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Banbridge

 
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Banbridge

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Banbridge
District (pop., 2001: 41,392), Northern Ireland, established in 1973. The area includes the Legananny Hills, which reach an altitude of 1,745 ft (532 m) in eastern Banbridge district and slope southwestward to lowlands that are bisected by the River Bann. Located on the Bann is the town of Banbridge, established in 1712; it is the district seat and the main agricultural and population centre of the region.

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Banbridge

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Coordinates: 54°20′35″N 6°15′36″W / 54.343°N 6.26°W / 54.343; -6.26

Banbridge
Irish: Droichead na Banna
Banbridge.jpg
'The Cut' in Banbridge
Banbridge is located in Northern Ireland
Banbridge

 Banbridge shown within Northern Ireland
Population 14,744 (2001 Census)
District Banbridge
County County Down
Country Northern Ireland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BANBRIDGE
Postcode district BT32
Dialling code 028
Police Northern Ireland
Fire Northern Ireland
Ambulance Northern Ireland
EU Parliament Northern Ireland
NI Assembly Upper Bann
List of places: UK • Northern Ireland • Down

Banbridge (pronounced /bænˈbrɪdʒ/ ban-brij[1] – from the Irish: Droichead na Banna meaning "bridge on the Bann") is a rapidly growing town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road. It grew as a coaching stop and from Irish linen manufacturing. Its population was 14,744 people in the 2001 Census though is said to have raised in population by a fifth since then,[2] suggesting a population of around 18,000.[3] The town is the headquarters for Banbridge District Council. The town was named after the first bridge built over the Upper Bann in 1712.

The main street is very unusual, and rises to a steep hill. Banbridge used to be an important stop on the Belfast to Dublin stagecoach route and the town's best known feature is the underpass constructed in 1834 by William Dargan, known colloquially as The Cut. The official name is 'Downshire Bridge'. It is thought that this was the first underpass ever built. Its construction was due to pressure from the Post Office, which was concerned that its horses could not pass through the centre of the town without fainting before they reached the top of the hill.

Nearby towns and villages include: Rathfriland, Corbet, Annaclone, Magherally, Seapatrick, Donaghcloney, Blackskull, Lawrencetown, Loughbrickland, Dromore, Scarva,Gilford and Waringstown.

Contents

History

Banbridge, home to the Star of the County Down, is, relatively speaking, quite a young town. The town grew up around the site where the main road from Belfast to Dublin crossed the River Bann over an Old Bridge which was situated where the present bridge now stands. The town owed its success to flax and the linen industry, becoming by 1772 the principal linen producing district in Ireland with a total of 26 bleachgreens along the Bann. This industry has now greatly diminished in prominence, but Banbridge still has two of the major producers in Ulster Weavers Ltd, and Thomas Ferguson & Co Ltd., the last remaining Irish linen damask weaver. Recently Banbridge has been twinned with Ruelle in France.

Demographics

Banbridge is classified as a Medium Town by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 10,000 and 18,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 14,744 people living in Banbridge. Of these:

  • 24.4% were aged under 16 years and 16.1% were aged 60 and over
  • 49.5% of the population were male and 50.5% were female
  • 33.7% were from a Catholic background and 63.7% were from a Protestant background
  • 3.3% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

Places of interest

  • Near the town lie the ancient Lisnagade Fort, Legannany Dolmen, and the Loughbrickland Crannog, constructed around the year 500 AD
  • Banbridge Market House was built about 1832 currently used as offices.
  • The Coach, one of the largest clubs in Ireland,was famous for winning HEAT magazines Ugly Bar award 2007, although recently has been redeveloped in hope to regain popularity. Wednesday nights are becoming as popular as what Saturday nights once were.
  • Toni's Tandoori is a regular to-go place by Coach revellers and others looking for a cheap feed. Popular items on the menu include 18 inch pizzas, and kebabs with Toni's one of a kind house sauce.

BuskFest

Since 2004, Banbridge has staged an annual BuskFest busking competition and music festival. Performers have travelled from as far as Australia to participate in the competition and the evening concert has presented artists including Juliet Turner, Bap Kennedy and The Proclaimers. BuskFest 2007 was headlined by The Undertones and Buskfest 2008 was headlined by Hothouse Flowers

Transport

  • Banbridge is on the A1 main road between Belfast and Newry.
  • The nearest railway station is Scarva, about eight kilometres (five miles) from Banbridge. Banbridge was linked to the main Belfast-Dublin railway by a branch line from Scarva that opened on 23 March 1859. A more direct link to Belfast opened on 13 July 1863 via Lisburn. A branch line from Banbridge to Ballyroney opened in 1880 and was extended to the coastal resort of Newcastle in 1906. The lines to Scarva and Newcastle and the line to Lisburn were all closed on 30 April 1956.[4]

People

Education

Primary

Post-primary

Sport

  • One of the Banbridge sporting highlights probably was the 1920 - Ireland v. Scotland International Hockey Match played at Banbridge.
  • The Banbridge Hockey Club wins in 1985 as the second team from Ireland, after Cookstown HC in 1981, the EuroHockey Club Champions Trophy.

Current sports clubs include:

Song

The Star of the County Down is a well known song associated with Banbridge.[1]

Pop culture

  • In the film The Day After Tomorrow a fictitious Sky News broadcast shows a depiction of Banbridge in the midst of an apocalyptic blizzard with the reporter stating that citizens of Belfast and Dublin are being evacuated to Banbridge.

See also

Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Banbridge

References

  1. ^ G.M. Miller, BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names (Oxford UP, 1971), p. 10.
  2. ^ http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/Banbridge-is-just-booming.4533566.jp
  3. ^ 14,744 x 1.2 = 17692.
  4. ^ "Banbridge station". Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-11. 

External links

Search Wikisource Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Banbridge.


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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2009 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Banbridge".  Read more

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