Laurelvale

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Coordinates: 54°22′08″N 6°27′05″W / 54.36876°N 6.45139°W / 54.36876; -6.45139
Laurelvale
Irish: Tamhnaigh Bhealtaine[1]

Mullavilly parish church

 Laurelvale shown within Northern Ireland
Population 1,258 (2001)
Irish grid reference J006478
    - Belfast 25.5 mi (41.0 km)  
District Armagh
County County Armagh
Country Northern Ireland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town CRAIGAVON
Postcode district BT62
Dialling code 028, +44 28
EU Parliament Northern Ireland
UK Parliament Newry & Armagh
NI Assembly Newry & Armagh
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland
Armagh

Laurelvale is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is beside the smaller village of Mullavilly and the two are sometimes referred to as Laurelvale-Mullavilly[2][3] or Mullavilly-Laurelvale.[4][5] The village is three miles south of Portadown and 1.5 miles northwest of Tandragee.[6] In the 2001 Census Laurelvale had a population of 1,258.

Name

Laurelvale is within the townland of Tamnaghvelton (formerly Tawnavaltiny, from Irish: Tamhnaigh Bhealtaine, meaning "Bealtaine field").[1][7] Laurelvale was taken from the name of a mansion that was built in the 19th Century. Mullavilly was named after the townland in which it lies. The name comes from Irish: Mullach a' Bhile, meaning "hilltop of the sacred tree".[8][9]

History

Laurelvale was founded in the 1850s by Thomas Sinton JP (1826–1887) to house the workers in his linen mill of Thomas Sinton & Co. Ltd, which was in the village. At its height, Sintons' Mill had over 1000 workers. The mill has since been demolished. The company remained in family ownership until 1945 when it was taken over by the Ministry of Defence and operated by Hoffmans (who made ball bearings for gun turrets). The Sinton family also ran mills and bleach-works in Tandragee, Killyleagh, Tullylish and at Ravarnet outside Hillsborough, County Down.

Thomas Sinton also built a large house in the village, Laurelvale House, which, following the Second World War, was the home of Michael Torrens-Spence, Lord Lieutenant of County Armagh. Laurelvale House has since been demolished to make way for housing development.

Sintons' Mill

Schools

  • Mullavilly Primary School

Churches

  • Mullavilly Parish Church
  • St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church (Laurelvale)

Sport

Laurelvale F.C. has a ground in the Laurel Park area of the village. Laurelvale Cricket Club has a clubhouse on Mullavilly Road.

2001 Census

Mullavilly-Laurelvale is classified as a village by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,258 people living in Mullavilly-Laurelvale. Of these:

  • 25.0% were aged under 16 years and 12.7% were aged 60 and over
  • 49.5% of the population were male and 50.5% were female
  • 9.2% were from a Catholic background and 90.8% were from a Protestant background
  • 2.1% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Placenames Database of Ireland: Laurelvale
  2. ↑ "Roads Service to deliver new traffic calming measures for Laurelvale". Portadown Times, 21 December 2007.
  3. ↑ Armagh Area Plan 2004 Adoption Statement 1995. Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland).
  4. ↑ "Roundabout on way at Laurelvale accident hot-spot". Portadown Times, 2 December 2008.
  5. ↑ Mullavilly News, September 2010 issue.
  6. ↑ Free Map Tools
  7. ↑ Placenames NI: Tamnaghvelton
  8. ↑ Placenames NI: Mullavilly
  9. ↑ Placenames Database of Ireland: Mullavilly

External links

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