Markethill

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Markethill is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,292 people. 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 also hosts the largest band parade in Europe on the first Friday in June annually. This attracts thousands of spectators and participants.

1 History
- 1.1 The Troubles
2 Places of interest
3 2001 Census
4 Education
5 References
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] History

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 war 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.

[edit] The Troubles

For more information see The Troubles in Markethill, which includes a list of incidents in Markethill during the Troubles resulting in two or more fatalities.

[edit] Places of interest

Gosford Castle is situated in Markethill. 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 and, as of January 2006, is in the process of selling off this, the largest Grade A listed building in Northern Ireland, which is in urgent need of conservation.

[edit] 2001 Census

Markethill is classified as a village by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie 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
19.5% were from a Catholic background and 79.4% were from a Protestant background
3.4% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service