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Castlewellan
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Castlewellan (in Irish: Caisleán Uidhilín, ie Uidhilín’s Castle) is a large village in County Down, Northern Ireland, situated beside Castlewellan Lake and Slievenaslat mountain, 11 miles (17 km) south west of Downpatrick.
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Encyclopedia
Castlewellan (in Irish: Caisleán Uidhilín, ie Uidhilín’s Castle) is a large village in County Down, Northern Ireland, situated beside Castlewellan Lake and Slievenaslat mountain, 11 miles (17 km) south west of Downpatrick. It lies between the Mourne Mountains and Slieve Croob. It had a population of 2,392 people in the 2001 Census. It is located in the Down District Council area.
Castlewellan has a wide main street which runs through two main squares lined with chestnut trees. The town was designed by a French architect for the Annesley family (at that time owners of what is now Castlewellan Forest Park) and is unique within Ireland due to its tree lined squares both in the old town (upper square) and new town (lower square) as well as its very wide main street. The old market house in the upper square was built in 1764 and now houses the public library. the town contains many buildings of interest including St. Pauls Church of Ireland church, St. Malachys RC church, the Grange Courtyard and Castlewellan Castle.
Places of interest
- Drumena Cashel is a good example of a small stone built farmstead enclosure or cashel of the Early Christian period. It is situated 2 miles south west of Castlewellan off the A25 road to Rathfriland.
- Castlewellan Forest Park and Castlewellan Lake are situated to the northwest of the village. The Arboretum in the park was begun in 1740 and contains plants and trees from many different countries including Spain, Mexico and Wales; the 'Castlewellan Gold' form of Leyland Cypress – originating from a single mutant tree in the arboretum and widely propagated from the 1970s – was selected by the park director, John Keown, being first named Cupressus macrocarpa Keownii, 1963. The Peace Maze, the world's largest permanent hedge maze according to Guinness World Records, was constructed in the park between 2000 and 2001. In the very early hours of April 7, 2007 two youths died in a fatal canoeing incident in the lake.
- Castlewellan Castle, a Scottish baronial castle of 1856, overlooks the lake and the park. Nowadays the castle is used as a christian conference centre, and is not generally open to the public.
- Legannany Dolmen is three miles north of Castlewellan, near the village of Leitrim, on the slopes of Slieve Croob.
- Goward Dolmen is an impressive megalithic monument two miles from Hilltown on the road to Castlewellan. It is known locally as Pat Kearney's Big Stone or Cloughmore Cromlech. The huge granite capstone has slipped from its original horizontal position.
History
The Troubles
For more information see The Troubles in Castlewellan, which includes a list of incidents in Castlewellan during the Troubles resulting in two or more fatalities.
Transport
- Castlewellan railway station opened on 24 March 1906, but finally closed on 2 May 1955.
People
Sport
- Castlewellan GAC is based in the village.
- Castlewellan lake plays host to the Irish University Rowing Championships and Queen's Regatta annually in April.
- Kilmegan Amateur Boxing Club is situated in the outskirts of the town (taking it's name from the towns parish name).
2001 Census
Castlewellan is classified as an intermediate settlement by the (ie with population between 2,250 and 4,500 people).
On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 2,392 people living in Castlewellan. Of these:
- 29.8% were aged under 16 and 13.8% were aged 60 and over
- 49.4% of the population were male and 50.6% were female
- 92.1% were from a Catholic background and 6.6% were from a Protestant background
- 4.8% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.
For more details see:
See also
External links
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