works than their adverse
effect on drainage.
Demolished
Not demolished
By-passed by canal
1 (4227)
4 (4906, 4195, 4197, 4226)
5
Not bypassed
4 (4231, 4297, 4306, 4316)
1 (4311)
5
Total
5
5
10
Table 5.1 Weirs marked on the 1830s and ‘50s OS maps which survived or were demolished
as a result of the Bann navigation/drainage scheme.
82
In the 1930s, two of the weirs at Toome (4311 and 4326) were replaced with a new one
(4313). A new eel weir was also built at Portna (4228). Both these weirs were financed
by the Government.
The new weir at Toome was a radical departure from the traditional design in several
respects (fig 5.9). There was a mesh butterfly gate at the eye of each trap which could
be closed to redirect eels into an adjoining trap. Their free movement along the face of
the weir was facilitated by the fact that there were no skeaghs between the eyes. Moreover, because skeaghs were absence, the eyes could be placed much closer together
than before, resulting in more traps for a given width of weir. The increased number of
eyes also gave a more even distribution of eels in the nets than previously, making
them easier to empty during heavy runs.
Collecting
tank
Net
Net
Collecting
tank
Foot
bridge
Footbridge
Eye
Butterfly gates
(closed)
Skeaghs
Direction of flow and eel movement
Butterfly
gates (open)
Wing
skeagh
Direction of flow and eel movement
Fig 5.9 Schematic diagram of a traditional 3-eye weir (left), and 10-eye modern weir (right). Not to scale.
The Portna eel weir (4228) was even more
innovatory, comprising a single vee weir
with its apex pointing up rather than downstream(fig 5.10). There was a gap in the
apex for salmon and when this was
blocked off, the eels were forced down the
sides of the weir where they passed into
narrow channels and were trapped in
tanks. No nets or skeaghs were involved
as the eels were collected automatically.
Footbridge over
Collecting
tanks
Whilst this ‘self-fishing’ concept was fine in
theory, in practice it failed as the weir was
positioned too close to the flood gates just
upstream. The currents thus generated by
the weir were apparently not conducive to
the eels being caught in this way.
Direction of flow and
eel movement
Butterfly
gate (closed)
Butterfly
gate (open)
A similar weir was proposed just below the
Cutts Weir but was never constructed.
Fig 5.10 Schematic plan of Portna self-fishing weir
(after Evans, 1949). Not to scale.
Fish pass
screen
By the mid-1970s, only four eel fisheries remained in operation: the netting station at the
Cutts (4096), and the weirs at Movanagher (4197), Portna (4226), and Toome (4313).
83
Eel processing and distribution
The principal market for Bann eels has always been Billingsgate Market in London,
where they are bought by dealers for processing into jellied eels. There is also an
insatiable demand from the continent, particularly Holland and Germany, where smoked
eels are regarded as a delicacy.
Eels, like all fish, have a very limited shelf live and it is paramount to get them to market
without delay, ideally within 24 hours of being caught. Their processing is a straightforward enough task, entailing grading, returning undersized ones, packing in ice and
dispatching them live to market so that they arrive in the freshest possible state.
When the Antrim - Cookstown railway was in operation from 1856 to 1950, the boxed
eels were dispatched from Toome Station to the cross-channel ports for shipment to
England. In more recent years, they were also freighted by air to Amsterdam for distribution to specialist smokeries. Today, they are sent by air to London, whence a proportion is transported by lorry to the continent.
Eel fishing rights
The right to catch eels on Lough Neagh and the Bann down to the Cutts were granted
by Charles II to Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegal in 1661, and eventually passed
to the Shaftesbury Estate. However, the right to catch eels on the lough was claimed
repeatedly by local fishermen. It was a recurring bone of contention, particularly from
the mid-1800s when the value of eels increased due to an increase in exports as a
result of the inception of the railways and steamboats.
The local fishermen claimed the right to exploit the lough and questioned whether
Charles II actually owned it before granting its fishing to the Earl. Understandably, the
Shaftesburys were anxious to discourage the catching of brown eels in the lough as it
diminished the stock of migrating silver eels. The matter ended up in the High Court
several times, but the estate’s rights to the river and lough were repeatedly upheld.
In 1925, the Shaftesbury Estate leased their eel rights to Toome Eel Fishery Ltd. In
1959, this company sold its lease to Toome Eel Fishery NI Ltd, a consortium of British
and Dutch eel merchants. In 1965, a group of local fishermen formed themselves into
the Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-Operative Society Ltd and bought a one-fifth share in
this company. The Co-Op eventually raised enough capital to buy it out completely in
1971. It now has the rights to all eel fishing in Lough Neagh and the non-tidal section of
the Lower Bann, making it the largest commercial eel fishery in Western Europe.
The Co-Op also acquired the fishing rights to Lough Neagh, the principal catches in
which are pollan and dollaghan (Lough Neagh trout).
Eel recruitment
The ‘recruitment’ of elvers, as their annual influx up the Bann is known, varies markedly
from year to year; e.g. it was 19.3 million in 1977, but only 0.7 million six years later.
During the 1930s, when the second Bann drainage scheme caused disruption at the
weirs and along the bed of the river, the migrating elvers were trapped in tanks at the
top of the elver passes on the Cutts Weir. They were then transported upriver by road
tanker and released at Portna, Portglenone, New Ferry and Toome. So successful was
this ‘trap and transport’ method that, except for a hiatus from 1946 to 1959, it has been
practised ever since. The traditional straw ropes are still laid down at the Cutts to assist
the elvers, all of which are now released directly into Lough Neagh.
84
Eel decline
Since the late 1970s, there has been an inexorable fall in natural recruitment (fig 5.11).
From 1984 onwards, this drop-off has been mitigated to some extent through the
importation of elvers from the River Severn to augment the lough’s native stock.
20
15
10
5
0
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
Fig 5.11
Natural eel
recruitment,
1965-2008
(millions of
elvers). Fiveyear moving
average in
red (DCAL
2010).
This decline in the number of returning eels has now spread to all eel fisheries throughout Europe, but the reasons behind it are still not fully understood. Nevertheless, the
effect has been to force up the price of elvers, making their importation to Lough Neagh
much less attractive than before, despite the rising price of silver eels due to increasing
world-wide demand, particularly from Asia.
Despite the supplementation of the elvers’ natural recruitment, the number of silver eels
caught along the river has also undergone a long-term decline since the early 1980s (fig
5.12). Whereas in the 1960s, their catch was typically in excess of 200 tons, by the
early 2000s it was usually well below 100 tons. This fall-off is also reflected in the
declining numbers of brown eel caught on the lough. Interestingly, the proportion of
silver eels caught each year relative to the total number of eels has also fallen.
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
85
1995
2000
2005
Fig 5.12
Silver eels
caught in
Bann, 19652008 (in
tonnes).
Five-year
moving
average in
red (DCAL
2010).
Eel conservation
In an effort to conserve stocks, the Fishermen’s Co-Op has introduced a number of
measures over and above those required by legislation such as the Eel Fishing
Regulations (N.I.) 1979. It limits the intensity and duration of fishing for brown eels on
the lough, restricts the daily catch per boat, and obliges under-sized eels to be returned.
These measures are policed by the Co-Op and Fisheries Conservancy Board.
On the river, the law allows the catching of silver eels only for nine months from the start
of June to the end of the following February. In practice, however, the fishery is only
operational for a four-month period between September and Christmas.
Additional conservation measures also include the closure of the Movanagher eel weir
(4197) in 1995 to allow a higher level of eel escapement. At the Cutts, the Co-Op has,
since 2006, taken a lease of the Irish Society’s eel fishing right here. However, it has
deliberately not exercised this right, again to maximise the escapement of eels to the
sea. Now, only the Portna (4226) and Toome (4313) fisheries are operational (fig 5.13).
Fig 5.13 Top: Downstream eel weir at Portna. This structure is of traditional design, but its timber skeaghs
have been replaced with perforated metal ones. Bottom: Toome Eel Weir is of modern design, with
butterfly gates on the eyes of the traps but no skeaghs apart from those at either end.
86
5.3 Angling today
With the abandonment of commercial salmon netting on the tidal section of the Lower
Bann and trapping at the Cutts, the focus of fishing on the river has shifted to rod
angling for game and coarse fish.
Fishing beats
The Irish Society holds the rights to all fishing on both the freshwater and tidal sections
of the Lower Bann; the Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-Op has the rights to scale fish on
the lough itself. Until recently, the Society’s rights were administered by Bann Systems
Ltd, but they are now managed directly.
Sea trout are caught in the tidal section and the Society also maintains fishing beats at
the Cutts, Carnroe, Movanagher and Portna (fig 5.14). These spots are especially good
for salmon as they tend to congregate on their way upstream due to the oxygenating
effects of the nearby weirs. The Society also lets a beat at Portna to the Kilrea & District
Angling Association.
In an effort to conserve stocks, onerous restrictions are placed on fishing at these beats.
At Carnroe, for example, only eight rods are allowed per day and each rod has a daily
bag limit of two fish.
Numerous fishing stands (also known as pegs) have also been constructed at a various
places along the bank for coarse fishing, notably bream, perch, pike and roach.
Fig 5.14 Game fishing at Carnroe (4174).
Left – The fall of water at the weir oxygenates
the water.
Top – Landing facilities developed by Bann
System Ltd on the right bank at Carnroe, just
below the lock.
Fish hatcheries
An experimental fish hatchery was established at Movanagher in 1893 (4194). Here the
eggs were stripped from the mature females and placed in trays through which water
from the river was constantly passed, in the hope that they would eventually hatch. It is
uncertain how successful this hatchery was and no traces of it survive.
87
A salmon hatchery was started by the Irish Society at Portna in 1898 (4218). Given that
it is reported to have cost ‡1000 to set up, it was obviously a much bigger enterprise
than the one at Movanagher. It was still in operation some 50 years later as, in 1948,
some 300,000 eggs are reported as being hatched in 13 crockery trays. Kilrea & District
Angling Club now operate a trout and salmon hatchery at this location (fig 5.15).
Fig 5.15 Kilrea Angling
Club’s hatchery at Portna.
A fisheries research laboratory was also operated by the Department of Agriculture just
downstream from the Cutts Lock (4089) from 1969 to 1992.
Fish farms
There are two fish farms on the Lower Bann, at Movanagher and Loughinsholin. The
one at Movanagher (4194) is on the island between the canal and river and was started
in 1967 by the Fisheries Division of the Department of Agriculture. It specialises in the
hatching and rearing of brown and rainbow trout up to a catchable size for stocking the
Department's angling waters through-out Northern Ireland (fig 5.16).
Fig 5.16 Outdoor fish tanks
at Movanagher Fish Farm.
Loughinsholin Fish Farm (4215), immediately downstream from Portna Lock, is a
commercial enterprise started in the mid-1980s. Trout fry are imported from a hatchery
in Crumlin and raised here for a further six to seven months before being dispatched to
supermarkets.
88
6. EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES
The bedrock of the Lower Bann Valley was exploited for building stone, and its drift
deposits for clay, diatomite and peat and sand (fig 6.1).
Stone
Clay
Diatomite
Peat
Sand
Fig 6.1 Industrial
extraction sites
along Lower Bann.
6.1 Stone
The underlying geology of the Lower Bann Valley is basalt, laid down in the Paleocene
Epoch some 60 million years ago. There are numerous small basalt quarries, of which
two are of particular note as they were used during the construction works relating to
the Lower Bann Navigation in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Carnanee Quarry (4025), on the right bank near the Barmouth, supplied the stone used
to construct the moles during the Barmouth Schemes in the 1880s and 1930s (section
4.1). The quarried rock was transported along a narrow-gauge contractor's railway
(4010) and also shipped from an adjoining jetty (4026).
89
Tamlaght Quarry (4190), east of Moneydig, supplied the stone for the locks and weirs at
Carnroe, Movanagher and Portna which were built by the Commissioners of Public
Works during the 1850s Lower Bann Navigation scheme (chapter 3). The quarried
stone was shipped along the river from a nearby quay on the left bank.
6.2 Clay
Clay was used to make bricks, pottery, tiles and pipes, and 23 sites where clay was dug
and/or fired are recorded along the Lower Bann. It was for bricks that the clay was
primarily exploited. One pottery is, however, recorded – on the 1832 OS map at Glasgort, near the former airfield at Aghadowey (4150). Tile production is noted in the
vicinity of Agivey in the 1845-46 Parliamentary Gazetteer, but no actual tile works have
been identified within the study area, nor any pipe manufactory.
The production of bricks was widespread between Agivey and Toome in the 19th and
earlier 20th centuries. An early reference is given by W.S. Mason in his 1814 account of
Finvoy Parish: “bricks … are here made in great plenty, of clay only found along the
banks of the Bann”.27
The clay in question was diatomite, formed when the skeletons of millions of microscopic algae (diatoms) were deposited in shallow lakes in the post-glacial period
c.10,000 years ago. These deposits stretch intermittently from Toome north through
Portglenone to Ballynacree (north of Agivey Road Bridge), where they peter out.
Also known as Kieselguhr or diatomaceous earth, and locally as Bann Clay, this type of
clay comprises mostly silica with a small admixture of alumina. It is instantly recognisable as a crumbly white clayey layer some
15-60cm thick between the topsoil and
underlying alluvial sands and gravels in the
fields along the river (fig 6.2).
Fig 6.2 Exposed diatomite layer (arrowed) on left
bank just at Newferry West.
Twentieth-century accounts of brick making indicate that the diatomite was mixed with
ordinary clay before being hand-moulded into individual bricks. These were then spread
out across the field to air dry. Upwards of several thousand bricks could be produced
per day by a team working a particular area (fig 6.3). Once dried, the bricks would have
been made up into a massive clamp which was then sealed and fired to convert them to
proper bricks. The work was probably confined to the summer months when farm work
was slack and the fields less prone to inundation.
27
Mason, W.S (1814), A Statistical Account of Ireland, vol.1, p.394.
90
Fig 6.3 Cutting and moulding diatomite into bricks near Portglenone (NMNI: Welch Collection).
Brickfields
Nineteen brickfields are shown on the OS maps, 15 of them on the 1832-33 edition.
However, their number and distribution should be regarded only as a snapshot at a
particular point in time. As pits became exhausted and new ones were opened, so the
distribution and size of the brick fields would have fluctuated constantly. The 1857 and
1905 OS maps each show only two brickfields, this is probably a vast underrepresentation and a quirk of mapping (a brickfield not being a permanent structure)
rather than the situation on the ground.
That brick making by hand was still being carried on in the late 1800s and early 1900s,
despite the inception of mechanised brick factories elsewhere, is confirmed by the fact
that brickfields were regularly visited by amateur archaeologists to search for prehistoric
flint artifacts in the sediments underlying the diatomite.
Many of the brickfields mapped by the Ordnance surveyors are mentioned in passing in
the Ordnance Survey Memoirs. The 1834 memoir for Ahoghill Parish, for example,
notes “The banks of the river are low and afford abundance of clay for the manufacture
of bricks of which a number are made. They are sold at from 6s 6d to 10s per 1000,
according to quality”. The cash income from the selling of bricks would have been a
very welcome boost to a family’s income, particularly as the raw ingredient was free.
Clay extraction would obviously have left the land useless for agriculture and prone to
flooding. It was doubtless for this reason that the Clothworkers Company attempted to
prohibit brick making on their lands to the east of Aghadowey airfield. Whether they
succeeded is less certain, as a number of brickfields are nevertheless depicted on the
1832 map.
The majority of bricks were doubtless fired on the spot in a clamp built for the occasion.
Because of the nature of the material and relatively low firing temperature (peat rather
than coal being used), the resultant brick did not weather very well on outside walls
exposed to the elements and were more suited to internal party walls etc.
91
Three brick kilns are explicitly captioned on the OS maps – one in 1832 at Tamlaght
(4186), and two on the 1905 edition – at Drumeil (4160) and Ballynease-Macpeake
(4273). Without further research, however, it is unclear whether these represent a more
industrial scale of brick production using a permanent kiln or simply reflect the presence
of three temporary clamps at the time of survey. Whatever the case, there is no
evidence of any industrial production on the scale found along the River Lagan and
Belfast Hills in the later 1800s and early 1900s.
Today, apart from water-filled clay pits at Glasgort (4146; fig 6.4) and Drumneil (4162),
there is no trace of the brick industry, the fields having been reclaimed for grazing.
Fig 6.4 Water-filled clay pits at Glasgort, near Aghadowey.
6.3 Diatomite
By the early 1900s, it was realised that diatomite, hitherto used for bricks, was of far
greater economic value if it was purified as it could then be used in a wide variety of
industrial products such as abrasives, filters, fillers, dynamite and insulation. Once
industrial abstraction started, production rose continuously through the first half of the
20th century, rising to a peak during the Second World War (fig 6.5).
160,000
140,000
120,000
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
19101910 ’20 1920 ’30 1930 ’40 1940 ’50 1950 ’60 1960 ’70 1970 ‘80 1980
Fig 6.5 Tons of diatomite produced along Lower Bann, 1910-82 (Smith 1985).
92
Vegetable or mineral?
The economic status of diatomite was brought into question in the 1930s as a result of
compensation claims by landowners on whose properties dredged spoil was being
dumped in during the Lower Bann drainage scheme.
Under the 1903 Land Act, the Land Commission retained the mineral rights to any lands
sold off to their former tenants. However, diatomite was classed with gravel, sand and
clay and deemed not to be a mineral. Where it occurred, it was thus the property of
anyone who purchased the tenancy of their land from the Commission.
In 1928, the Commission reclassified diatomite as a mineral. Under the terms of the
1903 Act, it was therefore the property of whoever owned the land at the time of the
1928 determination. Consequently, any tenant who had purchased his holding from the
government prior to 1928 could claim that he was the owner of what was now regarded
as a mineral. He was therefore entitled not only to compensation for any loss in value of
agricultural land due to spoil dumping, but an extra payment for the loss of diatomite as
it would now be impractical to abstract.
However, anyone who bought his land after the 1928 determination could not claim this
extra bit of compensation as the rights to the diatomite were retained by the Land
Commission (i.e. the government) at, and after, the date of transfer.
Diatomite factories
Three diatomite factories in which the clay was refined by milling, grading and drying
are recorded within the study area – one at Newferry West and two at Toome.
The earliest of these factories was the one established around 1898 by Messrs Grant
on the right bank of the Bann just below the road bridge at Toome (4314). It was
associated with diatomite fields in neighbouring Brecart townland. Some of the
processes undertaken at this site are documented in a series of photographs taken by
W.A. Green in the 1930s (fig 6.6).
The factory was taken over by the United Kingdom Peat Moss & Litter Co, and then by
Messrs William Kenyon. It stopped work sometime in the 1950s, when production was
transferred to a new factory on the opposite side of the Bann. The old site was
eventually demolished and no traces now survive.
Fig 6.6 Grants’ Factory, Toome.
Top left: Digging diatomite; Top
middle: Diatomite stacked to dry;
Top right: Processing factory at
Toome; Far left: Awaiting
grinding; Left: Grinding dried
diatomite (NMNI: Green
Collection).
93
The second factory to be established was the one at Newferry West, set up by the
Diatomite Company in 1908 (4276). It, too, had extensive diatomite workings in its
neighbourhood, a narrow-gauge railway, and a quay from which the purified clay was
dispatched to Toome Station.
Although the factory closed in the 1970s, the main mill building, settling tanks (in which
the clay was mixed with water to separate out impurities) and quay all survive in a
remarkably intact state of preservation (fig 6.7). Of particular note are the mills in which
the clay was pulverized - possibly the only such examples to survive in the province, if
not the whole of Ireland.
Fig 6.7 Newferry
Diatomite Works.
Top left – Processing
mill.
Above – Settling
tanks.
Far left – Remains of
quay.
Left – Grinding mill.
Kenyon’s new factory at Toome lay in Creagh townland (4308; fig 6.8), adjacent to the
main Belfast-Derry road, where there were also extensive diatomite deposits. Here
production continued until increasing foreign competition from foreign imports forced its
closure in the 1990s. Some of the original buildings have since been incorporated into a
small industrial estate.
Fig 6.8 Former diatomite factory building at
Creagh, now converted to commercial use.
94
6.4 Peat
The extensive floodplain of the Lower Bann is an ideal environment for the growth of
blanket bog, much of which has long been dug as a fuel by the locals. Its exploitation on
an industrial scale appears to have commenced in the first quarter of the 20th century,
and three such sites are recorded. It would have been especially valuable during the
First World War, not only as a fuel as coal was then scarce, but also for sterile wound
dressings.
Two peat works are explicitly captioned on the 1926 OS maps on the left bank of the
Bann in the vicinity of Portglenone, at Tyanee and Ballynease. In both cases, diatomite
was probably extracted before the peat working started.
The Tyanee works (4242), 2.5km north of Portglenone, was supplied with peat from the
adjacent bog by means of a narrow-gauge railway some 300m long. There was also a
landing stage on the river, from which it was dispatched. The works at Ballynease
(4267), 1km south of the village, produced granulated peat; it also had a landing stage,
but an even longer railway at c.600m (fig 6.9).
Fig 6.9 Granulated peat
factory, Ballynease, 1930s
(NMNI: Green Collection).
The only industrial-scale peat works still in operation is at Ballynease-Macpeake and
Ballynease-More townlands, to the north-west of Newferry (4274). Diatomite was
extracted from the ‘Ferry Rough’, as this area was known, in the 1920s by the Diatomite
Company Ltd. By the Second World War, the emphasis had switched to peat extraction.
Here it was hand dug by the United Kingdom Peat Moss Litter Co, dried, then transported along a narrow-gauge railway to a roadside milling plant where it was powdered
and bagged for horticultural use. Production continues to this day under Bulrush Horticultural Ltd (fig 6.10).
Fig 6.10 Panorama of Bulrush peat bog at Ballynease, from north.
95
6.5 Sand
Aside from recreational cruising, the biggest commercial operation on any of Ireland’s
inland lakes and rivers is the extraction of sand from Lough Neagh. Its bed contains
vast deposits laid down during and after the last ice age. Unlike salt-laden beach sand,
these deposits do not have to be washed prior to use in building mortar and concrete.
George Bassett, writing in 1888, noted the increasing amount of sand being taken from
the lough in the vicinity of Toome, much of which was dispatched to Belfast for the
construction industry.
In the 1950s and ‘60s, the sand industry expanded rapidly due to the post-war building
boom and increasing use of concrete. At the Creagh, for example, a concrete block
production plant (4300) was set up and utilized sand quarried from the nearby southeastern end of Lough Beg.
The main focus of activity was, however, on Lough Neagh. At Toome, the principal firm
of sand merchants was Messrs H & W Scott. In the 1950s and ‘60s, they bought a
number of redundant barges from Messrs Guinness in Dublin for transporting sand
dredged from the bed of the lough
to Toome Quay via the canal and
lock (4320; fig 6.11).
Barges formerly used by Kellys
the coal merchants on the River
Lagan, Belfast, were also used for
moving sand about.
Fig 6.11 A grab-bucket crane is used to
discharge sand on to waiting lorries at
Toome Quay (Savage, 2004).
Scott’s subsequently opened several quays around the lough shore and, in 1971,
acquired Hutchinson’s Quay (4340), at the west end of Toome Weir on the lough side.
The firm was taken over by the construction firm Farrans, and they in turn by Northstone
(NI) Ltd who continue to operate from this and other sites around the lough (fig 6.12).
Today’s fleet of sand barges
comprises mostly second-hand
Dutch barges, the size of which
prevents them being used on the
canal.
Fig 6.12 Northstone’s sand discharging
facilities at Hutchinson’s Quay.
96
Whereas the sand was previously dredged, it is now sucked up as a slurry, the excess
water and silt spilling overboard as the sand settles in the hold of the barge. The load is
then taken to the quayside, re-mixed with water and sucked out. It is then graded
(‘classified’) into sharp and fine sand for general building and plastering work
respectively, before onward shipment by road.
Two barges formerly used on the lough have recently been refurbished for use as interpretation centres. An ex-Kelly’s coal barge JK16 Sandmartin is used as a floating
visitors’ centre at Rams Island. At Oxford Island, at the southern end of Lough Neagh,
Craigavon District Council have recently put on display the Enterprize, a canal barge
built by the Portadown Foundry in the early 1900s for use on the Lagan Canal. It was
subsequently converted to sand work, and has now been refurbished by the Council as
a museum.
97
98
7. MANUFACTURING AND POWER GENERATION
Prior to the widespread adoption of steam engines in the 19th century, water was the
principal source of motive power for manufacturing industries, being used for grain
milling, textile production, distilling, brewing, and saw milling. Paradoxically, although
the Bann has a plentiful supply of water, it was difficult to harness directly because of
the river’s generally flat gradient and proneness to flooding, and most watermills were
located on its tributaries rather than on it. Steam power was used in later years and has
since been superseded by electricity, resulting in a range of manufacturing sites, most
of which are, unsurprisingly, in and around Coleraine (fig 7.1).
Grain
Textiles
Drink
Saw
Modern
Fig 7.1
Manufacturing sites
along Lower Bann.
7.1 Grain milling
Two water-powered grain mills are recorded from the early 1600s. Raven’s 1622 map of
Movanagher shows one on a small stream flowing into the Bann just south of the
settlement established by the Mercers Company in 1615 (4196). The other mill was in
what is now Railway Street, Coleraine; it was powered off the Brook which discharges
into the Bann at the Quays (4052).
99
Flour milling
Undoubtedly the largest grain mill in the entire study area was the one at Castleroe, on
the west bank at the Cutts (fig 7.2). Standing five storeys high, it was erected c.1808 at
a cost of ‡9000 by a consortium, which included the Fishmongers Company, for the
production of flour from wheat. It contained eight sets of millstones driven by two waterwheels. Its size was due to the need for storage space for the wheat imported in bulk at
harvest time, and for the flour prior to its dispatch, again in bulk. Operations were
abruptly halted around 1820 when the mill was gutted by fire. Its shell was demolished
in 1847 by the Commissioners of Public Works to make way for a quay to serve the
adjoining lock.
Fig 7.2 View of the Cutts by
J.H. Campbell, 1815. The
river is overlooked by the
large flour mill and smaller
kiln to its left (4095).
6.1.1 Stone quarries
7.2 Distilleries
That this particular mill was located at the Cutts was not fortuitous, for it was one of the
few points on the Lower Bann where there was an appreciable fall of water over a very
short stretch of river. The mill could thus harness the requisite head and flow of water
necessary to drive the stones and ancillary equipment without the expense of having to
excavate a particularly long and wide headrace to take the water off the river to the
waterwheels.
Oatmeal milling
Near to Castleroe flour mill was a more traditional corn mill, so called because it ground
oats into oatmeal (fig 7.3).28 A mill is recorded hereabouts in the 1670s, but whether the
present two-storey building is it or a later rebuild is uncertain. The construction of the
weir and lock at the Cutts c.1850 necessitated
the realignment of the head- and tail races from
and back to the river. This mill has since been
converted into a house and raised a floor.
Although altered, it is now the only grain mill
within the study area which has significant
above-ground remains.
Fig 7.3 Castleroe corn mill (4097). Its raising to
three floors is clearly evident in the wall finish.
There were also 19th century corn mills at Drumslade (4027) and at the Vow (4182),
little or nothing of which now survives.
28
‘Corn’ is the name given to the predominant cereal grown in a region, in this case oats.
100
Such water-powered mills were gradually superseded in the second half of the 1800s by
steam-powered ones. Steam engines had the advantage over waterwheels in that they
could be located anywhere and could be run on demand rather than having to rely on
the availability of water. These advantages are evident at the Bann Steam Mills, Coleraine, where a flour mill was established near the centre of the town in the 1840s
(4073). Like the one at Castleroe, it was gutted by fire in the mid-1870s. However, it
was rebuilt and seemingly continued to function until later on in that century.
7.2 Flax and linen
Turning to textiles, the processing of flax and its manufacture into white linen has been
a pre-eminent industry in Ulster from the 1700s to mid-1900s, and particularly so since
the inception of mechanised spinning and weaving in the mid-1800s. The transformation of the raw flax into linen entails five main processes: (1) scutching to remove the
flax fibre from the rest of the plant, (2) spinning, to transform the fibre into yarn, (3)
weaving the yarn into brown linen, and (4) finishing – turning brown into white linen by
bleaching and beetling. All but the last of these processes are noted in the study area.
Flax scutching
Flax scutching mills were the most prevalent type of textile mill in Ulster, particularly
from the 1860s onwards when there was a quantum leap in flax growing as a result a
demand for linen brought about by the American Civil War.29 The First and Second
World Wars also stimulated a demand for linen.
Three flax scutching mills are recorded along the same watercourse at Loughan. The
two in Mill Loughan still retain their waterwheels and some machinery (fig 7.4), but the
third, further downstream in adjacent Fish Loughan, has disappeared. All three mills
appear to have been operational during the Second World War.
Fig 7.4. Mill Loughan flax mills.
Far left: Waterwheel at the upper
mill, made by D.M. Moore,
Coleraine (4112). Left: Scutching
berths at the lower mill (4113).
There were also flax mills at the Vow (4180, 4181) and Moneygran (4232), but no traces
of any of them survive.
29
The war caused a shortage of cotton imports from the southern states of America, and a consequential
increase in demand for linen and home-grown flax.
101
Spinning
Until the mid-1800s, the scutched flax was spun into yarn by hand. The inception of wet
spinning using steam power in the 1830s revolutionised the industry and forced hand
spinners out of business; whilst they could match the machine-made yarn in terms of
quality, they were unable to do so in terms of price and quantity.
One such spinning mill was at the Bann Steam
Mills complex (4073), established in the 1840s
along with the steam-powered flour mill noted in
section 7.1.
Another such mill which still survives, but which
is outside the scope of this survey, is
Balnamore, near Ballymoney, which was erected
around 1850 (fig 7.5).
Fig 7.5 Balnamore flax spinning
mill.
Weaving
The adoption of power-loom weaving from the 1850s onwards also put paid to weaving
on hand looms. One such weaving factory was built on the Strand Road, Coleraine by
Edward Gribbon in 1857-58 to replace his
hand-loom factory (fig 7.6). Production
ceased in 1925 and the factory has since
been demolished for redevelopment.
Fig 7.6 Gribbon's Mill c.1908 (Coleraine Museum/
J. Gribbon).
Just above the quay at Portglenone, a shirt making-up factory also operated for a time
in the mid-1900s (4258).
7.3 Distilling and brewing
A water-powered distillery and brewery were established at Drumaheglis around 1830
by the local landowner, James Moore (4137). However, operations had ceased by the
1850s and the site was subsequently converted into a woollen factory. Drumaheagles
Orange Lodge took over the premises in 1894 and the present complex, still in the
hands of the Orange Order, incorporates remnants of the original industrial site.
7.4 Saw milling
The earliest saw mill in the study area is that established by Messrs Bellas, builders’
merchants, at Beresford Place, Coleraine in the 1870s (4074). Most of their timber was
apparently imported through the harbour. This mill is cited on all the OS maps up to and
including 1949, but the premises have since been redeveloped as a Tesco car park.
102
The 1904 OS map records a much smaller saw mill at Fish Loughan in what had been a
flax mill (4114). An adjoining brick chimney, which still survives, implies that it was
steam-powered. However, the mill seems to have reverted to scutching by the 1920s.
A saw mill is also recorded at Glenone, near Portglenone, on the 1926 OS map (4265).
It seems to have been driven by an engine (possibly a hot-bulb TVO engine), but little
else of its history is known.
In recent decades, the extensive tree plantings on the Bann dumps created by dredging
operations in the 1930s have matured and are now being harvested by Forest Service.
7.5 Modern industry
Several mid-20th century industrial sites have also been noted at Coleraine which reflect
the town’s industrial growth in the aftermath of the Second World War.
The first is the Chemstrand Factory (4082), established in 1958 for the production of
Acrilan, a synthetic fibre used in clothes and carpets. Acrylonitrile, its principal raw
ingredient, was imported in liquefied form to the Oil Jetty opposite the harbour (4050)
and piped to the factory (fig 7.7). The factory became part of the Monsanto Group in
1963, and then part of the Montefibre Group in 1983. Production ceased 1986 and the
site was demolished in the 1990s. It has since been developed as Riverside Retail Park.
The second site of note is the Spanboard Factory which was built by the Ministry of
Commerce on the site of Castleroe House (4099). When completed in 1960, it was
leased to the Ulster Chipboard Company Ltd to provide an outlet for the Province’s
timber growers. It acquired the name Spanboard in 1973 when taken over by Aaronson
Brothers. In 1989, it became part of the Sonae Group and continues to manufacture
various types of wood-based panels.
Tangentially associated with a third factory, also of the post-war era, is the now-disused
waste pipe (4043) which projects into the river downstream of the railway bridge at
Coleraine from the former Benger's factory, established c.1948 for the production of
butter, casein and milk powder.
Fig 7.8 Chemstrand
Factory (far left), and
Oil Jetty, 1958 (left).
7.6 Hydro-power
Since the mid-1800s, a number of schemes have been proposed to harness the river’s
energy for mechanical power and for the generation of electrical power.
McMahon’s mill proposals
All the watermills cited above, except for the two at the Cutts, were powered off tributaries of the Bann rather than the river itself. Notwithstanding the paucity of mills along
103
it, John McMahon recognised the Bann’s potential to power watermills when drawing up
his proposals for the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland in the 1850s.
He recognised that the impounding of the water above the weir at each lock along the
Commissioners’ new navigation would not only give a sufficient depth of water for boats,
but would also create a vast reservoir of water which could then be fed into a mill
erected in its vicinity. The resultant head and flow of water would thus give virtually
unlimited power for any mill erected downstream of each lock.
McMahon’s plans, published in 1858, show potential mill sites on one or both sides of
the locks at Portna, Movanagher, Carnroe and the Cutts (fig 7.8). However, only at the
Cutts was a headrace channel actually built (4090), but the plan seems to have been
abandoned as no actual mill was ever constructed thereafter.
Fig 7.8 Proposed mill race at the Cutts Lock (left) and on both banks at Portna Lock (right).
Local Authority proposal
In 1920-21, representatives from Ballymena, Ballymoney, Coleraine, Portrush and Portstewart councils discussed the possibility of harnessing the waterfalls along the Lower
Bann for electricity generation. However, the proposal was deemed to be impractical
and abandoned.
North Ulster Electricity Supply Bill
In May 1923, a consortium of London businessmen attempted to introduce a bill to the
fledgling Stormont parliament in which they proposed to supply most of Co Antrim and
adjacent parts of Co Londonderry with electricity generated by the Lower Bann.
The proposal entailed the heightening of the weir at Toome by 2ft in order to increase
Lough Neagh’s storage capacity. The weirs at Portna and Movanagher were to be
removed and the one at Carnroe raised by 30ft to create one enormous reservoir all the
way upstream to Portna and beyond. The impounded water was then to be fed into a
one megawatt hydro-power station at Carnroe.
The proposal was estimated to cost upwards of ‡580,000 and also entailed abolishing
the Lower Bann Navigation and buying out the eel fisheries at Toome, Portna and
Movanagher. Far fetched as this bill might now seem, it failed not for any technical
reasons, but simply because its did not follow proper parliamentary procedures. It was
subsequently abandoned.
104
Resources Commission
In June 1923, the Stormont Government set up a Commission on the Natural and
Industrial Resources of Northern Ireland. Part of its remit was to examine how the
province’s natural resources could best be exploited to create new industries and thus
reduce reliance on traditional ones such as agriculture, linen, ship building and
engineering. Electricity was seen to be a key element of any such developments and
the 1923 Bann hydro-scheme was therefore re-appraised.
After due deliberation, however, the committee concluded that it would not be cost
effective, particularly in light of the fact that the Government was then in the process of
improving the drainage of the Lower Bann, and the impounding of which would run
wholly contrary to this strategy.
Recent proposals
In the mid-1990s, the Lower Bann Advisory Committee and Bann System Ltd examined
the feasibility of constructing a hydro-electric station at the Cutts with an annual projected output of 6640 megawatt-hours. However, at the time of writing, this scheme has
not been progressed.
105
106
8. RAILWAYS
Ulster’s first railway opened between Belfast and Holywood, Co Down in 1839, and over
the next two decades the rail network had been extended to all the major towns in the
North. As a result of this frantic period of ‘railway mania’, both Coleraine and Toome
were already part of this network before the Bann Navigation was finished in the late
1850s. The west side of the Bann Valley was also linked into the system in the 1880s,
and for much of the 1900s, all the major towns and villages on both sides of the river
were within reasonable reach of the railway.
8.1 Developments to 1860
Coleraine connections
By the time the Lower Bann Navigation had been completed in 1857, Coleraine already
had railway links with both Derry and Belfast. The first line to reach the town was that of
the Londonderry & Coleraine Railway Company (LCR) in 1853. It ran around the coast
from Derry and terminated at Waterside, on the left bank of the Bann immediately
downstream from the town bridge.
Two years later, in 1855, the line from Belfast also reached Coleraine en route to
Portrush, having been extended from Ballymena by the Ballymena, Ballymoney,
Coleraine & Portrush Junction Railway (BBCPJR) over the previous two years. The
station was at Northbrook, where the present one now stands. Although built by the
BBCPJR, the line was operated by the Belfast & Ballymena Railway (BBR), the
company behind the line from Belfast to Ballymena, opened in 1848.
Cookstown line
In 1856, the Cookstown Branch Line was opened by the BBR between Randalstown
and Cookstown, via Toome and Castledawson. The Bann was spanned at Toome by
the five-span Carlisle Bridge, named after George Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle, who was
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland at that time (fig 8.1). It encompassed a swivelling opening
section over the Lower Bann Navigation at its Co Antrim end.
Fig 8.1 Carlisle Bridge, 1960s
(NIEA: McCutcheon Collection).
As Randalstown had already been connected to the main Belfast-Ballymena line in
1848 by the BBR, there was now a continuous rail link between both ends of the Lower
Bann (fig 8.2).
107
Fig 8.2 Belfast-ColerainePortrush/Derry and Cookstown Branch lines. Selected
stations only shown.
The BBR changed its name to the Belfast & Northern Counties Railway (BNCR) in
1860. The following year, it bought over the Ballymena-Portrush line and also leased
the Derry-Coleraine line from the LCR; it acquired the latter outright in 1871. Now, not
only was Coleraine connected with Derry, Belfast, Toome and Cookstown, but the lines
were all under the exclusive control of one company – the BNCR.30
The timing of the completion of the Lower Bann Navigation was unfortunate to say the
least. The opening of all these lines between 1853 and 1856 now made it much more
convenient to transport people, materials, goods and livestock by rail rather than water.
Because of the competitive advantage of the railway, the navigation’s operation was
therefore restricted largely to the movement of bulky, low-value materials obtained from
the immediate environs of the river such as diatomite and sand. To facilitate the onward
dispatch of these materials, a short narrow-gauge spur was laid from the main line to
Toome Quay.
30
In 1879, the Great Northern Railway opened a line from Cookstown to Dungannon. As the latter was on
the Portadown – Londonderry line, the connectivity of the Cookstown Branch line was greatly increased
as a consequence.
108
Bann railway bridge 1
As noted above, the lines from Belfast and from Derry each had their own stations on
opposite sides of the Bann at Coleraine. Passengers were transferred between them by
horse-drawn coach.
In 1857, the BBCPJR proposed the construction of a bridge across the river to link the
two stations. It was to be situated c.100m below the town bridge, just downstream from
the town quay which existed at that time. Understandably, this proposal met with strong
opposition from shipping interests, despite the fact that the bridge was to have an
opening section to allow ships to pass through. Moreover, the LCR had ambitions to
extend its own line down the west side of the Bann to Castledawson and was not keen
to see any future loss of traffic to the Coleraine-Belfast line. The proposal went to
arbitration, was approved, but came to nothing as it failed to get parliamentary assent.
Nothing daunted, the BBCPJR tried again in 1858 and this time succeeded in obtaining
approval for a bridge further downstream, well beyond the confines of the town quay.
William Dargan, the ‘father of Irish railways’ was tasked with its construction; he had
already built both the Ballymena-Portrush
and Cookstown Branch lines.
Opening in November 1860, it is described by the railway historian J.R.L.
Currie as “a structure of quite remarkable
ugliness”.31 Some 133m long, it
comprised 16 lattice truss girders on
timber piles, with a swivelling opening
section in the middle (fig 8.3).
Fig 8.3 Late 1800s view of the first railway bridge
(4051) over the Bann at Coleraine (NLI: Lawrence
Collection).
The new bridge required the
realignment of the line from
Derry, a new section from
the river to Northbrook, and
also abandonment of the
final stretch to Waterside
Station. That station was
also closed, all operations
being transferred to Northbrook (fig 8.4).
Repairs were required after
two steamers collided with it
within a matter of months of
each other in 1910.
To
Derry
Linking line
and bridge
Northbrook
Station
Waterside
Station
To
Belfast
Fig 8.4 Reconfiguration of
lines in Coleraine, 1860.
31
To
Portrush
Currie, J.R.L. 1973. The Northern Counties Railway, vol.1, p.98.
109
8.2 Later developments
Derry Central line
The single-track Derry
Central line was opened
in 1880 by the Derry
Central Railway (DCR). It
ran from Macfin, on the
Belfast-Coleraine line, to
Magherafelt,
on
the
Cookstown Branch Line
(fig 8.5)
COLERAINE
To Derry
Macfin
The Bann was crossed
by a multi-span lattice
girder bridge a short distance south of Macfin. As
with the Carlisle Bridge at
Toome, it had an opening
section over the navigation at its Co Antrim
end. (fig 8.6).
Aghadowey
Kilrea
Toome
Magherafelt
To Belfast
Although built by the DCR, this line was
worked by the BNCR and eventually bought
over by them in 1901. There was now a
connection along the west side of the Lower
Bann Valley as well as the east, all operated
by the one company. Kilrea, until then
served by a quay on the Bann, now had its
own station, drawing even more traffic off the
river.
Fig 8.6 A train crosses the swivel section of the
bridge en route from Magherafelt to Macfin.
110
Fig 8.5 Course of Derry
Central Railway (in purple)
between Macfin and
Magherafelt. Selected
stations only shown.
Coleraine Harbour spur
It had been envisaged that Portrush would be developed as a port for the benefit of
Coleraine and to this end the BNCR extended the Coleraine-Portrush line on to the
town’s harbour in 1866. However, with the completion of the moles at the Barmouth and
extension of the town quay in the 1880s, the focus again reverted to Coleraine as a
shipping port. In 1892, a spur from the railway station (rebuilt in 1882) to the quays was
opened by the Coleraine Harbour commissioners (fig.4.16).
Bann railway bridge 2
By 1910, the bridge of 1860 over the Bann at Coleraine was showing its age and was
subject to load and speed restrictions. The line was now in the ownership of the Midland
Railway (MR), who had acquired the BNCR in 1903. It obtained parliamentary consent
to build a replacement bridge in 1914, but the intervention of the First World War
delayed any remedial action being taken.
Work eventually began in 1921, being undertaken by Sir A.G. Armstrong, Whitworth &
Co. The new bridge was designed by Bowman Malcolm, the MR’s Engineer, and
comprises 11 plate-girder spans
with a total length of 240m. Unlike
the earlier bridge, which had a
horizontally-turning opening section,
this one had a vertically-lifting
section, similar to a drawbridge.
Indeed, it has the distinction of being
the
first
Strauss
under-hung
counter-balanced bascule bridge in
Britain and Ireland and the only such
example surviving in Ulster (fig 8.7).
Fig 8.7 A boat passes through the bascule
span of the new railway bridge (Currie,
1974, plate 90).
The opportunity was also
taken to iron out the two
sharp curves on the existing line by locating it 350m
downstream
from
the
previous
bridge
and
realigning the track on a
gentler sweep (fig 8.8).
To
Derry
New linking line
and bridge
To
Portrush
Old line
and bridge
Coleraine
Station
Harbour
spur
Fig 8.8 Reconfiguration of
lines in Coleraine, 1924.
To
Belfast
111
The bridge opened in 1924, under the auspices of the London, Midland & Scottish
Railway (LMS) which had taken over the Midland the previous year. The old bridge and
associated line were demolished except for a 510m stretch on the east bank which was
retained to keep the link between the quays and Coleraine Station.
8.3 Post-war closures and legacy
Line closures
In 1949, the LMS became part of the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) and a programme of line rationalisation was implemented without delay. In the same year, the
extension from Portrush station to the harbour was closed.
The following year, the Derry Central Line, which had served the military encampments
at Mullaghmore and Aghadowey during the Second World War, was closed except for
goods traffic between Kilrea and Magherafelt. Passenger services on the ToomeMagherafelt section of the Cookstown line also ceased in 1950. Both lines closed
entirely in 1959.
The Coleraine Harbour spur saw its last train in 1963 and closed three years later.
Railway legacy
No traces of original end section of the Derry-Coleraine line, Waterside terminus or first
railway bridge over the Bann at Coleraine survive. Parts of the course of the Coleraine
Harbour spur are still traceable, although the line is long lifted (4056).
Of the Cookstown branch line, the most significant feature within the study area is the
Carlisle Bridge (4323). After the line
was finally axed in 1959, the bridge
was kept in place and was used for
a time to carry vehicles whilst the
adjacent road bridge was being
replaced. It has since been demolished save for the abutments and
pier at its navigation end (fig 8.9).
Fig 8.9 Surviving section of Carlisle Bridge
over Lower Bann Navigation at Toome.
On the Derry Central line, the spans of the
bridge at Macfin have likewise been
dismantled save for the piers (fig 8.10).
The original Belfast-Portrush line is still in
use, albeit with a rebuilt town station. The
line’s connection with the Derry line is
along the 1920s’ realignment over the
replacement bascule bridge (4044).
Translink operates both lines.
Fig 8.10 Remains of Macfin railway bridge (4136).
112
9. SECOND WORLD WAR
With the evacuation of Dunkirk and surrender of France in June 1940, less than a year
after the outbreak of the Second World War, Hitler announced his intention of invading
Britain in a matter of months. The previous month, the War Office had established the
Directorate of Fortifications and Works, otherwise known as FW3, as part of its counterinvasion strategy. Most of the Directorate’s efforts focused on southern Britain as it was
closest to the Channel and German-occupied Europe.
Although Northern Ireland was far removed from the theatre of war, it was not immune
to enemy action and the threat of an airborne invasion precipitated the formation of the
Ulster Home Guard in 1940.
The Lower Bann is a formidable barrier to land movement across the northern half of
the province, as well as being a convenient conduit for any water-based attack. Given
its strategic importance, precautions were therefore taken at a local level to repel, or at
least hinder, any German invasion, in the form of pillboxes and prepared demolition
chambers; other military installations included airfields and camps (fig 9.1).
Mullaghmore
Airfield
Pillbox
Demolition
chamber
Airfield
Military
building
Fig 9.1 World War 2
sites along Lower
Bann.
Toome
Airfield
113
9.1 Pillboxes
One of the roles of FW3 was to design ‘hardened field defences’ to counteract an
invading force. The pillbox was the commonest such structure and comprised a squat,
multi-sided, flat-roofed bunker, generally of reinforced-concrete, with machine-gun
embrasures on its visible sides. They were designed so to be put up quickly at strategic
locations by the military authorities using local labour and basic materials.
By July 1940, the Directorate had come up with seven basic designs of pillboxes –
known as types 22 to 28 – although they were often modified slightly to suit local
conditions. Whilst they could undoubtedly be overrun in a concerted attack, they were
nevertheless perceived to be of value in delaying the enemy’s progress and enabling a
counter-attack to be mustered.
Seven pillboxes are recorded in the immediate vicinity of the Lower Bann. All but one is
paired with another directly across the river, and most could give mutual covering fire.
Although type-24 pillboxes, which have hexagonal floor plans, were the commonest
design, type-26, which has a square footprint, is more frequently found along the Lower
Bann (fig 9.2).
Two of the pillboxes are situated at Barmouth, in the vicinity of the moles (4002, 4008);
only the one on the East Mole survives, a type-26 now half buried under windblown
sand. There were also pillboxes to repel beach landings at Downhill, Castlerock and
Portstewart Strands, all outside the study area. At Grange Beg, on the west bank south
of Barmouth, is a five-sided pillbox, with long entrance corridor into the chamber. There
is also a pair of type-26 boxes in the vicinity of the locks at Portna (4219, 4225), and two
type-24s at Portglenone (4250, 4254).
Fig 9.2. Second World War pillboxes: Left: East Mole, Barmouth (4002); Middle: Portna Lock (4219);
Right: Gortfad, Portglenone (4250).
In the event, Hitler did not invade as he failed to win air supremacy at the Battle of
Britain over the summer of 1940. He also switched his attention to the Soviet Union,
which he invaded in June 1941. Once it was apparent that an invasion of Britain was no
longer imminent, FW3 scaled down the building of pillboxes.
9.2 Prepared demolition chambers
It was obviously easier for an invading force to cross the Bann by bridge rather than to
negotiate the actual river. Prepared demolition chambers were therefore inserted in all
five road and three railway bridges which existed at that time in order to hinder any
invading force’s progress. Should there have been an invasion, explosives could then
be put into the chambers at short notice and the bridge blown up to prevent it being
crossed. In the case of the railway bridge at Coleraine, if all else failed, the sluices at
the Cutts would have been opened in the hope that the bridge would be washed away.
No traces of any of these chambers are now apparent.
114
9.3 Airfields
In January 1942, a month after America had declared war on Japan and Germany,
thousands of American troops began arriving in Belfast and Derry for dispersal to training camps throughout Northern Ireland in preparation for onward transfer to the theatres
of war in Europe and Africa. Airfields were also specially built for use by the Royal Air
Force and United States Army Air Force to train aircrews. Two such airfields lie within
the study area – at Aghadowey and Toome.
Aghadowey Airfield (4149) was officially known as Mullaghmore (after the townland in
which it is located) and opened in August 1942 for use by the Royal Air Force as an
operational training unit (fig 9.3). In December 1943, it was transferred to the 8th United
State Army Air Force (USAAF) and was used by 6th Combat Crew Replacement Centre
Group (Station 240) to train American pilots in the art of fighting in a European situation.
However, this unit relocated to England in February 1944 and the site was handed back
to the RAF in May for use by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm for anti-U-boat sorties on the
western approaches to the Atlantic. The base closed in May 1945. In the mid-1970s, the
defunct runways became the home circuit of the Motor Cycle Road Racing Club of
Ireland and a section is still used for stock-car racing.
Various buildings and structures associated with this airfield are to be found in its
vicinity including hardstands, bomb shelters, a pump house (for extracting water from
the Bann), and living quarters (4154, 4155, 4158, 4159, 4163, 4165 and 4166).
Fig 9.3 Top left- Water pumping house and tower at Drumneil (4166); Top middle- Mullaghmore Airfield
(4149); Top right- Military building at Landagivey (4155); Bottom- Bomb shelters at Drumneil (4163).
Toome Airfield (4342) opened in early 1943 and was, like Mullaghmore, also used as an
operational training unit by the RAF (fig 9.4). In July 1943 it was handed over to the 8th
USAAF for use by 3rd Combat Crew Replacement Centre Group (Station 236). In
November 1944, it was handed back to the RAF.
In the 1950s, it was used as a satellite airfield by the RAF’s flying training school at
Cluntoe, Co Tyrone, and then by the Royal Navy as a gun turret repair depot. It finally
closed in 1959 and has since been redeveloped for various industrial enterprises.
Traces of the runway can, however, still be found.
115
Fig 9.4 Plan of Toome Airfield, c.1945 (Hughes, 1995). Because of the ‘A’ plan of the runways, aeroplanes could take off and land whatever the wind’s direction.
9.4 Military camps
Besides the encampments at the airfields, others were established in the Ballyscullion
Estate (4287) and also in the grounds of Brecart Lodge near Toomebridge (4304).
Several utilitarian brick buildings still survive at the latter, overlooking the river (fig 9.5).
Fig 9.5 Second World War building at Brecart Lodge.
116
10. RECREATIONAL USES
The Lower Bann has been the focus of recreational activities since the 1800s, if not
before. This is reflected in the purpose-built boat houses in the grounds of many of the
larger houses along its banks, none of which now survive with the notable exception of
the late 1800s one at Glandore, just above Movanagher Weir (fig 10.1).
Today, the main river-based activities are cruising, yachting, rowing, canoeing and
water skiing, all of which are enjoyed by an ever-growing number of enthusiasts.
Fig 10.1 Glandore boat house (4201).
Above: Early 1900s activity in sail-assisted rowing
boats at Glandore (Kilrea Local History Group, 1984).
Left: The boat house today.
10.1 Cruising
Boating as a recreational activity enjoyed by all classes of society dates back to the
1960s with the increase in people’s leisure time and disposable income. The recognition
of the waterway as a recreational resource is reflected in the formation of the River
Bann & Lough Neagh Association in 1964 to fight the proposed closure of the Lower
Bann Navigation. The association was successful in its campaign and is still active;
since 2000 it has also been affiliated to the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland.
In 1965, Jack Rainey, trading as Rainey Enterprises Ltd, brought over three tourist
cruisers from Scotland - the Maid of Coleraine, Maid of Bann, and Maid of Antrim which he stationed at Coleraine,
Kilrea and Antrim respectively (fig
10.2). However, because of the lack
of tourist infrastructure along the
river, his venture quickly proved to
be untenable and all operations
ceased in 1966.
Fig 10.2 Maid of Bann at Portglenone Quay
(NMNI: BELUM.Yt599)
117
Pleasure cruising was revived in 1986 by Robert Anderson, a former Coleraine Harbour
pilot, who established Bann Cruises and operated the Cygnet, an ex-passenger liner
tender, out of Coleraine until 1992.
Mr Anderson recommenced operations in 2006, this time trading as River Bann Cruises
and using the waterbus Lady Sandel,
formerly the Maid of Bann (fig 10.3).
In 2011, an inspection of the vessel’s
steel hull showed it to be too thin to
carry its full complement of 60 passengers. Its downgrading to a maximum
of 12 passengers was not financially
viable and it has since been withdrawn
from service and sold.
Fig 10.3 The Lady Sandel at
Camus, 2006 (Aubrey Dale).
The boom years of the 1990s and early 2000s saw a quantum leap in the popularity of
boating and water sports in general. During this period, a number of users’ guides to the
Lower Bann Navigation were produced by various organisations (fig 10.4).
The first was Michael Savage’s River Bann & Lough Neagh Pilot, published by the River
Bann & Lough Neagh Association in 2003; it was updated and reprinted in 2009. The
Lower Bann Advisory Committee, an umbrella organisation founded in 1994 by statutory
and non-statutory groups with an interest in the river, published its Lower Bann River
Users’ Guide in 2008. In the same year, Waterways Ireland, noted in section 3.7 as
being in charge of the
Lower Bann Navigation
since 1999, produced
its Guide to the Lower
Bann: Navigation and
Recreation Information.
Fig 10.4 Publications on
the Lower Bann.
The increasing use of the waterway is also reflected in the many public and private
marinas, moorings and slipways along the entire length of the river. Of the 124 sites
where jetties/pontoons, piers/quays and slipways have been identified (fig 10.5), no
fewer than 105 (85%) were built for recreational purposes, of which 71 were still in use
at the time of this survey.
Marinas
There are seven marinas along the Lower Bann, of which three are operated by local
authorities, one belongs to Coleraine Harbour Commissioners, and three are privately
owned. All provide on-river berthing, hardstands for over-wintering, slipways; some also
have lift-out cranes, utility blocks and boat repair facilities (fig 10.6).
118
Fig 10.5 Boating
facilities on the
Lower Bann.
Seaton’s Marina (4029), near the Barmouth, originated as a private mooring in the early
1960s and gradually transformed itself into a marina to cater for the demand from the
cruising and yachting fraternity for berthing facilities at this end of the river.
Just upstream, at Cranagh, a private marina opened in 2007 on the site of an early 19th
century quay. (4031). Community Rescue Service rigid inflatables are stationed here, as
is the Fisheries Conservation Board's Dun na Salar.
Coleraine Borough Council was the first local authority on the river to provide public
berthing facilities with the opening of a marina near its headquarters in 1967 (4040). It
was upgraded to its present form in 2005 with financial assistance from the European
Union under its Small Harbours Improvement Scheme.
In 2011, Coleraine Harbour Commissioners began redeveloping part of their harbour
with the construction of pontoons in front of the defunct Potato Quay (4053). This
particular marina has a unique selling point in that vessels can be lifted out and overwintered under cover in one of the adjacent former harbour warehouses. Carrickcraft, a
commercial boat-hire company with bases throughout the Irish waterway network,
119
Fig 10.6 Marinas on the Lower Bann. Top, left to right: Seaton’s Marina, Cranagh Marina, Coleraine
Marina, Coleraine Town Marina (under construction). Bottom, left to right: Loughan Marina, Drumaheglis
Marina, Portglenone Marina.
intends to establish operations here in 2012, making it the only location on the Lower
Bann where the general public will be able to hire cruisers.32
Loughan Marina, just upstream from Loughan Island, is also home to the Ski Supreme
Water Ski School and also offers self-catering chalet accommodation for holiday makers
(4125).
Drumaheglis Marina, near Balnamore, was opened in 1990 by Ballymoney Borough
Council and originally comprised a camping and caravan park, jetty and pontoon (4138).
A new slipway and additional pontoons were added in 2002 thanks to funding from the
Department of Agriculture & Rural Development.
Portglenone Marina is another local authority development, this time by Ballymena
Borough Council in 1998 (4257). It was funded by the European Union under its Special
Support Programme for Peace and Reconciliation Water-Based Tourism Measure.
Upstream from Portglenone, there are no marinas although one has been proposed for
Toome by the local development ground (TIDAL). There are, however, berthing facilities
convenient to the south end of the Lower Bann at Antrim Borough Council’s Six Mile
Water Caravan Park near Antrim, and at Cookstown District Council’s Ballyronan
Marina on the western shore of Lough Neagh.
Moorings
Including marinas, no fewer than 109 sites have been recorded where there are jetties,
pontoons, quays or piers. Of these, 94 were erected specifically for recreational use, of
which 56 are still in use. Of the latter, 26 are public facilities open to everyone and the
rest are private. Waterways Ireland owns 17 of the public moorings, seven belong to
local authorities, and two are operated by the Coleraine Harbour Commissioners.
All five of the Waterways Ireland locks now have temporary mooring pontoons at their
up- and downstream ends for the convenience of lock users awaiting passage. Such
structures have the advantage over the earlier fixed type of mooring in that they can
move up and down with the level of the river and are therefore less prone to being
submerged and covered with flotsam (fig 10.7).
32
This facility was indeed established, but has since been relocated to Drumaheglis Marina.
120
Fig 10.7 Pontoon and access ramp at
upstream end of Toome Lock (4333).
Waterways Ireland also maintains pontoons at Mount Sandel (4084), Camus (4126),
Vow (4188), Movanagher Forest (4208), Portneal (4212), Hutchinson’s Quay (4237),
Portglenone Forest (4268), and Toome (4330). All date from the 2000s and, except for
Movanagher Forest and Portneal (which are new developments), are replacements of
previous structures.
Three local authorities also operate moorings in addition to ones at their public marinas.
Coleraine Borough Council opened a pontoon at Christie Park, Coleraine in 2003
(4072). Magherafelt District Council has, since 2005, a similar facility at Newferry West
(4280), directly opposite Ballymena Borough Council’s one at Newferry East (4282).
The latter also maintains the mid-19th century quay at Portglenone (4258), just upstream
from the town marina.
The most recent pontoon at the time of writing was that erected in 2011 by Coleraine
Harbour Commissioners just downstream from the town bridge opposite its new marina
(4061).
Slipways
Of the 42 sites where slipways are recorded, 37 were built specifically for recreational
purposes, of which 28 are still in use. Ten of those currently in service are accessible to
the public (fig 10.8).
There is a slipway at each of the four public marinas, and also at Somerset (4088),
Portna (4216), Hutchinson’s Quay (4247), Newferry West (4280), Newferry East (4282)
and Toome (4330). Four are owned by Waterways Ireland, one by the Coleraine
Harbour Commissioners, and the rest by local authorities.
Fig 10.8 Slipway at Newferry West.
121
10.2 Yachting
Organised sailing is confined to the tidal stretch of the river which, being more exposed
and wider, is more suited to this type of activity than the relatively sheltered, narrow and
fast-flowing non-tidal section above the Cutts.
The Coleraine Yacht Club is the only organised club on the entire river. It originated in
1962 as the River Bann Boat Club and was initially based in an ex-Navy motor launch at
Eric Seaton’s private mooring near the
Barmouth (4029).
Around 1970, the club relocated upriver to
a rented house behind what is now the
headquarters of Coleraine Borough
Council, and reconstituted itself under its
present name (4038). Finally, in the late
1990s, the club moved next door to its
present clubhouse just downstream from
the marina (fig 10.9).
Fig 10.9 Coleraine Yacht Club (4039).
10.3 Rowing
Rowing is the oldest organised recreational activity on the Bann, and the Bann Rowing
Club is also Coleraine’s oldest amateur sports club. It was established as the Coleraine
Rowing Club in 1842 and was based at a hostelry in Abbey Street. It changed to its
present name in 1863 and relocated to its present site on the east bank just upstream
from Coleraine Bridge the following year.
The present club house opened in 1900
and is the third boat house on the site (fig
10.10). Coleraine Borough Council took
over the premises in the 1980s, refurbished the clubhouse and leased it back to
the rowing club. An exceptional number of
world-class national, international, and
Olympic rowers have come through the
club’s ranks in recent years.
Fig 10.10 Bann Rowing Club (4067).
Coleraine Academical Institution has been
involved in schools’ rowing since the
1920s and was initially based at the Bann
Rowing Club. In 1968, they relocated to a
purpose-built boat house in the grounds of
their playing fields, just upstream from the
railway bridge (fig 10.11).
Fig 10.11 Coleraine Inst’s premises (4047).
122
The most recent club is based at the
University of Ulster’s Watersports Centre
which opened in the early 1980s on the
east bank close to the newly-established
university (fig 10.12). Until its recent
demise, the university’s sailing club was
also based here.
Fig 10.12 University Watersports Centre (4036).
All the above sites are characterised by wide flight of steps up the bank from which the
rowing eights can be launched.
10.4 Canoeing
The Canoe Association of Northern Ireland has recently
devised a canoe trail along the Lower Bann between
Lough Neagh and Ballywoolen, just short of the Barmouth
(fig 10.13).
To facilitate the launching and landing of canoes, low
platforms have been specially added to the ends of all the
publicly-owned pontoons.
A purpose-built flight of canoe steps was also built in the
late 1900s by Rivers Agency at Bracknamuckley Wood,
north of Portgleneone (4248).
Fig 10.13 Canoe trail brochure (www.activitybrochuresni.com).
10.5 Water skiing
Organised water skiing on the Lower
Bann was instigated in the early
1960s by the Newferry Water Ski
Club at purpose-built premises at
Newferry East. The present club
house is the third on this site and
dates from c.1999 (fig 10.14). New
pontoons were added in 2008 to
augment the existing timber jetties.
Fig 10.14 Newferry Water Ski Club (4281).
123
There are four designated zones for water skiing on the river – one in the tidal reach,
and three upriver from the Cutts (fig 10.15). The total length available is 12.6km,
representing just over one-fifth of the river, with the zone between Glenone Forest and
Newferry, at the south end of the river, being the longest at just under 5km.
Whilst skiers are free to use any public jetty within these zones, a purpose-built
pontoon, only accessible from the river, was also constructed by Waterways Ireland in
the early 2000s at Aughnahoy, at the north end of the Glenone – Newferry run (4269).
Jet skiing is confined to a 0.5km section between Newferry and Lough Beg.
Organised water skiing is carried on by the Lower Bann Watersports Club from its base
at Drumaheglis Marina (4138). Private tuition is also available from the Ski Supreme
Water Ski School at Loughan Marina (4125), and from the Edge Watersports Activity
Centre at Drumaheglis.
Seaton’s Marina – Coleraine
Marina (1.2km)
Loughan Island Drumaheglis (4.3km)
Gortgole (2.3km)
Glenone Forest Newferry (4.8km)
Newferry jet skiing (0.5km)
124
Fig 10.15 Water and jet ski
zones on Lower Bann (WI
Guide to Lower Bann, 2008).
11. SITES OF HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE
11.1 Heritage evaluation
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) uses a wide range of criteria to
assess a site’s heritage significance; seven are of particular relevance to sites along the
Lower Bann:33
 Archaeological interest derives from the contribution a site might make to our understanding of the past, particularly prior to the modern era.
 Architectural interest can arise from such factors as quality of design, style, massing,
scale, composition, materials and also because it makes a positive contribution to its
landscape setting.
 Artistic interest may derive from the fact that it is a particularly good example of
craftsmanship, design or decoration.
 Cultural interest relates to the perceived, but often intangible, value placed upon that
site by past and present societies.
 Historical interest derives from what a structure or building tells us about the past. It
may reflect the style and construction materials of its period or illustrate a phase in
the development of that particular site type. Its interest may be enhanced by the
presence of alterations, an association with a particular builder, or by the presence of
a plaque bearing the name and/or date of its builder.
 Social interest may derive from the role a site played in the life of the local community
with which it was associated.
 Technical interest may stem from innovatory structural design or the presence of
plant and machinery.
It should be noted that it is actually the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA)
which is responsible for the statutory protection of sites of special heritage merit along
the Lower Bann. However, as the criteria used by the NIEA’s Historic Buildings Unit to
evaluate sites are similar to those used by the NIAH, and because Waterways Ireland
has used the NIAH criteria for all its other built heritage surveys, they have also been
applied to sites on the Lower Bann.
11.2 Heritage rating
Using the above criteria, each site was rated according to one of four levels of heritage
significance:
 Negligible: such sites make little or no contribution to the architectural, engineering or
industrial heritage of the Lower Bann.
 Low: such sites make some contribution to the architectural, engineering or industrial
heritage of the Lower Bann, but only in a local context.
 Medium: such sites make a moderate contribution to the architectural, engineering or
industrial heritage of the Lower Bann and are generally of high local interest.
 High: sites at this level make a substantial contribution to the architectural, engineering or industrial heritage of the Lower Bann and are of regional or even national
significance.
Other factors may also have a bearing on a site’s rating, such as how much original
fabric survives, the degree to which it has been degraded through unsympathetic past
33
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (2011), Architectural Heritage Protection: Guidelines for
Planning Authorities, pp 24-30 (Dublin).
125
alterations, and the condition of its surviving remains. The merit of a site will obviously
be diminished the more incomplete, the more altered, and the more ruinous it is.
Note that for the purposes of this survey, the 36 sites which only contain material of pre1700 date have not been rated (they are discussed in greater length in chapter 2). As
they are already included in the NIEA’s Sites & Monuments Record, due cognisance will
be taken of them by the Planning Service should there be any development proposals
which impact upon them or their immediate environs.
11.3 Sites of heritage merit
Of the 343 sites surveyed here, 307 have been rated in terms of their heritage merit. Of
these, 94 have been evaluated here as being of low, medium or high heritage
significance.
Low heritage significance
Twenty-three sites have been evaluated as being of low significance (fig 11.1 and
Appendix 4.1).
Fig 11.1 Sites
of low heritage
significance.
126
Three of these site are directly related to the
infrastructure of the Lower Bann Navigation: the
cut-in at Moore Lodge (4203), water gauge
station at Camus (4124), and a defunct pier on
Church Island (fig 11.2).
Fig 11.2 Pier remains on Church Island (4290).
A further four sites are associated with the Navigation’s original construction or later
refurbishment: a small pier at Carnanee used during the construction and refurbishment
of the Barmouth moles, quarry at Tamlaght Quarry (4190) from which stone was
extracted for the construction of various, weirs and locks, and a mound of material
dredged from the river at Loughan Island in the 1930s. A partly submerged dumb barge
on the tidal stretch of the river was also associated with this dredging activity (fig 11.3).
Fig 11.3 From left to right: Carnanee Jetty (4026); Dredged material on Loughan Island (4119); Dumb
barge at Farranlester, on left bank of tidal section near Barmouth (4023).
Seven transport-related sites are also of minor heritage interest: the Coastguard and
railway stations at Ballywoolen near the Barmouth, line of the Derry Central Railway
(4135) and its associated Macfin Bridge (4136), and line of the Cookstown Branch
Railway (4324 ), and the rail (4323) and road bridges at Toome (fig 11.4).
Fig 11.4 From left to right: Coastguard station, Ballywoolen (4012); Railway station, Ballywoolen (4013);
Toome road bridge (4315).
Turning to the extractive industries, vestiges of clay extraction survive at Glasgort
(4146) and Drumeil (4162) and represent 19th century brick making in these localities.
Diatomite processing is also reflected in one of the buildings at Toome Business Park
(4308), and fishing by various buildings, now since converted, at the Cranagh (4032)
127
Several mills are also of some heritage interest: the early
19th century corn mill at Castleroe (4097), the chimney of
the former flax scutching mill at Fish Loughan (4114), and
the vestiges of Moore’s distillery at Drumaheglis (4137).
These sites were on tributaries of the Bann, rather than on
the river itself. Not even the Commissioners of Public
Works were able to exploit the river itself, as manifest in
the defunct mill race at the Cutts (4090).
The graveyard at the Vow is also of some historical
interest (fig 11.5).
Fig 11.5 Vow Graveyard (4183).
Medium heritage significance
There are 35 sites of medium heritage significance in the database (fig 11.6 and
Appendix 4.2).
Fig 11.6 Sites of
medium heritage
significance.
128
This total includes eight piers and quays: Riversdale Quay (4049), Potato Quay (4054)
and Bannside Wharf (4055) at Coleraine Harbour, the mid-19th century quays built by
the Commissioners of Public Works at Kilrea (4210), and the 20th century quay at
Toome (fig 11.7).
Fig 11.7 Toome Quay (4320).
On Lough Beg, the defunct canal and pier at Intake (4288) and defunct pier at
Drumraymond (4295) both reflect a time when the water levels were significantly higher
than they are today.
Carnanee Quarry (4025) from which stone was extracted for the Barmouth moles, and
the contractor’s railway which brought the stone from the quarry to Barmouth (4010),
and bridge by which the railway crossed the Bann are also of interest in terms of the
history of the navigation. Also associated with the Barmouth are the leading lights which
facilitated the ships’ passage into the Bann (fig 11.8).
Fig 11.8 Left: Leading lights (4004, 4007).
Above: Remains of contractor’s bridge (4009).
129
The fishing weir, footbridge and slipway at Portmore, built by the Government in the
1930s, are also of interest. (fig 11.9). Other waterway related buildings include Glandore
boat house (4201), and the Bann Rowing Club at Coleraine (4067).
Fig 11.9 Top left: General view of self-fishing weir at Portna (4228). Bottom left: Defunct footbridge
below weir. Right: Slip giving access to fishing weir.
Railways are represented by the Belfast-Derry railway (4022), and the road network by
Agivey Bann Bridge (fig 11.10).
Fig 11.10. Agivey Bann
Bridge (4142). This
bridge dates from the
1980s and is the third
at this particular
location. The Navigation span is at left,
but the swing section
over it is long gone.
130
One industrial site is of medium heritage interest – a water-powered flax scutching mill
at Mill Loughan, now heavily overgrown but which still retains its waterwheel and some
gearing (4113).
Six pillboxes built during the Second World War are of note, at Barmouth (4002 and
4016), Moneygran, Culmore (4225), Gortfad (4250), and Glenone (fig 11.11).
Fig 11.11 Left to right: Pillboxes at Grange Beg near Barmouth (4016), at Moneygran (4219), and at
Glenone (4254).
There are also a significant number of features associated with Mullaghmore Airfield
and military encampment (4154, 4155, 4158, 4159, 4163, 4165, 4166), and the buildings associated with the military camp at Brecart Lodge (4304).
Finally, the early 19th century octagonal brick pigeon house in the grounds of Moore
Lodge, the Clothworkers Arms Hotel in Coleraine, and St Paul’s Church at Fish
Loughan (4122) are also of interest as well (fig 11.12).
Fig 11.12 Left: Pigeon house at Moore Lodge (4205). Top right: St Paul’s Church, Fish Loughan (4122);
Bottom right: Clothworkers Arms Hotel west end of the Town Bridge, Coleraine (4062).
131
High heritage significance
Thirty-six sites are of high heritage merit (fig 11.13 and Appendix 4.3). They include all
the locks and various related weirs, flood gates and lateral canals at the Cutts (4091,
4096), Carnroe (4175, 4178, 4179), Movanagher (4191, 4198, 4200), Portna (4220,
4223, 4224, 4229), and Toome (4333, 4334, 4339), and the quay at the Cutts (fig
11.14).
Fig 11.13 Sites of high heritage significance.
132
Fig 11.14 Top, left to right:
Cutts Quay (4094), Lock 2 at
Carnroe (4175), and Lock 3
at Movanagher (4191).
Bottom, left to right:, Lock 4
at Portna (4222), and Lock 5
at Toome (4333).
The moles and training bank at Barmouth (4000, 4001), the mole and artificial channel
at the south end of Lough Beg (4294, 4298), and the mole on Lough Neagh are all of
high heritage significance as well (fig 11.15).
Fig 11.15. Mole on Lough Neagh (4341).
There are also prominent eel fisheries at Portna and Toome (fig 11.16).
Fig 11.16 Left: Lower eel weir just below Portna flood gates (4226). Right: Toome eel weir (4313).
133
Turning to industrial sites, the water-powered flax scutching mill at Mill Loughan (4112)
and the diatomite works at Newferry (4276), both now ruinous but virtually complete in
respect of their machinery, are of high significance.
A number of bridges, all of which are still in use, are also of merit: the bascule railway
bridge of 1924 over the Bann at Coleraine, and road bridges at Coleraine, Kilrea, and
Portglenone (fig 11.17).
Fig 11.17. Clockwise from top left: Railway bridge, Coleraine (4044), Coleraine Bridge (4044), Kilrea
Bridge (4211), and Portglenone Bridge (4260).
The fords at Mountsandel (4083) and Camus (4116) were once important crossing
points and are still of high significance owing to the
recovery, from time to time, of prehistoric artifacts hereabouts.
The ecclesiastical sites at Camus and Church Island on
Lough Beg are also of outstanding heritage value (fig
11.18).
Not far from Church Island is Ballyscullion Demesne,
within which are the ruinous remains of the Bishop’s
Folly (4287).
Fig 11.18 Church and folly steeple on Church Island (4291).
134
Closer to the present, the extensive remains of the runways at Aghadowey (officially
called Mullaghmore) and Toome airfields (4149 and 4342 respectively) are prominent
reminders of military activity during the Second World War.
11.4 Heritage sites belonging to Waterways Ireland
Of the 37 sites in which Waterways Ireland has a stake, 19 are of heritage significance:
one is of low merit, two are of medium interest, and 16 are of high value (fig 11.19 and
table 11.1).
High
Medium
Low
Fig 11.19 Waterways Ireland owned sites of heritage significance.
135
Site
Name
Site type
Address
Significance
4091
Lock 1, Cutts
Lock
Ballyness, Coleraine
High
4094
Cutts Quay
Jetty/Pontoon; Pier/Quay
Ballyness, Coleraine
High
4096
Cutts Weir
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir
Ballyness, Coleraine
High
4175
Lock 2, Carnroe
Jetty/Pontoon; Lock
Vow, Ballymoney
High
4178
Carnroe Canal
Canal
Vow, Ballymoney
High
4179
Carnroe Weir
Barrage/Dam/ Sluice/Weir
Carranrow, Coleraine/
Vow, Ballymoney
High
4191
Lock 3,
Movanagher
Bridge (road); Jetty/
Pontoon; Lock
Artiloman, Ballymoney
High
4198
Movanagher
Canal
Canal
Artiloman/Ardnagross,
Ballymoney
High
4200
Movanagher
Weir
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/ Weir
Ardnagross, Ballymoney/
Movanagher, Coleraine
High
4210
Kilrea Quay
Pier/Quay
Culmore, Rasharkin
Medium
4219
Pillbox
Military building/structure
Moneygran, Kilrea
Medium
4220
Lock 4; Portna
Locks
Bridge (road); Jetty/
Pontoon; Lock
Moneygran, Kilrea
High
4223
Portna Dry
Dock; Portna
Quay
Dry dock; Pier/Quay; Water
gauge station
Moneygran, Kilrea
High
4224
Portna Canal
Canal
Moneygran, Kilrea
High
4294
Lough Beg
Mole
Brecart, Toomebridge
High
4298
New Cut
Canal
Brecart, Toomebridge
High
4323
Carlisle Bridge
(E end)
Bridge (rail)
Toome, Toomebridge
Low
4333
Lock 5, Toome
Jetty/Pontoon; Lock
Toome, Toomebridge
High
4334
Toome Canal
Canal
Toome, Toomebridge
High
Table 11.1 Sites of heritage significance in which Waterways Ireland has a stake.
136
12. CONSERVATION ISSUES
The significance of sites of heritage merit can best be maintained through statutory
protection as part of the planning process, and also by conservation actions such as
ongoing maintenance and repairs, preservation, restoration and adaptive reuse.
12.1 Statutory Protection
Sites of heritage merit may be accorded statutory protection against unauthorised works
which could negatively impact upon the features which give them special character. In
the context of the Lower Bann, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency is responsible
for the listing and scheduling of sites of special heritage merit under the Planning (NI)
Order 1991 and Historic Monuments & Archaeological Objects (NI) Order 1995
respectively.
By and large, the former legislation is applied to buildings and structures which are
currently in use or potentially reusable, whereas the latter is generally applied to
defunct, ruinous and buried sites which have minimal reuse potential and which are
deemed best preserved as they are. Some Scheduled Monuments are of such
importance that they are in State Care. Listed Buildings and Scheduled Monuments
require special planning consent before any building works work can take place. In all
there are 31 sites thus protected within the area under review; 11 contain listed
buildings, 18 have scheduled monuments and two have both types (fig 12.1).
Scheduled
Monument
Listed
Building
Fig 12.1 Protected
sites.
137
Most sites which are of archaeological, industrial or military interest but which are not
currently protected by listing or scheduling are nevertheless recorded in the NIEA’s
Sites & Monuments, Industrial Heritage, and Defence Heritage records respectively.
Should a planning application be made which might impinge on such a site or its
immediate environs, NIEA would doubtless flag it up with the Planning Service.
Listed buildings
A total of 13 sites contain listed buildings or structures (table 12.1). These include all but
one of the five locks on the Navigation, the multi-arched masonry bridges at Coleraine,
Kilrea and Portglenone, the Clothworkers Arms Hotel and Rowing Club in Coleraine,
Camus House, St Paul’s Church, and the estate-related structures at Moore Lodge and
on Church Island (fig 12.2). Only the four locks are in Waterways Ireland’s ownership.
Site no
Name/ Type
NIEA Listed Building no
Grade
4062
Clothworkers Arms Hotel
HB03/16/001A
B1
4064
Bann Bridge, Coleraine
HB 03/18/020
B
4067
Bann/Coleraine Rowing Club
HB 03/18/017
B1
4091
Lock 1, Cutts
HB 03/14/006
B
4106
Camus House
HB 03/03/004
B
4122
St Paul's Church
HB 03/06/003
B
4191
Lock 3, Movanagher
HB 04/11/009
B
4205
Moore Lodge Pigeon House
HB 04/11/004
B
4211
Kilrea Bridge
HB 04/11/001
B
4220
Lock 4, Portna
HB 08/03/015
B1
4260
Bann Bridge, Portglenone
HB 07/06/017
B1
4291
Church Island Steeple
HB 08/09/014
B
4333
Lock 5, Toome
HB 20/01/007
B
Table 12.1 Listed buildings and structures (sites owned by WI in bold).
Fig 12.2 Left: Camus House (4106). Right: St Paul’s Church (4122).
138
Scheduled Monuments
Twenty sites contain Scheduled Monuments (table 12.2). The Barmouth moles and
associated training bank and pillboxes in their vicinity are the only relatively modern
sites. The rest are pre-18th century and some go as far back as the Mesolithic period.
Those such as Ballycairn Motte and Mount Sandel Fort are clearly visible above ground,
but others are now buried, under water (as fords), or comprise flint scatters of prehistoric encampments as, for example, on the sand dunes on both sides of the river at
Barmouth (fig 12.3). None of these sites belongs to Waterways Ireland.
Three of the sites are not only scheduled but also in the ownership of the State – Mount
Sandel Fort, Mill Loughan Motte, and the ecclesiastical monuments on Church Island.
Site no
Name/ Type
Reference number
Protection
4000
Barmouth Moles
NIEA SMR LDY 002:500;
SMR LDY 003:500
Scheduled Monument
4001
Barmouth Training Bank
NIEA SMR LDY 002:500
Scheduled Monument
4002
Pillbox
NIEA SMR LDY 003:078
Scheduled Monument
4009
Contractor’s railway bridge
NIEA SMR LDY 002:501
Scheduled Monument
4016
Pillbox
NIEA SMR LDY 002:019
Scheduled Monument
4020
Prehistoric settlement
CMR MRL 012:003;
MRL 012:017
Scheduled Monument
4030
Ballycairn Motte
NIEA SMR LDY 003:008
Scheduled Monument
4083
Sandel Ford
CMR MRL 021:003
Scheduled Monument
4086
Mount Sandel Mesolithic
settlement
NIEA SMR LDY 007:037
Scheduled Monument
4087
Mount Sandel Fort
NIEA SMR LDY 007:020
Scheduled Monument
in State Care
4106
Camus Cross & Graveyard
SMR LDY 007:022
Scheduled Monument
4111
Mill Loughan Motte
NIEA SMR LDY 007:024
Scheduled Monument
in State Care
4116
Camus/Loughan Ford
NIEA SMR LDY 007:100
Scheduled Monument
4118
Mound, Loughan Island
NIEA SMR LDY 007:029
Scheduled Monument
4120
Site of castle, Loughan
Island
NIEA SMR LDY 007:094
Scheduled Monument
4121
Mound, Loughan Island
NIEA SMR LDY 007:042
Scheduled Monument
4132
Mound
NIEA SMR ANT 016:005
Scheduled Monument
4196
Movanagher Castle
NIEA SMR LDY 019:003
Scheduled Monument
4291
Church Island
SMR LDY 042:014
Scheduled Monument
in State Care
4332
Toome Castle
NIEA SMR ANT 042:012
Scheduled Monument
Table 12.2 Scheduled Monuments.
139
Fig 12.3 Left: Ballycairn Motte (4030). Right: Movanagher Castle bawn (4196).
Scheduled Areas
There is usually a buffer zone around a Scheduled Monument which is also included
within the protection afforded the monument. For most sites, this zone is usually no
more than 10m or so out from its visible remains. However, in the case of the sand dune
sites at the Barmouth, and at Movanagher, and Church Island on Lough Beg, their
Scheduled Areas cover a much larger area than any visible remains in order to protect
any associated buried features and artifacts which could potentially survive as well.
In two instances, these Scheduled Areas extend right across, and for a considerable
distance along, the Lower Bann (fig 12.4). One zone is at Sandel Ford (4083) and
extends for 300m along the river on account of the numerous artifacts of archaeological
interest which have been found hereabouts.
The other extends for 800m along the river in the vicinity of Camus Ford (4116), another
important crossing point in prehistoric and early historic times. The area also takes in
the Dales (4110), site of Dromore Castle (4115), and the three monuments on Loughan
Island (4118, 4120, 4121)
Fig 12.4 Scheduled areas at Sandel Ford (left) and Camus Ford (right).
140
Sites meriting statutory protection
As noted in the previous chapter, 36 sites were rated in this project as being of high
heritage significance, of which 12 have statutory protection (Appendix 4.3). The
remaining 24 unprotected ones are itemised in table 12.3, together with suggestions as
to what their most appropriate form of protection might be.
It is, of course, recognised that Waterways Ireland can only bring to the NIEA’s attention
sites within its a remit and that the decision on what is protected rests with that agency.
Moreover, given that some of the sites, particular the waterway-related ones, are still in
everyday use for their original purposes, it is debatable whether statutory protection
would actually be necessary in these instances.
Site no
Name
Site type
Proposed protection
Waterways Ireland sites
4094
Cutts Quay
Pier/Quay
Listing
4096
Cutts Weir
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir
Scheduling
4175
Lock 2, Carnroe
Jetty/Pontoon; Lock
Listing
4178
Carnroe Canal
Canal
Scheduling
4179
Carnroe Weir
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir
Scheduling
4198
Movanagher Canal
Canal
Scheduling
4200
Movanagher Weir
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir
Scheduling
4223
Portna Dry Dock
Dry dock
Scheduling
4224
Portna Canal
Canal
Scheduling
4294
Lough Beg Mole
Mole
Scheduling
4298
New Cut, Lough Beg
Canal
Scheduling
4334
Toome Canal
Canal
Scheduling
Rivers Agency
4096
Cutts Flood Gates
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir
Scheduling
4229
Portna Flood Gates
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir
Scheduling
4339
Toome Flood Gates & Weir
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir
Scheduling
4341
Lough Neagh Mole
Mole
Scheduling
Other owners
4044
Bann Railway Bridge (2)
Bridge (rail)
Listing
4112
Flax mill
Industrial building/structure
Listing
4149
Aghadowey Airfield
Military building/structure
Listing and/or Scheduling
4226
Kilrea/ Portna Eel Fishery
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir
Listing and Scheduling
4276
Newferry Diatomite Works
Industrial building/structure
Listing
4287
Ballyscullion Palace
Estate building/structure
Scheduling
4313
Toome Eel Fishery
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir
Listing and/or Scheduling
4342
Toome Airfield
Military building/structure
Listing and Scheduling
Table 12.3 Unprotected sites of high heritage significance.
141
Twelve of these sites fall within the remit of Waterways Ireland. It is somewhat
surprising that Carnroe Lock is not listed given that the ones at the Cutts, Movanagher,
Portna and Toome are. The quay at the Cutts might also merit listing given its close
association with the adjacent lock and weir. The lateral canals at Carnroe, Movanagher,
Portna, and Toome, together with the surviving original weirs at the Cutts, Carnroe,
Movanagher, are also intrinsic elements of the Navigation and would merit scheduling.
The mole and line of the New Cut at the south end of Lough Beg are both impressive
examples of civil engineering and would also be merit scheduling.
The dry dock at Portna is also an unusual feature (being on the canal rather than in a
cut-in), and may also merit scheduling.
Four features which are the responsibility of Rivers Agency would merit scheduling as
well – the 1930s flood gates at the Cutts and Portna, gates and weir at Toome, and the
mole at the north-west end of Lough Neagh.
Also on the river, but in separate ownership is the bascule railway bridge at Coleraine,
and the eel fisheries at Portna and Toome. The bridge merits listing, whilst the fisheries
may merit listing or scheduling.
Listing should also be considered for the extensive diatomite works at Newferry and flax
mill at Mill Loughan on account of their plant and machinery contents. Listing and
scheduling may also be appropriate for the airfields and their related features at
Aghadowey and Toome, and scheduling for the remnants of the Bishop’s Palace at
Ballyscullion.
12.2 Conservation Actions
Statutory protection is not an end in itself, but merely a planning tool for the future
management of sites of special heritage significance. Sustaining them into the future
requires affirmative action, whether in preserving them in their existing state, continuing
to use them, or finding a new use for them. The bottom line is that repairs and
maintenance are required.
Five levels of potential action have been identified by Waterways Ireland for sites of
post-1700 date:
 No action: the site is stable in its present state and unlikely to undergo appreciable




deterioration in the foreseeable future. This action is also applicable to sites where
there are no upstanding remains.
Minimal aesthetic work, e.g. ivy clearance.
Minor repairs, e.g. to the roofs/doors/windows of buildings, and the consolidation of
sections of side walls/decks of piers and slipways.
Significant repairs: as above, but on a larger scale. Underpinning may also be
necessary.
Needs immediate intervention. This only applies where a building or structure is in
imminent danger of collapse or poses a threat to the public.
There are eight sites which might benefit from conservation action (table 12.4). The only
extensive repairs potentially required are those to the mole on Lough Neagh to stop it
disappearing. However, the magnitude of what would be required may not be justifiable
in terms of River Agency’s operational requirements.
Four sites belonging to Waterways Ireland require minor repairs. Priority should be
given to the dry dock at Portna which is of high heritage significance and where the
142
concrete wall heads require some attention. Unfortunately the removal of the tree from
the pillbox at Culmore is outside WI’s remit.
The removal of weeds at Toome Quay and at Carlisle Bridge is also recommended to
prevent shrubs and trees eventually taking hold; however, only the bridge is within WI’s
remit.
Site no
Name
Action
Owner
4341
Lough Neagh Breakwater
Significant repairs
Rivers Agency
4175
Lock 2, Carnroe
Minor repairs to a pontoon float
WI
4221
Portna Lock House (2)
Minor repairs to doors and winds
WI
4223
Portna Dry Dock
Minor repairs to concrete wall heads
WI
4225
Pillbox, Culmore
Minor repairs – tree removal
Private
4248
Bracknamuckley Canoe Steps
Minor repairs to steps
WI
4320
Toome Quay (2)
Minimal aesthetic work – weed removal
Roads Service
4323
Carlisle Bridge (E end)
Minimal aesthetic work – weed removal
WI
Table 12.4 Proposed conservation actions.
143
144
13. CONCLUSIONS
This survey of the built heritage of the Lower Bann has recorded a total of 343 sites, of
which 224 (65%) are directly related to the waterway. Of the overall total, 232 survive in
some form or other, and 37 are owned by Waterways Ireland. Jetties and pontoons are
the commonest type of site, with 90 examples.
Virtually the entire infrastructure of the Lower Bann Navigation, as constructed by the
Commissioners of Public Works in the mid-1800s, survives. Although the railways took
most of the envisaged traffic away from the waterway soon after it was completed, it is
still in use for recreational purposes under the direction of Waterways Ireland.
Most waterborne trade actually took place along the tidal stretch of the river, between
Coleraine and the Atlantic Ocean. Considerable effort has been expended since the
early 19th century in making this section of river navigable to increasingly large ships
serving the port of Coleraine. This is particularly apparent in the two concrete moles at
the Barmouth which were constructed in the 1870s and substantially rebuilt in the
1930s, and in the continual extension of the quays at Coleraine.
The Lower Bann is remarkable for the thousands of archaeological artifacts which have
been found along it, particularly worked flint implements of Mesolithic date. The prevalence of finds from this period underlies the river’s importance to people since they first
set foot in Ireland after the last Ice Age. Of particular significance are the salmon and
eels which were heavily exploited down through the ages, attracting both the 13th
century Anglo-Normans and 16th century Planters. These resources continue to be
exploited to this day, albeit on a reduced scale, under the auspices of the Irish Society.
Industrial-scale activity along the Lower Bann over the past 250 years is also evident in
the extractive industries such as stone quarries, brick, diatomite and peat works.
Manufacturing industries such as grain milling and textile production are also represented, even within the relatively narrow spatial corridor along which this survey was
confined.
More recent activity has also been noted, such as the various Second World War
military encampments, airfields and pillbox defences, and post-War industrial developments in Coleraine.
Trade and commerce, such as it was, have long disappeared from the Lower Bann, and
have been replaced with recreational activities such as cruising, canoeing, rowing and
water skiing. There now exists a substantial infrastructure to cater for these new users,
in the form of marinas, jetties, pontoons, and slipways. Waterways Ireland is the body
responsible for many of these facilities, but all the local authorities as well as private
individuals are also involved in their operation.
Many of the thematic historical developments described in this report are manifest in the
stock of existing buildings and structures along the river. Fortunately most of these sites
of heritage interest are robust enough to have survived as originally built. The threat to
their significance comes not from natural agencies, but from their possible future alteration or redevelopment. It is for this reason that some sites have been the subject of
statutory protection in an endeavour to retain their special character. However, as has
been shown here, other sites of arguably equal heritage merit still await recognition in
this respect.
Such protection, and proactive conservation where necessary, is worthwhile not only
because of these sites’ intrinsic value in telling us about our past, but also as a resource
for tourism and education. Hopefully, this overview has shown the potential of the Lower
Bann is this regard, but the full realisation of this potential depends not only on Water145
ways Ireland, but also on the various other stakeholders in the river as well: Rivers
Agency, Coleraine Harbour Commissioners, and the four local authorities which impinge
upon it – Coleraine, Ballymoney, Ballymena, and Magherafelt councils. There are also
the fishing interests, as represented by the Honourable the Irish Society and the Lough
Neagh Fishermen's Co-operative Society Ltd.
As with many other navigable waterways in Ireland, there is potential for conflict
between the needs of drainage, navigation and fishing. In 1994, the Lower Bann
Advisory Committee was formed to bring together all the statutory and non-statutory
bodies with an interest in the river. Until its cessation in 2010, due to a withdrawal of its
funding, it provided advice on navigation, drainage, the management of the built and
natural heritage, and recreation.
The Lough Neagh Partnership Ltd, which also represents stakeholders’ interests, was
formed in 2003 to initiate various projects funded under the Department of Agriculture
and Rural Development’s Programme for Building Sustainable Prosperity. Although its
focus is primarily on the lough itself, its remit also extends downriver to Lough Beg and
Newferry. The partnership is now promoting the various built, natural, and cultural
heritage projects which were funded under this scheme.
In conclusion, although the Lower Bann Navigation came at the tail end of the 100-year
development of Ireland’s inland waterways for trade and commerce, it has found a new
lease of life as a provider of recreational facilities, the enjoyable pursuit of which can
only be enhanced through a knowledge of the built heritage along it.
146
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Coleraine Harbour Commissioners. Miscellaneous reports on works at Barmouth and
Coleraine (Public Record Office Northern Ireland: HAR/6/7/1A-B, HAR/6/7/3A-C,
HAR/6/7/4A-B. HAR/6/9/2/2, HAR/6/11/1, HAR/6/13/1, HAR/6/13//3, and HAR/6/15/2/1).
Commissioners of Public Works, Ireland. Annual Reports for Lough Neagh Drainage
District, 1848-61. See Appendix 3.2 for full details.
Commissioners of Public Works, Ireland (1858), Lough Neagh District - Plans of Lower
Bann Navigation (Public Record Office Northern Ireland: FIN/9/2/4).
Coode Sir J. (1878), River Bann Navigation (Coleraine). Copy in Public Record Office
Northern Ireland (FIN/9/1/7).
Crofts F.W. (1930), Bann and Lough Neagh Drainage: Report on Inquiry into the
Objections lodged against the Draft Scheme, 2 May 1930 (Belfast: HMSO).
Development Commission (1925), Report on the request of Coleraine Harbour
Commissioners for state assistance towards improvements at the mouth of the River
Bann (Public Record Office Northern Ireland: CAB/9/C/4/9).
Dick F.J. (1904), ‘Report on the drainage of Lough Neagh and the Lower Bann’, in
Proceedings House of Commons, vol.79 (1904), pp 21-34.
Drainage Advisory Committee (1927), Interim Report on the Drainage of Lough Neagh
and the River Bann. Command Papers (Northern Ireland) 72 (Belfast: HMSO).
Appendix 1
5
Drainage Advisory Committee (1928), Final Report on the Drainage of Lough Neagh
and the Bann River. Command Papers (Northern Ireland) 90 (Belfast: HMSO).
Forsyth W. (1850), ‘Improvement of the Port of Coleraine in the County of Londonderry’,
in Transactions of the Institution of Civil Engineers of Ireland, vol.4 (1849-50), pp 33-48.
Gilbert T.S. (1925), Minutes of Evidence taken before the Commission on the Natural
and Industrial Resources of Northern Ireland, 8 April 1925 (Public Record Office Northern Ireland: COM/24/1/7).
Given M. (1925), Minutes of Evidence taken before the Commission on the Natural and
Industrial Resources of Northern Ireland, 13 April 1925 (Public Record Office Northern
Ireland: COM/24/1/7).
House of Commons Select Committee on Bann Drainage Bill (1889). Report,
proceedings, minutes of evidence and memorandum, in Proceedings House Commons,
vol.1 (1889).
McCutcheon W.A. (1965), The Canals of the North of Ireland, pp 120-140 (Dawlish:
David & Charles).
MacMahon J. (1845), Report to the Commissioners on the Drainage of the Flooded
Lands and the Improvement of the Navigations in the Lough Neagh District (Dublin:
Thom). Also contains a longitudinal survey of the Lower Bann dated 1844.
Manning R. (1884), ‘Lower Bann River drainage and navigation: Report by Robert
Manning, Chief Engineer to the Board of Works in Ireland on the flooding of lands in the
Lough Neagh District’, in House of Commons Sessional Papers (1884), vol.62, pp 331341.
Ministry of Finance (1930). Drainage Act (NI) 1929 - Final Scheme Annexe 1 (Public
Record Office Northern Ireland: FIN/9/2/119A).
Monck Commission (1882). Royal Commission respecting the System of Navigation
which connects Coleraine, Belfast and Limerick (HMSO: 1882).
Nimmo A. (1828), ‘Report respecting the improvement of the Newry Navigation’.
Appendix B of Second Report of the Tidal Commissioners (HMSO, 1846).
Rennie J. (1803), To the Merchants and Traders of Coleraine and others interested in
the improvement of the Harbour of Portrush (London). Copy in Public Record Office
Northern Ireland (T/1954/1).
Returns re Lower Bann Navigation 1863, in Proceedings House of Commons, vol.63
(1863), p.871.
Returns re Lower Bann Navigation 1878, in Proceedings House of Commons, vol.61
(1878), pp 269-71.
Roach J. (1781), Proposal for embankment at mouth of River Bann, dated 20 Nov 1781.
Copy in Public Record Office Northern Ireland (T/2798/2/75).
Shepherd P.E. (1926), Proposals for Measures to Alleviate the Flooding caused by
Lough Neagh and the Bann River. Command Papers (Northern Ireland) 63 (Belfast:
HMSO).
Shepherd P.E. (1934), Chairman’s address to Belfast & District Association of the
Institution of Civil Engineers, 29 Jan 1934 (Belfast: Institution Civil Engineers).
Smith C. (1918), Handwritten notes on the history of the Bann Drainage Scheme for
Board of Works (Public Record Office Northern Ireland: FIN/9/1/32).
Townshend T, (1813), ‘Observations respecting the Navigation of the River Bann’ in
Appendix 10 of Third Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Enquire into the Nature
and Extent of the Several Bogs in Ireland, pp 162-166 (Proceedings House of
Commons, 1813-14).
Appendix 1
6
Various authors. Letters and printed matter on the Bann Navigation Scheme, 1844-93
(Public Record Office Northern Ireland: D266/260/295).
Various authors. Progress reports on drainage scheme, 1929-43 (Public Record Office
Northern Ireland: HAR/6/15/1/1-3).
Chapter 5: Fishing
Addison M (1945), The Lough Neagh Shore Area: its Physical Evolution and Human
Utilization. Unpublished M.Sc. thesis, Queen’s University, Belfast.
Department of Culture, Arts & Leisure (2010), Eel Management Plan - Neagh/ Bann
River Basin District: the Scientific Basis for the Viability of Current Management of Eel in
the Lough Neagh and Lower Bann River Basin (Belfast). Downloadable at
http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/fisheries/documents/fisheries/emp/neagh-v2.pdf.
Evans H. (1970), A Historical Account of the Bann Fisheries. Unpublished undergraduate thesis, Trinity College, Dubin.
McKay B. (1994), ‘The role of the commercial fisherman in fisheries management’, in
Bann Disc, vol.1, pp 15-21.
Mitchel N.C. (1949), The Fisheries of the Lough Neagh Basin. Unpublished M.A. thesis,
Queen’s University, Belfast.
Chapter 6: Extractive industries
Addison M. (1945), The Lough Neagh Shore Area: its Physical Evolution and Human
Utilization. Unpublished M.Sc. thesis, Queen’s University, Belfast.
Hughes J. & Barton D. (2004), Quiet Places of the Lower Bann Valley (Dunmurry).
Jackson J.W. (1909), ‘On the diatomaceous deposit of the Lower Bann Valley, counties
Antrim and Derry, and prehistoric Implements found therein’, in Memoirs and Proceedings of the Manchester Literary & Philosophical Society, vol.53 (10).
Knowles W.J. (1880), ‘Flint implements from the valley of the Bann’, in Journal of the
Anthropological Institute.
Ministry of Finance (1930s). Files relating to lands along the Lower Bann scheduled for
dumping dredged spoil. Public Record Office Northern Ireland: AG/5/1/35.
Savage M. (2004), ‘Glaciers and Guinness’, in Newsletter of the Inland Waterways
Association of Ireland, vol.31(2).
Smith A. (1985), Review of the Diatomite Resources of the River Bann –Toomebridge
Area of Northern Ireland. Open file report 64, Geological Survey of Northern Ireland.
Chapter 7: Manufacturing and power generation
Anon. (1923), ‘The water power resources of Ireland and the effect of their development
on industry’. Supplement to Manchester Guardian Commercial, 26 July 1923.
Commission on Natural and Industrial Resources (1926), Report on the Power
Resources of Northern Ireland. Command Papers (Northern Ireland) 59 (Belfast:
HMSO).
Gribbon H.D. 1969. The History of Water Power in Ulster (Newton Abbot: David &
Charles).
McCutcheon W.A. (1980), The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland (Belfast:
HMSO).
Appendix 1
7
Ministry of Labour (1923), Memorandum on the Power Resources of Northern Ireland
with Special Reference to Existing Sources and Present Applications. (Belfast: Ministry
of Labour).
Smith C. (1919), Notes complied for Board of Works on Lower Bann power scheme
(Public Record Office Northern Ireland: FIN/9/1/33).
Chapter 8: Railways
Currie J.R.L. (1954), ‘The Londonderry and Coleraine Railway’ in Journal of the Irish
Railway Record Society, vol.3, pp 217-231.
Currie J.R.L. (1968), ‘Coleraine as a railway centre’ in Journal of the Irish Railway
Record Society, vol.8, pp 203-218.
Johnson S. (1997), Johnson's Atlas & Gazetteer of the Railways of Ireland (Leicester:
Midland Publishing).
Kennedy M. (2000), The LMS in Ireland: an Irish Railway Pictorial (Leicester: Midland
Publishing).
Chapter 9: Second World War
Lowry B. (1998), 20th Century Defences in Britain: an Introductory Guide (London:
Council for British Archaeology).
Chapter 10: Recreational Uses
Lower Bann Advisory Committee (2008), Lower Bann River Users’ Guide (Lower Bann
Advisory Committee).
Lower Bann Partnership and Causeway Coast & Glens (n.d.) Lower River Bann Activity
Guide.
Lower Bann Partnership and Causeway Coast & Glens (n.d.) Lower River Bann Angling
Guide.
Savage M. (2009), River Bann & Lough Neagh Pilot (River Bann & Lough Neagh
Association).
Waterways Ireland. Annual Reports & Accounts, 2000 – 2009.
Waterways Ireland (2008), Guide to the Lower Bann: Navigation and Recreation
Information.
Appendix 1
8
APPENDIX 2: SITE DATABASE FIELDS
The attributes recorded for each site in the database are as follows:
Site no
Number allocated to site, running sequentially from 4000 to 4999 (and prefixed
with ‘WIIAH’ (= Waterways Ireland Inventory of Architectural Heritage) They run
in an upstream direction, from the Barmouth at the north end of the waterway to
Lough Neagh at the south end.
In some instances, minor structures in close proximity to one another along a
stretch of bank, such as private jetties, have been amalgamated under the one
site number. The have, however, been differentiated in the ‘Description’ field.
In the case of some riverbank features, related buildings and structures further
up the bank are also subsumed under the one site number.
In a few cases, a site has been subdivided into its component structures, each
with its own number, in order to differentiate them for reasons of ownership,
date etc.
Name
Name(s) by which the site is commonly known.
Site type
The various types of buildings and/or structures now or once encompassed
within each site are listed in alphabetical order. In all, 34 site types have been
differentiated, some of which have been further differentiated in the
‘Description’ field:
Site type
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir
Boat
Boat house
Bridge (aerial)
Bridge (foot)
Bridge (rail)
Bridge (road)
Canal
Club house
Coastguard station
Dry dock
Ecclesiastical
Estate building/structure
Ferry
Ferryman's house
Fishing building/structure
Includes
Barrage; Eel weir; Fish pass; Fish trap; Navigation weir
Barge; Boat
Boat house; Boat maintenance shed
Aerial ropeway
Bridge (foot/water)
Bridge (rail/water); Contractor's bridge (rail/water)
Bridge (road/water)
Canal
Rowing club house; Yacht club house
Coastguard station
Dry dock
Abbey; Church; Graveyard
Farmyard buildings; Folly; Ice house; Pigeon house
Ferry
Ferryman's house
Fishery building; Fish Farm; Fish hatchery; Fishing hut; Ice
house; Salmon fishery. See also ‘Barrage/dam/sluice/
weir’ for fish passes and fish/eel traps.
Ford
Ford
Hotel
Hotel
House. See also ‘Pre-1700’ for earlier houses, castles etc.
House
Industrial building/structure Brick field; Brick kiln; Brick yard; Chimney; Clay pit;
Concrete block works; Corn kiln; Corn mill; Diatomite
works; Distillery; Factory; Flax mill; Flax spinning mill;
Gasworks; Mill race; Peat works; Pipe; Pottery; Quarry;
Saw mill; Sand processing site; Store; Weaving factory
See also ‘Railway building/structure’ for industrial railways.
Jetty/Pontoon
Jetty; Landing stage; Pontoon
Landing place
Appendix 2
Landing place
1
Lock
Lock/Sluice keeper’s house
Military building/structure
Mole
Navigation marker
Pier/Quay
Pre-1700
Pump house
Railway building/structure
River drainage deposit
Slipway
Utility block
Water gauge station
Lock
Lock keeper's house
Airfield; Military building; Pillbox
Mole; Training bank
Leading light; Navigation marker
Pier; Pier-Slipway (i.e. sloping pier); Quay
Battle site; Bawn; Bullaun; Castle; Crannog; Cross;
Earthwork; Enclosure; Find spot; Graveyard; House; Mass
rock; Monastery ; Motte; Mound; Settlement; Souterrain;
Standing stone
Pump house; Wind pump
Contractor's railway; Industrial railway; Level crossing
house; Railway; Railway siding; Railway station. See also
‘Bridge (rail)’ for railway bridges.
Cairn (river drainage)
Pier-Slipway (i.e. sloping pier); Slipway
Utility block
Water gauge station
Waterway
link?
A check box to show if the site is functionally related to the waterway. Note that
bridges are deemed not to have a functional relationship except where they
had/have an opening span over its navigation channel.
Address
The site’s location is generally given to the level of townland, nearest postal
town and county of that postal town. In the case of urban sites, street names
may also be given. Where a site lies in several townlands, these are separated
by a forward slash, e.g. Millburn/Waterside, Coleraine, Co Londonderry.
Ownership
The individual or group responsible for that site:




















IG Co-Ords
Appendix 2
Ballymena BC = Ballymena Borough Council
Ballymoney BC = Ballymoney Borough Council
Church = Church authority
Coleraine BC = Coleraine Borough Council
Coleraine HC = Coleraine Harbour Commissioners
Education = Educational establishment (school or university)
Fisheries = Fisheries Division of Dept Culture, Arts & Leisure
Forest Service = Forest Service, an agency within Dept Agriculture & Rural
Development
Irish Society = The Honourable the Irish Society
L. Neagh Fish Co-Op = Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-Operative Society.
Magherafelt DC = Magherafelt District Council
N/A = Not applicable (i.e. site with no visible remains)
Nat Trust = National Trust Northern Ireland
NIEA = Northern Ireland Environment Service, an agency within Dept Environment
Private = owned by individual or non-public organisation
Rivers Agency = Rivers Agency, an agency within Dept Agriculture & Rural
Development
Roads Service = Roads Service, an agency within Dept Regional Development
Translink = N. Ireland transport authority (Citybus, NI Railways and Ulsterbus)
Unknown = Ownership unknown
WI = Waterways Ireland, an agency of Dept Culture, Arts & Leisure
Six-figure Irish Grid easting and northing (i.e. specified to 1m). These have
been generated from MapInfo maps. Where a site comprises several features,
the centroid of their locations is given. The specific locations of these
constituent components are usually cited in the ‘Description’ field.
2
IG Easting/
Northing
(precise)
As above, but to five decimal places. Although these figures are in the tables,
they are not reproduced in the ‘forms’ or ‘reports’.
ITM Co-Ords
Six-figure Irish Transverse Mercator Grid easting and northing (i.e. specified to
1m). These have been converted from IG co-ordinates using the batch
conversion program on the Ordnance Survey Ireland website (www.osi.ie).
ITM Easting/
Northing
(precise)
As above, but to two decimal places. Although these figures are in the tables,
they are not reproduced in the ‘forms’ or ‘reports’.
History
Outline of site’s inception and development.
Surveyor
Name of person who inspected site in the field.
 FWH = Fred Hamond
Survey date
Day/ month/ year of survey.
Completeness The state of completeness of the site in its present state. Features within the
site which have disappeared are noted in the ‘Description’ field.





Condition
Complete
Substantial remains
Some remains
Traces
No visible remains
The present state of the remains as they now stand:






Excellent = In very good or ‘as new’ condition.
Good = In good condition and maintained
Fair = In good condition, but not maintained
Poor = Derelict
Absent = No visible remains survive
Unknown
Description
Overview of site features and descriptions thereof.
Heritage
criteria
checkboxes
These are based on criteria set out by the National Inventory of Architectural
Heritage. One or more criteria may be applicable to sites of heritage
significance:








Archaeological
Architectural
Artistic
Cultural
Historical
Scientific
Social
Technology
Evaluation
Rationale behind assigning a significance rating to a site (where of special
merit). Note that only sites of post-1700 date have been evaluated.
Significance
Rating given to the site’s heritage significance, whether because of its
importance in relation to the heritage of the Lower Bann Waterway or because
of its contribution to the built heritage of the region.




Appendix 2
Negligible = Of no heritage significance whatsoever
Low = Of local heritage significance
Medium = Of high local heritage significance
High = Of regional or national heritage significance
3
Action
Recommendations for conserving the site:





Needs immediate intervention
Significant repairs
Minor repairs
Minimal aesthetic work
No action
Note that the ‘no action’ recommendation has been applied to all sites of pre1700 date and also to sites which are stable.
Statutory
Protection
Denotes whether a site has statutory protection. If so, the agency responsible
for assigning this protection is noted, together with the type of protection and
the site’s registration number. Multiple designations are separated by a semicolon.
The agency responsible for statutory protection in N. Ireland is the Northern
Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA). The types of protection are:
 HB = Listed Building. Listing grade is given in brackets (A, B+, B1, B2, or B)
 SM = Scheduled Monument
 SMSC = Scheduled Monument in State Care
Other
Databases
These denote other databases holding information on the site. Each is denoted
by the agency holding it, followed the name of the database and record number
within it. Multiple designations are separated by a semi-colon. The principal
agencies and their databases are:
 CMA = Centre for Maritime Archaeology, University of Ulster at Coleraine:
 MRL = Maritime Record Londonderry
 NIEA = Northern Ireland Environment Agency:
 DHP = Defence Heritage Project Record
 HB = Historic Buildings Record
 HPG = Historic Parks & Gardens Record
 IHR = Industrial Heritage Record
 SMR = Sites & Monuments Record
 Roads Service Bridge = Roads Service Bridge Database
 WI Bridge = Waterways Ireland Bridge Database
References
Author, date, title of publication, place of publication and publisher.
Abbreviations used:
 NLI = National Library Ireland
 NMNI = National Museums Northern Ireland
 PRONI = Public Record Office of Northern Ireland document
Photographs
Where photographs have been taken, each site image is detailed as follows:
 Image number.
Given as WIIAH site number followed by sequential number. Historical photographs
are presented first.
 Photographer:
 CHC = Coleraine Harbour Commissioners
 CPW = Commissioners of Public Works (Ireland)
 FWH = Fred Hamond
 NIEA = Northern Ireland Environment Agency
 Abbreviations used in captions:
 NLI = National Museum Ireland
 NMNI = National Museum Northern Ireland
Appendix 2
4
APPENDIX 3:
COMMISSIONERS OF PUBLIC WORKS REPORTS
Appendix 3
1
Appendix 3.1: Progress of commissioners of public works on Lower Bann, 1848-61
Reports from 1848 to1858 are by Charles S. Ottley C.E, District Engineer. From 1859 they are by James J. Boylan C.E, the Board of
Works’ resident engineer (based at Donaghadee). The reports are ordered by report number, page, and WI site number (WIIAH).
See Appendix 3.2 for location of reports in House of Commons volumes.
Site Name
Comment
Report
number
Report
year
HC vol
pages(s)
WIIAH
no
17
1848
685
4094
Cutts Quay
500ft of wharf wall built.
4096
Cutts Weir
Two fish traps and nearly half of weir completed.
4191
Movanagher Lock
Two-thirds of lock completed. 130ft x 20ft-6in; 10ft-6in fall. Gates hung 1850.
4198
Movanagher Canal
Bottomed and sloped and 1000yd towing path made.
4224
Portna Canal
Bottomed and sloped except for small section below lock.
4260
Portglenone Bridge
Substantial temporary bridge constructed in advance of removing the existing one.
Chargeable to the two Grand Juries.
4096
Cutts Weir
All traps finished and in use. All of east weir finished and west weir two-thirds complete.
4175
Carnroe Lock
Three-quarters of the stone has been prepared for this lock.
4191
Movanagher Lock
Finished except for gates.
4198
Movanagher Canal
Canal finished.
4227
Portna Eel Fishery
New eel weirs erected and transferred to lessee. “Of most improved and permanent
construction”. Cast-iron frames bolted down on to the rock and gangway over. Lukewarm
reception to new design from the fishing interests! Only partly successful in this, their first
season of operation.
4260
Portglenone Bridge
Stones dressed in preparation. One half of old bridge cleared away.
4339
Toome Weir
The most important part of this weir “got in” and one of the moles partly constructed. Well
advanced.
4091
Cutts Lock
First stone of invert laid on 19 June. Lock now nearing completion. Dimensions 130ft x
20ft-6in; 6ft-6in fall.
18
19
Appendix 3
1849
1850
692
214
2
Appendix 3
4096
Cutts Weir
Flooding prevents completion of west section. Watch house and weigh house erected on
traps.
4190
Tamlaght Quarry
Quarry is supplying stone for Carnroe, Movanagher and Portna locks.
4211
Kilrea Bridge
Underpinning of Kilrea Bridge and erection of swivel arch still to be implemented.
4260
Portglenone Bridge
A small portion of bridge removed in 1849. All now removed without damage to the
temporary bridge. On 12 Aug 1850, the first stone of the Co Antrim abutment laid, since
which the abutment and swivel bridge pier 50ft long x 20ft wide have been raised to arch
spring level, 12ft above the bed. Much expense in establishing foundations. High quality
black whinstone used.
4315
Toome Bridge
The three eastern arches and two western ones removed and bed sunk 3ft.
4339
Toome Weir
New regulatory weir at Toome noted. In early 1850, a railway laid from the quarry and a
bridge over the Bann to assist in weir’s construction.
214-15
4097
Castleroe Mill
Mill gable underpinned. New wheel made for Spencer’s Mill. Headrace sunk 2ft and new
sluices installed. Tail race sunk 3-4ft and 200yds of new race made to divert the flow back
to the river further down than before. Wheel is 16ft x 6ft (the old one was 14ft x 5ft).
215
4090
Cutts mill race
Mill race inserted in basin wall. Bottom cill six inches below intended summer water. Will
generated 70-200hp depending on state of tide.
4094
Cutts Quay
End connected into west end of lock.
4098
Irish Society slip,
Cutts
Slip erected for Irish Society to access fish traps via a chain rather than gangway.
4175
Carnroe Lock
Stonework started on 8 July and completed except for a portion of its coping. Dimensions
130ft x 20ft-6in
4191
Movanagher Lock
Walls backed and puddle. Two pairs of gates hung. The four tunnel sluices also done.
4198
Movanagher Canal
Mole finished.
216
4227
Portna Eel Fishery
Board of Works have purchased the rights to the fishery. However, finding it difficult to let
out at what they consider a fair rent.
217
4334
Toome Canal
Work starts on 1 May. Piles driven in.
218
--
Some dredging of Maghery Cut (at south end of Lough Neagh) at behest of Ulster Canal
Co.
219
--
Difficulty in getting labourers as they are engaged in harvesting and fishing. Notes that an
unanticipated expense was the purchase of the eel fisheries at Toome and Portna. Also
3
remarks that although none of the weirs yet finished, except at the Cutts, anticipated that
next year (1851), once the gates are hung on three of the locks, there will be a navigable
passage from Coleraine to Kilrea, but only with 4-5ft draft for the moment.
20
1851
619
620
621
Appendix 3
--
Glenstall River deepened up to Glenstall flour mills near Agivey to prevent backwatering.
4090
Cutts mill race
Walled on both sides and sluice installed.
4091
Cutts Lock
Locks completely finished.
4094
Cutts Quay
540ft all now finished and coped.
4096
Cutts Weir
Weir finished.
4175
Carnroe Lock
Completely finished and coped. Upper gates hung and the lower ones about to be.
4191
Movanagher Lock
Sluice mechanisms inserted. Lock now in full working order. Canal now all finished as
well. The lock will be initially used in boating stone from Tamlaght Quarry to Portna Lock.
4210
Kilrea Quay
Wharf wall erected on north side of bridge, where previously none existed. 60ft long.
4211
Kilrea Bridge
During 1851, the Antrim abutment and three adjoining piers underpinned to depth of 7ft.
4220
Portna Locks
Work started on Portna Lock. First stone laid, the foundations having been prepared, on 6
Nov. Originally intended to have an invert floor, but not needed as founded on solid rock.
Building of side walls and upper cills advancing rapidly. Supplied by boat from Tamlaght
Quarry, via Movanagher Lock. Timber obtained for the gates. Anticipated that will be
finished next season.
4260
Portglenone Bridge
All piers and abutments now to arch spring level. Planned to build arches in summer
1852. Three segmental arches of 65ft span and 15ft rise. Navigation channel of 20ft width
to be spanned by a wrought-iron swivel bridge. The dams around the foundations had
been kept dry with horse-powered pumps. The masonry had been raised above the water
line in Nov 1851.
4264
Portglenone House
Boat House
New wharf wall and alteration in boat house in Mr Alexander’s Demesne have been
completed.
4315
Toome Bridge
Foundation for Antrim abutment and swivel bridge pier excavated. Planning to start work
in Jan 1852 on the stonework.
4333
Toome Lock
Foundations of lock are in hard clay. In progress. Coalisland bricks delivered for the invert
and side walls which will start next season.
4339
Toome Weir
Work started on regulatory weir. It is to be 1200ft long. The principal row of piles inserted
in 1850. In 1851, 300ft length of weir on the Co Antrim side completed, except for cast4
iron caping. Terminating abutment has been built, into which the weir is bonded. 300ft on
the Co Derry side in progress, and is ready for caping. Back of weir puddle for 600ft.
21
1852
4341
Lough Neagh
Breakwaters
The western breakwater has been completed – 720yds long. Used as a landing place for
construction materials.
621-622
4334
Toome Canal
Extension of Navigation cut into Lough Neagh considerably advanced and mole built in
parallel. Canal and mole now competed for 470yds, with 300yds to be completed. Bed
width of canal is 40ft and the side next the mole has been paved for its entire length.
The stone is brought by railway. Also notes that the spoil from the canal used for land
reclamation purposes – 10 acres of former lough bed reclaimed.
622
4315
Toome Bridge
The existing bridge was built by the late Viscount O’Neil 70-80 years ago. Heavy toll. It
was purchased by the counties Antrim and Derry and since 5 Nov 1851, there has been a
toll-free passage over it. Commissioners intend to replace it as cheaper than trying to
underpin it.
875
4175
Carnroe Lock
Lock gates hung and sluices adjusted. Sluices will be installed over the winter. Outer wall
of lock pier finished – 200ft long x 12ft high. The stone has come from Tamlaght Quarry.
4178
Carnroe Canal
Canal excavations below lock finished for 400yds. Would have been completed this
season but for floods which came three months earlier than in 1851.
4179
Carnroe Weir
Weir basin almost excavated. 160ft of weir has been completed, including fish pass. It is
intended to finish the remaining 440ft of the 600ft long weir next season.
4200
Movanagher Weir
Still to be done.
4211
Kilrea Bridge
Masonry far advanced. Contract for wrought-iron superstructure given after public
competition. Intended to erect bridge over Navigation in Spring 1853.
4220
Portna Locks
Notes that first stone of lock laid in Nov 1851. Lock now nearly completed. Upper and
lower gates hung, the middle one awaits. Mechanisms to be fitted. Delay due to difficulty
in procuring sufficiently large coping stones.
4211
Kilrea Bridge
Swivel bridge by Grendon & Co, Drogheda. Expected to be open early summer 1853.
4260
Portglenone Bridge
By close of 1851, the piers and abutments had been raised to spring level. This season,
the formwork put up in early June, and the last arch keyed in first week of September.
When the centering was removed, no subsidence whatever took place. Since then all
stonework completed and ready to receive parapets. The swivel bridge is ready to receive
its ironwork.
4260
Portglenone Bridge
Swivel bridge by Grendon & Co, Drogheda. Expected to be open early summer 1853.
876
Appendix 3
5
22
1853
615
616
617
23
Appendix 3
1854
742
4315
Toome Bridge
Foundations for new bridge laid in March. Since then, the Co Antrim abutment, swivel
bridge pier and central pier have been raised to their finished heights. The Navigation
span is ready to receive the metalwork. Co Derry abutment work about to start.
The use of two horizontal 100ft iron trellis spans and the Navigation span was determined
by the fact that the existing approaches to the bridge were at a low level and also the
need to minimize obstructions in the river. Contract awarded by Messrs Grendon & Co,
Drogheda (they also won contracts for the swivel bridges at Kilrea and Portglenone.
Expected to be open early summer 1853.
4333
Toome Lock
Since 1851 report, the lock has been founded and is three-quarters complete. This is the
last of them to be built. Gates ready. Hoped to be finished in 1853.
4334
Toome Canal
Canal from swivel bridge to lock now almost at full depth. Extension out into Lough Neagh
in progress. Work at weir hindered by floods. Situation exacerbated by the fact that the old
Toome Bridge was holding back the water. Not until the new bridge is finished can the old
one be removed. Hoped to clear it in 1853.
4179
Carnroe Weir
600ft weir completed, coped and puddled; fish pass therein.
4200
Movanagher Weir
Preparation of stonework underway.
4210
Kilrea Quay
Wharf wall coped.
4211
Kilrea Bridge
Stonework on swivel bridge abutment raised considerably. Temporary timber bridge
erected. Eastern arch of the stone bridge taken down. Bridge delivered by manufacturer
and is ready for erection.
4220
Portna Locks
Third set of gates hung. Portna Lock finished.
4227
Portna Eel Fishery
Let to a new tenant by the Board, the former lessee having gone insolvent.
4229
Portna Weir
Yet to start.
4260
Portglenone Bridge
Opened 14 Sept 1853. Temporary timber bridge removed soon afterwards.
4315
Toome Bridge
New bridge and approaches completed except for pilasters. Opened by Viscount O’Neill
on 12 Oct 1853. Road carried on four horizontal trellis girders. Most of the old bridge has
been cleared. Notes that the old bridge’s sandstone to be redressed for use in new
bridge’s pilasters.
4339
Toome Weir
Weir in progress; hearted with stones.
4142
Agivey Bann Bridge
The existing timber bridge was decayed and unsafe. Much difficulty in securing it so a
swivel bridge could be built at its Co Antrim end. A temporary wooden bridge was built at
that end and opened in July 1854 (previously used at Kilrea Bridge as a temporary
6
measure). Enabled work on abutments to swivel bridge to begin. Abutments secured on
piles and carried up to coping level. Piles for pier also completed. The new swivel bridge
allows for any future replacement of the timber bridge. Stone for the bridge brought from
Tamlaght Quarry.
24
1855
4179
Carnroe Weir
A fish pass is incorporated into the weir.
4200
Movanagher Weir
Since 1853, 600ft has been built and operational since Sept. Founded on solid rock and
coped with heavy ashlar. Stone boated from Tamlaght Quarry. A fish pass is incorporated
into the weir.
4211
Kilrea Bridge
Stonework on swivel section completed and ironwork erected. Opened 27 May 1854. The
temporary wooden bridge dismantled and reused at Agivey.
742-743
4229
Portna Weir
Yet to be completed. Work started in August. Deliberately deferred to encourage flow
through Lough Beg, and thereby scour its bed. This was only partially successful, so
decided to start on the weir. Since Sept, 200ft built on solid rock up to 4ft high. Stone will
be from Tamlaght Quarry, via Movangher Lock. The quarry is approx 3† miles downriver.
743
--
501
502
Appendix 3
Notes difficulty of getting labourers as the Ballymena rail extension also underway.
Dargan was paying 1s.6d per day, whereas 1s.0d. would have sufficed before!
4315
Toome Bridge
Piers and arches of old bridge now removed. River deepened hereabouts 10ft below its
former level. Stone from the old bridge recycled into the new bridge’s pilasters (and also
into the new quay)
4320
Toome Quay
280ft long. Stone derived from old Toome Bridge. Located above the bridge on the town
side. Now awaits coping.
4333
Toome Lock
Lock has been coped and the gates hung. Now in working order and the last of the five
locks from the Coleraine end.
4142
Agivey Bann Bridge
Swivel bridge completed. Opened Oct 1855. Temporary bridge dismantled.
4220
Portna Locks
A timber-framed swivel bridge put in to connect with the island which belongs to the
Mercers’ Company. Almost ready for use.
4175
Carnroe Lock
Sluice machinery for lower gate procured and installed.
4179
Carnroe Weir
Dam lowered six inches below summer level.
4229
Portna Weir
Weir and fish pass finished.
4233
Animal slipway
Watering slip built for cattle (presumed to be 4233).
4234
Animal slipway
Watering slip built for cattle (presumed to be 4234).
7
4258
503
25
1856
767
768
26
Appendix 3
1857
610
Portglenone Quay
--
New quay constructed and a commodious wharf with steps. Large quantities of brick
already delivered for the use of the town etc.
Twp large bridges, five locks, six weirs, five wharfs, salmon cribs, and five swivel bridges
all now complete.
4315
Toome Bridge
Foundation piles of old timber bridge removed on west side and excavation of river bed
completed.
4320
Toome Quay
Coped and finished.
4339
Toome Weir
Hearting complete and cill coping finished. Lake now 6ft below previous level.
--
Beacon piles installed along navigable channel between Kilrea and Coleraine.
4093
Cutts Lock House
Preparations for lock house underway.
4176
Carnroe Lock House
Lock house built – an old store and workshops adapted to that purpose.
4193
Movanagher Lock
House
Lock house to be built and expected to be finished Spring 1857.
4220
Portna Locks
Swivel bridge over lock finished.
4222
Portna Lock House
Lock house to be built and expected to be finished Spring 1857.
4328
Toome Lock House
Lock house to be built and expected to be finished Spring 1857.
4260
Portglenone Bridge
Cost to be met by presentments to counties Antrim and Derry. Total cost ‡8513.14s.0d, to
be split equally. This figure also includes part of Toome Bridge.
4294
Lough Beg miles
Moles at south end Lough Beg raised. Paved slopes require frequent repair.
4315
Toome Bridge
Cost to be met by presentments to counties Antrim and Derry. Total cost ‡8513.14s.0d, to
be split equally. This includes Portglenone Br.
4323
Carlisle Bridge
Ballymena Railway Co, in relation to its Cookstown Extension, have built a swivel bridge;
railway bridge progressing
--
Navigation finished, but not yet open to the public.
4093
Cutts Lock House
Lock house built.
4096
Cutts Weir
One of the salmon cribs has been lowered 2ft [in line with the others] and a fifth one
inserted. Also elver slip on west weir.
4141
Agivey Quay
70ft long quay built, with wharf, steps and approach from public road.
8
27
1858
885
4176
Carnroe Lock House
Lock house built.
4179
Carnroe Weir
Eel slip inserted at each end of weir.
4193
Movanagher Lock
House
Lock house built.
4200
Movanagher Weir
Eel slip inserted at each end of weir.
4222
Portna Lock House
Lock house built.
4229
Portna Weir
Eel slip inserted at each end of weir.
4323
Carlisle Bridge
Railway bridge over Bann completed. Temporary bridge and scaffolding to be removed.
4328
Toome Lock House
Lock house built.
-4096
Antrim Quay and canal to main road finished.
Cutts Weir
Eel slip at east end of E weir.
886
--
29,625 acres improved, and increased in annual valuation to ‡9953. The only outstanding
work is dredging channel through Lough Beg – in progress.
28
1859
820
--
All handed over on 25 June 1859 to Trustees. Since final awards in Feb 1859, no further
works. However, channel through Lough Beg channel still not complete – 80ft wide at
bottom and 7ft below min lake level. More to be done to it.
29
1860
104
--
Further dredging in Lough Beg; only 1250yds remain to be dredged – hoped to do so in
April 1861.
30
1861
54
--
No works except completion of Lough Beg channel. Also Toome canal re-excavated to
width of 36ft wide at bottom (some silting had accumulated). A total of ‡11 received from
season’s grass crop on the mill site plots.
Appendix 3
9
Appendix 3.2: Index to the Commissioners’ reports on Lough Neagh
Drainage District in the proceedings of the House of Commons
Note that reports 1-16 and 31+ make no specific references to the
Lough Neagh Drainage District.
Appendix 3
Report
number
Report
year
House Commons
volume
17
1848
23
1849
685-686
18
1849
25
1850
692-693
19
1850
25
1851
214-220
20
1851
41
1852-53
618-625
21
1852
41
1852-53
874-882
22
1853
20
1854
615-618
23
1854
16
1854-55
742-746
24
1855
19
1856
501-506
25
1856
17
1857 (2nd)
767-771
26
1857
26
1857-58
610-612
27
1858
14
1859 (2nd)
885-886
28
1859
34
1860
820
29
1860
33
1861
104
30
1861
28
1862
54
10
House Commons
session year
HC volume
pages(s)
APPENDIX 4: SITES OF HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE
4.1 Low Significance
Site no
Name
Site type
Address
Statutory Protection
4012
Coastguard station
Barmouth Road, Ballywoolen, Coleraine, Co L’derry
None
4013
Railway building/structure
Barmouth Road, Ballywoolen, Coleraine, Co L’derry
None
4023
Boat
Farranlester, Coleraine, Co L’derry
None
4026
Carnanee Jetty
Jetty/Pontoon
Carnanee, Portstewart, Co L’derry
None
4032
Cranagh Fishery
Fishing building/structure
78 Portstewart Road, Ballysally, Coleraine, Co L’derry
None
Industrial building/structure
Ballyness, Coleraine, Co L’derry
None
Industrial building/structure
Ballyness, Coleraine, Co L’derry
None
4114
Industrial building/structure
Fish Loughan, Coleraine, Co L’derry
None
4119
River drainage deposit
Loughan Island, Coleraine, Co L’derry
None
4124
Water gauge station
Camus, Coleraine, Co L’derry
None
4090
4097
Castleroe Mill (2)
4135
Derry Central Railway
Railway building/structure
Artigoran, Ballymoney, Co Antrim/ Ballylagan, Coleraine,
Co L’derry
None
4136
Macfin Bridge
Bridge (rail)
Artigoran, Ballymoney, Co Antrim/ Ballylagan, Coleraine,
Co L’derry
None
4137
Drumaheglis Distillery;
Hibernian Woollen
Factory
Industrial building/structure
60 Glenstall Road, Drumaheglis, Ballymoney, Co Antrim
None
4146
Industrial building/structure
Glasgort, Aghadowey, Coleraine, Co L’derry
None
4162
Industrial building/structure
Drumeil, Aghadowey, Coleraine, Co L’derry
None
4183
Vow Graveyard
Ecclesiastical; Pre-1700
Vow, Ballymoney, Co Antrim
None
4190
Tamlaght Quarry
Industrial building/structure
Tamlaght, Coleraine, Co L’derry
None
4203
Moore Lodge Jetty
House; Jetty/Pontoon; Landing
place
166 Vow Road, Moore Lodge, Ballymoney, Co Antrim
None
Appendix 4
1
4290
Church Island Pier
Pier/Quay
Church Island, Intake, Bellaghy, Magherafelt, Co L’derry
None
4308
Creagh Diatomite
Works
Industrial building/structure
The Creagh, Toomebridge, Antrim, Co Antrim
None
4315
Toome Bridge
Bridge (road)
The Creagh/Toome, Toomebridge, Antrim, Co Antrim
None
4323
Carlisle Bridge
Bridge (rail)
The Creagh/Toome, Toomebridge, Antrim, Co Antrim
None
4324
Cookstown Branch
Railway
Railway building/structure
The Creagh/Toome, Toomebridge, Antrim, Co Antrim
None
4.2 Medium Significance
Site no
Name
4002
Site type
Address
Military building/structure
East Crossreagh, Portstewart, Co L’derry
4004
Lower Leading Light
Navigation marker
Ballywoolen, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4007
Upper Leading Light
Navigation marker
Ballywoolen, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4009
Bridge (rail)
Ballywoolen, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4010
Railway building/structure
Carnanee/East Crossreagh/Garborgle/West Crossreagh,
Portstewart, Co L’derry
4016
Military building/structure
Grange Beg, Coleraine, Co L’derry
Statutory Protection
NIEA SMR LDY 003:078 (SM)
NIEA SMR LDY 002:501 (SM)
NIEA SMR LDY 002:019 (SM)
4022
Belfast-Derry Railway
Railway building/structure
Various, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4025
Carnanee Quarry
Industrial building/structure
Carnanee/Garborgle, Portstewart, Co L’derry
4049
Riversdale Quay
Pier/Quay
Riversdale Road, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4054
Potato Quay
Pier/Quay
Riversdale Road, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4055
Bannside Wharf
Pier/Quay
Coleraine, Co L’derry
4062
Clothworkers Arms
Hotel
Hotel
1 Waterside, Coleraine, Co L’derry
NIEA HB 03/16/001A
4067
Bann/ Coleraine
Rowing Club
Club house; Jetty/Pontoon
66 Hanover Place, Coleraine, Co L’derry
NIEA HB 03/18/017
Industrial building/structure
Mill Loughan, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4113
Appendix 4
2
4122
St Paul's Church
Ecclesiastical
181 Loughan Road, Fish Loughan, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4142
Agivey Bann Bridge
Bridge (road)
Cross, Ballymoney, Co Antrim/Lissaghmore, Aghadowey,
Coleraine, Co L’derry
4154
Military building/structure
Landagivey, Aghadowey, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4155
Military building/structure
Landagivey, Aghadowey, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4158
Military building/structure
Landagivey, Aghadowey, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4159
Military building/structure
Drumeil, Aghadowey, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4163
Military building/structure
Drumeil, Aghadowey, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4165
Military building/structure
Drumeil, Aghadowey, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4166
Military building/structure
Drumeil, Aghadowey, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4201
Glandore Boat House
Boat house; House; Slipway
160 Vow Road, Ardnagross, Ballymoney, Co Antrim
4205
Moore Lodge Pigeon
House
Estate building/structure
Moore Lodge, Ballymoney, Co Antrim
4210
Kilrea Quay
Pier/Quay
Culmore, Rasharkin, Ballymena, Co Antrim
4219
Military building/structure
Moneygran, Kilrea, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4225
Military building/structure
Culmore, Rasharkin, Ballymena, Co Antrim
4228
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir;
Bridge (foot); Jetty/Pontoon;
Slipway
Culmore, Rasharkin, Ballymena, Co Antrim/Moneygran,
Kilrea, Coleraine, Co
4250
Military building/structure
Gortfad, Portglenone, Ballymena, Co Antrim
4254
Military building/structure
Glenone, Portglenone, Ballymena, Co Antrim
4288
Boat house; Canal; Pier/Quay;
Slipway
Intake, Bellaghy, Magherafelt, Co L’derry
4295
Pier/Quay
Drumraymond, Toomebridge, Antrim, Co Antrim
4304
Military building/structure
Brecart, Toomebridge, Antrim, Co Antrim
Pier/Quay; Railway
building/structure
Toome, Toomebridge, Antrim, Co Antrim
4320
Appendix 4
Toome Quay (2)
3
NIEA HB 03/06/003
NIEA HB 04/11/004
4.3 High Significance
Site no
Name
Site type
Address
Statutory Protection
4000
Barmouth Moles
Mole
Ballywoolen, Coleraine/East Crossreagh, Portstewart,
Co L’derry
NIEA SMR LDY 002:500 (SM);
SMR LDY 003:500 (SM)
4001
Training bank
Mole
Ballywoolen, Coleraine, Co L’derry
NIEA SMR LDY 002:500 (SM)
4044
Bann Railway Bridge
Bridge (rail)
Millburn/Waterside, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4064
Bann Bridge,
Coleraine
Bridge (road)
Bridge Street, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4083
Sandel Ford
Ford; Pre-1700
Mount Sandel/Somerset, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4091
Lock 1, Cutts
Lock
Ballyness, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4094
Cutts Quay
Jetty/Pontoon; Pier/Quay
Ballyness, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4096
Cutts Weir; Cutts
Flood Gates
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir
Ballyness, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4106
Camus House, Cross
& Graveyard
Ecclesiastical; Pre-1700
Curragh Road, Camus, Coleraine, Co L’derry
Industrial building/structure
Mill Loughan, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4112
4116
Camus Ford; Loughan
Ford
Ford; Pre-1700
Camus/Fish Loughan/Mill Loughan, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4149
Aghadowey Airfield;
Mullaghmore Airfield
Military building/structure
Glasgort, Aghadowey, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4175
Lock 2, Carnroe
Jetty/Pontoon; Lock
Vow, Ballymoney, Co Antrim
4178
Carnroe Canal
Canal
Vow, Ballymoney, Co Antrim
4179
Carnroe Weir
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir
Carranrow, Coleraine, Co L’derry/Vow, Ballymoney,
Co Antrim
4191
Lock 3, Movanagher
Bridge (road); Jetty/Pontoon;
Lock
Artiloman, Ballymoney, Co Antrim
4198
Movanagher Canal
Canal
Artiloman/Ardnagross, Ballymoney, Co Antrim
Appendix 4
4
NIEA HB 03/18/020
NIEA HB 03/14/006
NIEA HB 03/03/004 (house);
SMR LDY 007:022 (cross; SM)
NIEA SMR LDY 007:100 (SM)
NIEA HB 04/11/009
4200
Movanagher Weir
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir
Ardnagross, Ballymoney, Co Antrim/Movanagher,
Coleraine, Co L’derry
4211
Kilrea Bridge
Bridge (road)
Bann Road, Rasharkin, Ballymena, Co Antrim/Kilrea,
Coleraine, Co L’derry
NIEA HB 04/11/001
4220
Lock 4, Portna
Bridge (road); Jetty/Pontoon;
Lock
Moneygran, Kilrea, Coleraine, Co L’derry
NIEA HB 08/03/015
4223
Portna Dry Dock &
Quay
Dry dock; Pier/Quay
Moneygran, Kilrea, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4224
Portna Canal
Canal
Moneygran, Kilrea, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4226
Kilrea Eel Fishery;
Portna Eel Fishery
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir
Culmore, Rasharkin, Ballymena, Co Antrim/Moneygran,
Kilrea, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4229
Portna Flood Gates &
Weir
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir
Culmore, Rasharkin, Ballymena, Co Antrim/Moneygran,
Kilrea, Coleraine, Co L’derry
4260
Bann Bridge,
Portglenone
Bridge (road)
Garvaghy/Glenone, Portglenone, Ballymena, Co Antrim
4276
Newferry Diatomite
Works
Industrial building/structure;
Pier/Quay; Pump house
Ballymacombs More, Bellaghy, Magherafelt, Co L’derry
4287
Ballyscullion Palace
Estate building/structure;
House; Military
building/structure
Ballyscullion West, Bellaghy, Magherafelt, Co L’derry
4291
Church Island
Ecclesiastical; Estate
building/structure; Pre-1700
Church Island, Intake, Bellaghy, Magherafelt, Co L’derry
4294
Lough Beg mole
Mole
Brecart, Toomebridge, Antrim, Co Antrim
4298
New Cut
Canal
Brecart, Toomebridge, Antrim, Co Antrim
4313
Toome Eel Fishery
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir;
Pier/Quay; Pump house
Brecart/Toome, Toomebridge, Antrim, Co Antrim
4333
Lock 5, Toome
Jetty/Pontoon; Lock
Toome, Toomebridge, Antrim, Co Antrim
4334
Toome Canal
Canal
Toome, Toomebridge, Antrim, Co Antrim
Appendix 4
5
NIEA HB 07/06/017
NIEA HB 08/09/014 (steeple);
SMR LDY 042:014 (church;
SMSC)
NIEA HB 20/01/007
4339
Toome Flood Gates &
Weir
Barrage/Dam/Sluice/Weir
Intake/Toome, Toomebridge, Antrim, Co Antrim
4341
Lough Neagh Mole
Mole
Intake, Toomebridge, Antrim, Co Antrim
4342
Toome Airfield
Military building/structure
The Creagh, Toomebridge
Key to Statutory Protection:
HB = Listed Building
SM = Scheduled Monument
SMSC = Scheduled Monument in State Care
Appendix 4
6