A School, A Hymm, A Soldier.

On the 10th day of October 1874 one John James Hamilton Humphreys of Lincolns Inn, London leased a rood of his land on the lee of a green hill in the townland of Barnes, Parish of Upper Badoney and Barony of Upper Strabane to the Right Reverend Francis Kelly the then Roman Catholic Bishop of Londonderry and the Reverend Patrick Magee Parish Priest of the Parish of Upper Badoney. The term of the lease was nine hundred and ninety nine years and the assurance declares that the demise was upon trust that a school for the instruction of the youth of the district should be established and maintained. The demise goes on to say that if such a school should cease to operate for twelve calendar months then the lessees were required to surrender their leasehold estate and give up possession of the premises to the Lessor his heirs and assigns.

Who was this Mr Humphreys? Unsurprisingly with an address of Lincoln's Inn he was a barrister. Born in 1817 he was the eldest son of Major John Humphreys of Milltown House, Strabane, (until recently the home of Strabane Grammar School). He graduated from Exeter College, Oxford in 1839 and was called to the Bar on 18th November 1842. His father, Major Humphreys of the Royal Marines fought under Nelson at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. The latter's military career was subsequently cut short by injuries received in the West Indies. Following a period as a staff officer in Dublin he became the Agent of the Earl of Wicklow and subsequently accepted a similar position with the Hamiltons of Baronscourt.

The Major's third child was a girl Cecil Frances who was born in 1818. She is better known by her married name of Alexander having married the Reverend William Alexander in October 1850. Dieing on 12th October 1895 she was buried in Londonderry City Cemetery. By that time her husband was the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe. In 1896 he was elevated to the Archbishopric of Armagh a position he held until 1911.

Replacement Wellies

 

I consigned my five year old wellingtons to the black bin this morning. This was something that I should probably have done several months ago. The heals of both the boots had worn away to such an extent that they weren't waterproof and both sides of the right hand boot had splits. I accept that I had worn them for a few thousand working hours but I still felt somewhat aggrieved that they had now failed me and forced me to find replacements. Still a wellington that permits the ingress of water is definitely not fit for purpose.

The search for replacement footwear took me to the hardware emporium that is called Workmans. Not for the first time I was ushered up one of their wooden staircases which had probably been constructed more than a hundred years before building control regulations had been thought of. The wellingtons and other boots were housed in a bare stone walled storeroom. I ultimately selected a pair of Goodyear Stream Wellingtons. The thickness of the thermal lining, (3.5mm) and that of the outsole were probably the factors that determined my selection. The price of my new wellingtons was £40. One is always being told that the cheapest deals are on the Internet. I have to concede that I did find one website selling these boots at a cheaper price. I could have saved one pence but I would have had to pay for postage!

 

Workmans of Garvagh.

 

There have been huge changes in the high street over the last fifty or sixty years. Whenever Super Mac was telling us that we never had it so good the typical town and village had a commercial centre which was populated in the main by local businesses. Out of town shopping centres did not exist. The inexorable march of the dreaded supermarket was just beginning. There may not have been too many candlestick makers, but there certainly were some quite idiosyncratic enterprises which added interest and colour to the local scene. I remember the smell of the ropes and canvas in McMichael's chandlery business in Londonderry's Sackville Street and the sight of the golden teapot over McCullagh's grocery and tea emporium in Waterloo Place. Too many of our towns, cities and even villages are now clones of one another with the same names and commercial livery appearing on their high streets and of course their out of town retail parks.

Now and then you do however come across a business which has a character of its own and which hasn't succumbed to modernity. Workmans hardware and farm supply business in Garvagh is definitely one of those. Its charm, its interest and its success is that it is old fashioned. The labyrinth of storage rooms and lofts is packed with items you really do need, but you don't know the name for. To say that the front shop is crowded with stock is being very economic with the truth. For the most part this is a shop where you edge towards the ancient counter and ask for the item that you want and it then is brought to you from the inner reaches. Paraffin lamps hang from the ceiling and are clearly still a big seller. You are likely to see squirrel and mink traps in the window. Nails are still sold by the pound and I suspect even individually. If you want batteries the fact that there are eight in the pack will not prevent them selling you four. This is a business which provides what its customers want.

 

Garvagh Museum

 

Garvagh Museum is one of those small museums which is run by volunteers on a proverbial shoestring. The building in which it is housed is little more than a large agricultural shed. Well actually that is what it is. It reminds me of that structure in Tullamore which was and perhaps still is styled the Irish National Indoor Athletics Arena.

 

Whilst the local historians of the Garvagh area may not have the most salubrious of buildings to house their collection there is no doubting their enthusiasm. I had read that a new exhibition was to be opened at the Museum on 31st May so I thought that I would drive along and give it a, "once over." I have to concede that the prospect of ,"light refreshments." was probably the tipping factor for my outing.

 

The title given to the exhibition was, "The Plantation of Ulster in a Century of Turbulence." Whilst I found some of the exhibits quite interesting, particularly those relating to the Penal Laws, I think that the items on display should have been displayed in chronological order so that visitors could pass exhibits with the benefit of previous exhibits and their captions. History is after all a series of consequences. Events are explained in the context of what has gone before. This is where this exhibition falls down.

 

Running Past The Garvagh Pyramid

As I was pulling in to Garvagh Forest I spotted another runner heading up the path beside the river. Having parked the car I pulled on my rain top, hat and gloves and headed off after my sporting compatriot wondering if I would be able to catch him up. With the twisting nature of the pathway it was some six or seven minutes before I caught sight of his fluorescent top through the trees. He was probably about one hundred and fifty yards ahead of me, but at the next hill I could see that I was pulling him in fairly quickly. Even on what is supposed to be a steady training run it is hard not to be a little bit competitive.

Another three minutes saw me drawing level with him. I startled him somewhat. He had one of those iPod devices plugged into his ears. Not really a runner was my first thought, a view reinforced by the fact that despite the cold conditions he was bare legged. Male non club runners seem very loathe to wear running tights. Still he was moving at a reasonable pace so I decided to run along with him. He probably had to run slightly quicker than he had planned, but I won't apologise for that. It transpired that he had started work recently at Garvagh High School. I think that he is  providing an, "after education," course for the fifth year pupils. Apparently they are now the only pupils left in the school. The school will officially close on the 31st August 2012. There may be good educational reasons for the closure, but it is still sad to see another foundation stone of village life kicked asunder.

The forest paths have been resurfaced since I last ran in the forest. Definitely a more pleasurable run than I remembered. A solitary dog walker was the only other person we saw as we ran around the edge of the demesne. It was good to have company. The serried ranks of conifers can be a trifle oppressive when running by yourself.

We finished our run back at the car park beside Ballinameen Bridge with Lord Garvagh's Egyptian inspired vault ,(unused) , looking down at us. Another day's training concluded.

Garvagh's Pretend Shops

Three weeks ago I was driving southwards through the village of Garvagh.  Just after I had entered the village I noticed three or four workmen in front of a vacant shop to my left. The front door was open. A new shop sign had been erected  above the shop window. Some brave entrepreneur I thought. Maybe it would be a small speciality emporium or a farm shop.

Last Friday I had cause to be driving through Garvagh again. What of the new shop? Well at first glance it appeared that Garvagh General Stores had opened its doors and that an old public house next door to it had also bucked the economic trend and was welcoming patrons once more. A second glance robbed me of this bucolic view of the village idyll There weren't two new village businesses,but rather two sets of well painted hoardings and window insets. 

I suppose that the main street of this small village looks tidier as a result of this commercial artwork . The proprietor of the rather old fashioned filling station on the opposite side of the road certainly thinks so. Tidier it may be but the painting over of the widening cracks in the commercial economy of our towns and villages does not provide replacement jobs. Perhaps the money spent on paint and hardboard should be spent on something that has the potential for a true economic return.

Farm Fixer at Duck Pond



Duck Pond Tea Room

Paralympic runner Sally Brown has been featuring on our screens quite a lot recently in the run up to the London Paralympics. Soon however it will be the turn of her father, Richard Brown, to appear on Northern Ireland's television screens.

Next Monday (BBC1 10.35 pm) sees the start of a new series called "The Farm Fixer," hosted by Nick Hewer from "The Apprentice," and "Countdown." In this series, Nick visits eight farms around Northern Ireland, highlighting their problems and suggesting ways for the owners to improve their businesses. Somewhat surprisingly the series has already been screened in Britain.

The 15th October episode takes Nick Hewer to Paul Craig's Arkhill Farm on the Drumcroone Road, Garvagh. This is a small organic mixed farm. When Paul set up in business some fifteen years ago there was a farm shop which also served teas. This closed several years ago but last year Richard Brown took over the building and established the Duck Pond Tea Room. Nick will suggest ways in which Paul and Richard can work together so as to  benefit  both of their businesses.



The Ducks

Errigal Glen




Errigal Bridge 3rd August 2012

 

When I was out driving today I decided to go for a short walk through Errigal Glen, Churchtown near Garvagh. The glen is in private ownership but the public have access to the path that runs through the glen and which links Temple Road to Churchtown Road. It was a day where I needed the solicitude of solitude and the walk suited my mood. I parked in the lay bye near to Errigal Bridge and headed up the steeply sided glen. It is heavily wooded with many very large beech trees which were planted by the Heyland family some two hundred years ago.

It is a descendant of the same family who still owns the glen , the adjoining lands and the eighteenth century Ballintemple House which is visible a field width away from the glen. The Heylands were one of the first, "planter," families in Ulster. They arrived in Derry in 1611 before moving to Castleroe, Coleraine in 1641. It was from there that they moved to Ballintemple in the eighteenth century. One of their number, Major Arthur Rowley Heyland of the 40th Regiment of Foot died at the Battle of Waterloo after having survived the Peninsular War and being wounded at the battle of Talavera and again at Roncevalles.Two of his sons subsequently fought in the Crimea.

Running through the glen is the Agivey River. Although it is not always to be seen from the path the sound of the river is always present, sometimes a pleasing gurgle but at other times an urgent roar where the walls of the glen close in and restrict its course.

Once I had joined the Churchtown Road  I followed it up hill, passing the rear of Ballintemple House and then headed down hill to Temple Road and back to Errigal Bridge. Probably no more than a two mile walk but the glen is a place to linger in and to enjoy the scenery.

Errigal Glen - 3rd August 2012

Errigal Glen - 3rd August 2012



Horses at Ballintemple House - 3rd August 2012