Banbridge
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Template:Infobox Irish Place Banbridge (Droichead na Banna in Irish) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road. It grew as a coaching stop and from linen manufacturing. Its population was 14,744 people in the 2001 Census. The town is the headquarters for Banbridge District Council.
Nearby towns include: Rathfriland, Corbet, Annaclone, Magherally, Seapatrick, Donaghcloney, Laurencetown, Loughbrickland, Dromore and Gilford.
Schools in the town number among them: Banbridge Academy (mixed grammar), Banbridge High School (Protestant High) Newbridge Integrated College (mixed secondary) and St. Patricks Secondary School (Roman Catholic High). Edenderry Primary School (Protestant Primary), Abercorn Primary School (Protestant Primary), St. Marys Primary School (Roman Catholic Primary) & Bridge Primary (Mixed Primary). The town was previously a railway junction between the Scarva line (which linked to the Dublin-Belfast line) and the Knockmore (near Lisburn) to Newcastle line.
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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 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 almost completely disappearred now.
The town's best known feature is the underpass constructed in 1834 known as The Cut. It is thought that this was the first underpass ever built, and was done so to allow horses to pass through the centre of the town without fainting before they reach the top of the hill.
People
- Captain Crozier was born in Banbridge.
- Joseph Scriven, a son of Banbridge, wrote the famous hymn "What a Friend We Have In Jesus."
Places of interest
Near the town lie the ancient Lisnagade Fort, Legannany Dolmen and the Loughbrickland Crannog, constructed around the year 500.
2001 Census
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 detials see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service
External links
See also
Template:NorthernIrishTownsde:Banbridge no:Banbridge sv:Banbridge