St Columb's Park - Notes on an Urban Park.

St. Columb's Park is situate off the Limavady Road in Londonderry and is named after the mansion house which still remains at its centre. Whilst the house and demesne ultimately became known as St. Columb's it was originally called Chatham. The first owners were a family by the name of Rea. On 30th April 1831 Elizabeth Sophia Rea the eldest daughter of John Rea espoused George Hill of Brook Hall and her marriage settlement would ultimately result in the demesne being settled upon the first son of the said George Hill, (afterwards Sir George Hill), by the said Elizabeth Sophia Rea with the usual remainders over. For more than one hundred years the lands would remain in the ownership of the Hill family. Sir George Hill 3rd Bt died in 1845. His widow was not to die until 23rd January 1900. The baronetcy now rests with the 10th Baronet.

By the 1930's the Mansion House was lying vacant and was in a state of some decrepitude The timber panelling in the front reception room had rotted and the wallpaper in this and other rooms was hanging loose on the walls. A large basin had been placed on the landing to collect water falling from the ceiling. The lime plaster had fallen off the walls at the rear of the house and the gardens and orchard were overgrown. Rather surprisingly despite being a substantial property it did not have electric light. The sewage outfall was to an open cesspool in an adjoining field. Internally the accommodation comprised a porch, hall, four reception rooms, a library, kitchen, scullery, larder, servant's room, cloak room, wc and small store on the ground floor. On the first floor there were seven bedrooms, two dressing rooms, one bathroom and one wc. The house also had a cellar.

On the 26th October 1937 a deputation of citizens from the Waterside ward of the City came before the Corporation expressing the need for a park for that ward. A resolution was passed referring the matter to the Parks Committee for consideration and report. The then City Surveyor made a preliminary report recommending St Columb's as a suitable site for the proposed park. Negotiations with the agents for the Hill family proved unsuccessful and on 20th January 1938 a resolution was passed by the Corporation to the affect that steps should be taken to apply to the Ministry of Home Affairs for an order vesting the lands in the Corporation. The vesting order became operative on the 28th March 1939. In addition to, "St Columb's," it also caused a small area of land at the top of Browning Drive and which was owned by the Watt family to come into the ownership of the Corporation. 

Shortly before the date of the vesting order and with war looming the War Department approached the Corporation with a view to acquiring some seven acres three roods and eighteen perches of the demesne for the construction of a hospital. It was agreed that the Corporation would be paid for these lands at the rate that the Corporation would be acquiring the lands pursuant to the vesting order. The required lands were ultimately conveyed to His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the War Department on 19th August 1940. This site would pass to the Northern Ireland Tuberculosis Authority in 1952. A portion of the hospital lands came back into the Corporation's ownership in 1967. The balance was also eventually reacquired by the City Council. Unity was once more achieved.

Free Citizens of Dublin

I recently came across an article dealing with the, "Free Citizens of Dublin." This was the term which was applied to those individuals who held the municipal franchise of Dublin between the years 1192 and 1918. As well as the right to vote in elections to the Dublin City Assembly the Free Citizens had access to certain rights and privileges which were created in 1192 by a charter issued by the Plantagenet John, (son of Henry II), Lord of Ireland. Admission to the franchise was regulated and conferred by the Dublin City Assembly.

There were apparently six categories of admission and in general applicants had to have been born within the City limits although the Assembly had a discretion to admit, "foreigners." Strictly speaking the native Irish were ineligible for the municipal franchise but the names of several of the early admitees would indicate that this was a rule that was not adhered to very strictly. The Reformation as such did not affect the situation but post the defeat of James II in 1690 individuals who espoused the Roman Catholic faith were excluded from the municipal franchise until Parliament interceded in 1792/93.

The six modes of admission to the franchise were as follows :-

a. Service. - Once an apprentice had completed service to a Master in one of Dublin's Trade Guilds he was permitted to apply to the Assembly for the municipal franchise. Once this had been granted he was entitled to apply for full membership of his guild.

b. Birth - The eldest son of a Fred Citizen could apply for the franchise by birth. This usually occurred after the death of the father and the privilege could be passed on to succeeding generations. The daughters of wealthy freemen could also apply for the municipal franchise by birth and some powerful Free Citizens were able to gain admission for their entire families under this category of admission.

c. Marriage - it was also possible to gain admission to the municipal franchise by marrying the daughter of a free citizen or a woman who held the franchise in her own right.

d. Fine - This category of admission enabled gentlemen and also craftsmen whose work was not represented by any of the Trade Guilds to be admitted to the franchise upon payment of a substantial sum of money. They did have to have been born in Dubllin.

e. Special Grace - This was the means of admitting the nobility and dignitaries. It was also used to admit wealthy "foreigners," ie non- Dubliners. The latter individuals might have had to pay a fine.

f. Acts of Parliament - An Act of 1662 provides an early example of this. Many French Hugenots applied for the municipal franchise under benefit of this and later Acts.

Source: Famillia, Ulster Genealogical Review Vol 2 No 2 1986

 

A Teacher Dies.

When I was driving into work on Monday of this week I learnt of the death of one of my teachers from the 1970's - Gordon Fulton. If my memory serves he replaced Mr Shepherd who exited teaching after the murder of his friend Senator John Barnhill on 12th December 1971. Gordon taught English and supervised Foyle College Players of which I was a member during my scholastic years. I was surprised to see that he was only eight years my senior. Maybe it was the presence of his beard that suggested a more advanced age. I think it was in 1975 that he persuaded me to fill a temporary vacancy in a production of the 1971 Players.

In the 1980's Gordon decided that he should disclaim the joys of teaching and become a professional actor. A brave decision but his natural ability proved it to be the correct one.. I was aware of his appearances in, "Game of Thrones," 'Taggart," and " Give my head peace." The last time I saw Gordon was at Glenveagh Castle when I was in the company of my paternal uncle and his wife. My uncle had been a departmental colleague of Gordon.

 

 

Nut Harvest

It is now three years since I planted four cob trees in the area which I insist on calling the orchard. Clearly this is the wrong nomenclature so far as these trees are concerned but as the remainder of the trees are all fruit trees it seems more sensible to talk about an orchard rather than a combined nuttery and orchard. This is the first year that there have been any nuts to pick. All four trees had a small crop, some very evidently smaller than the others. I was pleasantly surprised with the taste of the nuts and I am hopeful that next year will provide a much enhanced crop.

 

Courgette Chutney 2016

September's vegetable glut has necessitated the unearthing of the large chutney making saucepan from the cellar. It hasn't been a great year for vegetables but the courgettes haven't objected to the lack of sunshine and the very temperate temperatures. I have been picking ten or twelve courgettes every week for the past couple of months. With the best will in the world this is a number that I can't consume as courgetti, stuffed or fried.

Today saw the third batch of 2016 courgette chutney being manufactured. The template receipe for today's culinary experiment came from the National Trust's, " Jams, Preserves & Chutneys." This tome was originally published with an asking price of £18.99 but it had been discounted to £6.00 by the time I purchased it from the shop at the Argory this summer. The original receipe had the grated rind of two oranges as an ingredient. With no oranges in the house I substituted lemons for oranges, (I have never found a gin that needs an orange!). With a large supply of apples available from the roadside tree I decided to add in a pound of diced apple. The quantity of courgette was also increased slightly. Accordingly the following were the ultimate contents of the saucepan. I should point out that the courgette was salted overnight and rinsed under cold water before being tipped into the saucepan.

4 lbs diced courgette

1.5 tablespoons of table salt

1 lb of chopped tomatoes

0.5 lb of chopped onions

1 lb of sultanas

1 lb diced Apple

grated rind of two lemons

2 lb granulated sugar

Half pint red wine vinegar

Half pint malt vinegar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon.

 

Pop goes the Sweetcorn.

 

There aren't many plants in the vegetable garden that you can grow from seed and which will give you a seven feet tall specimen within six months. This is particularly true of the Northern Ireland garden. Our wet and very temperate climate does not assist the gardener.

I think that is why I like growing sweetcorn. You definitely get a lot of bang for your buck. The variety which I have grown over the past few years is Mini Pop. As the name suggests the cobs that this variety produces are quite small. The sort that you might use in stir fries and the like. The plants definitely give a bit of structure and height to the vegetable plot. I grew twenty plants this year. This should give me some one hundred mini cobs. I probably won't be able to chomp my way through all of these fresh from the plants. The balance will be thrust into the freezer and extracted as and when required during the winter months.

 

 

 

 

 

White Tiger Seen On Village Street

 

Well yes I suppose that is slightly misleading. The animal in question was in the window of a shop not actually prowling up and down the thoroughfare in search of tiffin and I do have to admit that it was very definitely dead. Still it's not everyday that you come across a white tiger in Northern Ireland even if it has been the subject of Victorian taxidermy and the victim of the big game hunter. I was able to discern three tightly grouped bullet holes on its left flank.

Seeing the tiger brought back memories of my paternal grandfather's house. It was rather dark even on the brightest of days and it's halls and staircases were bedecked with animal antlers and horns. Was it just coincidence that the initials of his forenames spelt, "Raj."? Strange that.

Anyhows this is one tiger whose eyes no longer burn bright in poetic symmetry.