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Markethill
is located in County Armagh on the road between Armagh City and
the town of Newry. Before the
plantation of Ireland this area of County Armagh belonged to the
O'Hanlon
clan Kings of Oirialla.
The plantation saw 1,000 acres of land granted
to the Achesons
(Irish: Cnoc an Mhargaidh) is a village in County Armagh, Northern
Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,292 people.
It sits at the southern side of Gosford Forest Park. A livestock
market is held here three times a week and each summer the largest
Lambeg drumming competition in Northern Ireland takes place in the
village.
It is home to Kilcluney Volunteers Flute Band, who host the largest
band parade in Europe on the first Friday of each June. This attracts
thousands of onlookers and participants.
History
The village sprang up within the townland of Coolmallish or Coolmillish
(Irish: Cúil Mheallghuis),[1] on the road between Armagh
and Newry. It began to grow during the Plantation of Ulster as a
town for British colonists.
The village of Markethill was founded by a Scottish family, the
Achesons of Gosford (or Goseford), Haddingtonshire (East Lothian),
who received a grant of 1,000 acres (4 km²) from King James
I in 1610. The Achesons built a strong castle at Cloncarney around
1617, but it was destroyed in the Irish Rebellion of 1641. It was
replaced with a manor house, visited by Jonathan Swift, in the late
1720s, who devised the existing nature walks throughout the grounds,
where he composed poems. The manor house although occupied to 1840,
has practically disappeared. In 1819, Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl
of Gosford, (a peerage bestowed on the family in 1776), commissioned
the construction of Gosford Castle.
Places of interest
Nearby Gosford Castle is within Gosford Forest Park. Construction
of Gosford castle began in 1819 and finished in the 1850s. It was
commissioned by Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford and the architect
was Thomas Hopper, one of the leading London architects of the first
half of the 19th century. The Ministry of Agriculture bought the
estate in 1958, establishing Gosford Forest Park. Gosford Castle
is the largest Grade A listed building in Northern Ireland, in 2006
after public consultation the Boyd Partnership was selected to restore
the castle and covert it into 24 self contained luxury apartments.
The first residents moved in December 2008, restoration is still
in progress as of May 2010.
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Markethill Couthouse, situated at the top of Main Street, at the north
entrance to Markethill adjacent to Gosford Forest Park. Markethill Courhouse
was built in 1842 to the designs of Thomas Duff, it is one of the few
surviving large regional free standing Courthouses built in the middle
century. The building is constructed of random Blackstone with Armagh
limestone quoins and dressings. The building was last used as a courthouse
in 1952, was purchased by Markethill District Enterprises Ltd in June
1997, after lying vacant for 25 years. The building was restored to its
former glory for use as a community centre.
Markethill railway station opened on 25 August 1864, closed for passenger
traffic on 1 February 1933 and finally closed altogether on 2 May 1955.
Markethill is classified as a village by the NI Statistics and Research
Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with population between 1,000 and 2,250 people).
On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,292 people living in Markethill.
Of these:
22.4% were aged under 16 years and 22.4% were aged 60 and over
47.3% of the population were male and 52.7% were female
82.9% were from a Protestant background
3.4% of people aged 16–74
For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service
Markethill High School
Markethill Primary School
St. James' Primary School
Business and Industry
The first significant industrial capacity in the town was established
in 1888 by DH Sinton who established a linen mill, close to the towns
railway station. The mill was purchased by Spence, Bryson & Co. Ltd
in 1909 and remained operational until 1991 when it was badly damaged
by an IRA bomb. Production at this point moved to a sister factory in
nearby Portadown.
Today the area is largely focused on agriculture and is centred on the
large agricultural mart situated at the south side of the Main Street.
Markethill Livestock Sales has been established for more than 45 years.
A small business park has been constructed on a section of the former
Spence, Bryson & Co. Ltd Linen Mill which contains a number of small
business' and start-up enterprises. The business park is administered
by Markethill Business Centre on Fairgreen Road.
There are several large established independent business' located in
the town. These include Alexander's of Markethill and Alexanders Furnishings,
established in 1946 and operating from the old Market House among other
buildings. They retail a large range of furnishings, carpet, beds, fancy
goods and a restaurant. Dalzell's of Markethill, established in 1956 and
operating from the former Northern Bank building among others premises
retail, wholesale and export electrical appliances across Ireland. They
also retail a large range of furniture, beds, carpets and fancy goods.
J.D. Hunter & Co. are a large independent supermarket located on the
former linen mill site, they are part of the Nisa group and also operate
a restaurant, the Old Barn.
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