Hilltown, County Down

Hilltown
Irish: Baile Hill[1]
Hilltown
 Hilltown shown within Northern Ireland
Population 899 (2001 Census)
DistrictNewry and Mourne
CountyCounty Down
CountryNorthern Ireland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Postcode district BT
Dialling code 028
EU Parliament Northern Ireland
NI AssemblySouth Down
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland
Down

Coordinates: 54°11′38″N 6°08′38″W / 54.194°N 6.144°W / 54.194; -6.144

Hilltown is a small village within the townland of Carcullion (from Irish: Carr Cuilinn) in County Down, Northern Ireland. Hilltown is the main village of the parish of Clonduff which also contains rural areas and another village named Cabra. It had a population of 899 people in the 2001 Census.

Hilltown has eight public houses in the high street, a legacy from 18th century smugglers who shared out their contraband here. The village has a livestock market on alternate Saturdays, the Boley sheep fair and festival in early July and a large sale of rams in September. The Georgian market house opposite St John's parish church (1766) adjoins the old inn, the Downshire Arms. The weathervane on the pretty cupola is a fish, a reminder of the good fishing in the River Bann and its tributaries.

History

Hilltown sprang up within the townland called Carcullin, later Carcullion (whose name is derived from the Irish Carr Cuilin). While many people think that Hilltown obtained its name from the fact that it spreads out over at least two hills, it was actually named after the Hill family and Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire. The Hill family were English politicians who also gave their name to nearby Hillhall and Hillsborough. He became Marquess of Downshire. He created a large house for his residence. The Hills founded the village in 1766 so that people living in the area could find employment in the linen industry.

Demography

Hilltown is classified as a small village or hamlet by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with population between 500 and 1,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 899 people living in Hilltown. Of these: 27.0% were aged under 16 years and 14.4% were aged 60 and over

Places of interest

Education

Sports

Clonduff GAC (Chluain Daimh CLG) is the local Gaelic Club in the area. It accommodates 23 teams in all sports ranging from Gaelic football, Ladies Gaelic football, hurling, camogie and handball. The club takes part in Scór and Scór na nÓg events. It is the only club in the county to have teams competing in five gaelic sports.

References

  1. Placenames Database of Ireland
  2. "Goward Dolmen in Clonduff parish". Ros Davies' Co. Down, Northern Ireland Genealogy Research Site. Retrieved 2007-12-11.

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, October 06, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.