Ballynahinch Market House 1792 - 2002
By Horace Reid
The foundation stone for Ballynahinch market house was laid in July 1792. John Rawdon, first Earl of Moira, was the Ballynahinch landlord. He was also a freemason, and he ensured that the foundation stone of his new building was laid by "The Master, Wardens and Brethren of Lodge no. 446."
His ancestor Sir George Rawdon bought the Ballynahinch estate from Patrick McArtan about
1660. Over the next twenty years Sir George rebuilt the town from scratch, erected
cornmills, and laid out the market square. In 1683 he obtained the Ballynahinch town
patent from King Charles II, allowing him to hold a market on Thursdays, and a fair
twice a year. Over 300 years later, the Thursday market is still held weekly, on the
same market square.
The patent reads:
"And whereas, the said George Rawdon, has purchased divers towns and lands, in the territory of Kinalearty, within the said County of Down; ... and that of late these lands by his care and cost were become well inhabited, he having built two mills there, put the parish church in repair, erected a considerable town, and in the middle thereof, had set out a large market-place which was paved, and made fit for markets and fairs to be kept there and which new built town was situate in the very centre of the County; the King therefore created the premises into the Manor of Kinalearty; ... to keep courts and etc., hold a Thursday market, and two fairs at the town of Ballynahinch on February the 1st and June 29th to continue three days each .."
Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter
The market house was completed in 1795. One of the first gatherings inside was convened by the second Lord Moira on 26 October 1796. He chaired a meeting of:"the Protestants, Protestant Dissenters and Roman Catholics of the Parish of Ballynahinch".
There was a market hall on the ground floor of the new building, accessed through four
large round arches; on wet days market traders could take shelter inside. If required
a cart could be backed through the archways, for loading and unloading. The market
house had a weighbridge, owned by the landlord. When the market hall was not in use
the archways were barred with iron gates. This arrangement allowed a free circulation
of air downstairs, and to compensate for the draught, rooms upstairs could be heated
with coal fires. There was an assembly room on the first floor, for public meetings
and entertainment, and there was a small jury room where courts were held and official
town business was transacted.
While the market house was under construction, Lord Moira also remodelled the market square. The paving stones laid in the 1660s were dug up, and the surface was lowered three feet and gravelled.
Moira's agent reported that the
"new market house just finished at the expence of the present Earl of Moira, is 54 feet by 24, and 20 feet high. The room over it is 40 feet by 20; and jury-room where the manor courts are holden, and other public business done. The town square is 212 feet by 201; the old pavement has been raised, and the square lowered about three feet and gravelled."
Major Barber Makes Major Alterations
Soon after the market house was completed, disaster overtook the town. During the Battle of Ballynahinch in June 1798, half the houses were gutted by fire. The town was shelled by Major General Barber, and the roof of the new market house was destroyed by cannon balls."The round shots from my battery reduced the roof of the Market House and set on fire many of the thatched houses in the Market Square", Barber reported.Lord Moira sold the Ballynahinch estate to Mr. David Ker Esq. in May 1800. Ballynahinch was slow to recover from the effects of the 1798 rebellion, and several visitors commented on the poor state of the town. In 1837 one observer reported that
"The large courthouse in the square built by Lord Moira in 1795, (is) now dilapidated ."The new landlord was in fact quite active. The Kers built a new hotel, two new cornmills, Spa Assembly Rooms, and a new estate office. The market house was soon renovated. Mr Ker installed a clock on the market house in 1841. The roof parapet was rebuilt at some stage, in dressed blackstone, with matching chimneys and a pediment to accommodate the face of the new clock. A little dome supported on eight columns was put on the roof Three metal braces were inserted below the new parapet, to keep the building in alignment; they run all the way from front wall to back wall. The arches of the market hall arcade were built up. Masonry removed during the 2002 restoration indicates that the arches were modified on four different occasions, once in stone, and twice in brick. Although courts were not always held in the building, it was often referred to as the "Court House", or sometimes as the Town Hall.
A New Clock
The new 1841 market house clock was made by the Ballynahinch clockmaker John Scott. His workshop was in High Street, on the site of the present Iceland supermarket. Before its installation in the roofspace of the market house, the clock was displayed in motion in Scott's shop window.The "Belfast Newsletter" carried this report on June 18 1841:
"A turret clock made by order of David Ker Esq MP for the Market House of Ballynahinch, cost only £60, in my opinion much under its real value. Owing to the ingenious mode of its construction, much power is gained with very little friction - a great desideratum in mechanics. It is well calculated to raise a large hammer and produce from the bell a full and sonorous sound. The going side drives a large pendulum with an unusually light weight, so that it will measure time with great accuracy."The correspondent paid tribute to Mr. Scott's talents as a clock- maker, and to his innate modesty, "the inseparable concomitant of real genius".
"The clock is mounted at eye level on a wooden scaffold directly behind the 48in dial", wrote W.H. Carson in 1980, "and the 24in diameter clock bell is bolted to a steel cross beam 8ft above the clock. The cables holding the clock weights run for 20 ft horizontally below the roof and lead over pulleys to drop down two pits at the back wall to the ground floor. It is precisely the smallness of the weights in the Ballynahinch clock that sets it in a class by itself among the historic clocks of Down and no doubt is one of the reasons for its remarkable record of 136 years of uninterrupted and comparatively reliable timekeeping". During the 2001 restoration the pulley arrangement was dispensed with, and new electric clock winders were installed.
John Scott was the nephew of William Scott of Ballygowan, with whom he served his apprenticeship. The names of both William and John Scott are engraved on the brass regulator dial of the clock, so the two would appear to have collaborated on the construction of the Ballynahinch timepiece. The clock dial was also made in Ballynahinch at the same time, but there is no record of the maker's name. In 1910 the hands and old English numbers of the clock dial were painted in gold against a dark background. In 1979 the hands and numerals were picked out in white. In 2001 the clock was restored by Bertie McClure of Carnmoney. The numerals are gold once again, and Scott's name appears on the clock face.
The Fastest Town in County Down
The first train to arrive in Ballynahinch came on the 10th September 1858. New railway timetables necessitated strict timekeeping, as the locals soon discovered. The local landlord found out the hard way, when he missed his train one morning at Ballynahinch station. Thereafter Mr Ker instructed the clockwinder (Hugh Murdoch) to keep the market house clock five minutes fast. For a time Ballynahinch was famous as "the fastest town in County Down".Hugh Murdoch was succeeded as clock winder by John Magennis, second in command at RB Bailie's newsagent shop. John was killed in the trenches in WW1. The clock mounts are still inscribed with the pencilled names of tradesmen who have worked on it - Thomas McCann 1910, Michael Rogan 1946, William McDowell 1955.
Great Crack in the Bell Tower
In 1910 Ireland was bitterly divided over the Home Rule Bill an issue that brought self-made whiskey millionaire, Capt. James Craig, to the forefront of party politics. In the general election of that year, Craig won a resounding victory over the Home Rule candidate in the East Down constituency. The results were announced on 24 January, and Craig's car arrived in Ballynahinch shortly after 8pm. There was a bonfire on the square, and fireworks. Captain Craig was met by a torch-light procession, and the massed bands of Magheraknock, Ballynahinch, and Ballylone Purple Guards.A number of his supporters climbed into the market house clock-room with sledge hammers, and beat a victory salute on the clock bell. That was the end of the bell for the hammers cracked it from rim to headstock. Later that year a replacement was commissioned from John Taylor of Loughborough. Half the town turned out one sunny day in 1910, to see the new bell being hoisted into place.
In 1935 Mr. W.J. McCoubrey bought the Market House from Ker Estates for £450. Down County Council agreed to appoint a clock keeper and maintain the turret clock for the benefit of the community. The Electricity Board for Northern Ireland leased the ground floor for a term of 21 years, and the Billiard Club took the first floor for the same period. In the 1980s, when the "Motor & Sport" business moved in, the lease contained a clause which gave the clockwinder (William Sloane) access to the clock tower.
The market house roof was modified twice during the 20th century, and again in 2002. The Kers had built a little dome on the roof, possibly during renovations in 1841. The dome was still in place in 1895, and appears in a photograph taken that year. Early in the 1900s it was replaced by "a squat kind of copula". By mid century the new owner Mr McCoubrey discovered that the copula timbers had rotted, and the roof was leaking. Renovations were undertaken in 1957 by master- joiner Matt Kinghan, and Hugh McMinn. The summer was one of the hottest on record. "You could have fried an egg on the roof', said Matt; "in fact we had to wear gloves to handle the lead. It would have burnt the hands off you."
Sir Charles Gets His Wish
In 1974 Sir Charles Brett lamented the car-clogged appearance of Ballynahinch square."The Square itself is potentially a fine space", he suggested; "a well-thought-out rehabilitation scheme could turn this into a delightful space of cobbles, or lawn, and trees, dominated by the 18th century court house; trees here could work wonders."Thirty years later, Sir Charles got his wish. In 1998 Down District Council leased the square from the Ker Estate, and Ballynahinch Regeneration Committee assumed responsibility for its management. The surface was paved and cars were banished. In January 2001 the committee purchased the market house from the McCoubrey family. In 2002 the building has been restored to its original 1795 appearance. Plaster has been stripped away, and the original intricate 18th century masonry left on display. The walls have been reinforced with a steel frame.
The arches of the market hall arcade have been opened again, and large windows inserted. The little dome has been reinstated on the roof, supported on pillars of solid mahogany. Trees and flowers are sprouting. Many congratulations to Ballynahinch Regeneration Committee for this transformation, and many thanks also to their generous financial sponsors.
Sources
CEB Brett, "Historic Buildings in the Towns and Villages of Mid Down" (Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, Belfast 1974).WH Carson, "Historic Clocks of County Down" (Mourne Observer, Newcastle 1980).
A Day (Ed), "Ordnance Survey Memoirs", (Belfast 1992) Vol 17 (East Down & Lecale).
John Moore Johnston, "Heterogenea, or Medley" (Downpatrick 1803).
S McCullough, "Ballynahinch, The Centre of Down", (Ballynahinch Chamber of Commerce, May 1968).
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