Bannfoot ( Irish: ''Bun na Banna'') is a small village in the

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

of Derryinver,

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

, Northern Ireland. It sits where the Upper Bann flows into

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ; ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake on the island of Ireland and in the British Isles. It has a surface area of and is about long and wide. According to Northern Ireland Water, it supplies 4 ...

History

The surrounding area was originally known as ''Bun na Banna'', and this name has been adopted as the modern Irish for Bannfoot.Placenames Database of Ireland
(see scanned images) There was once a fort at the mouth of the Upper Bann known as ''Bun an Bhealaigh'', meaning "end of foot of the road or pass".Ulster Place Names
– Craigavon (Derrytrasna Ward) This fort has been anglicised in past as "Fort Bunvalle". In 1760 reference is made of the "Bann Foot Ferry" ''(sic)''. Charles Brownlow (1st Baron Lurgan) began building the Bannfoot cottages, to be named Charlestown in the late 1820s. Brownlow, in sitting Charlestown at the mouth of the Bann, was relying on the continued commercial success of the water routes which criss-crossed the southern part of the Lough. Barge loads of turf were sent from the Montaighs to

Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...

and from there on to

Scarva Scarva ( meaning "shallow place, rough ford") is a small village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is at the boundary with County Armagh, which is marked by the Newry Canal. In the 2001 census it had a population of 320. Scarva ...

Poyntzpass Poyntzpass () is a small village on the border between southern County Armagh and County Down in Northern Ireland. It is situated in the civil parish of Ballymore and the historic barony of Orior Lower within the Armagh City, Banbridge and C ...

, Gilford and

Banbridge Banbridge ( ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the Bann in 1712. It is in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of Iveagh Upper ...

. A permanent bridge over the river at the Bannfoot was to be an integral part of the Charlestown development for Brownlow as it would have been the first proper link between his Montaighs and Richmond Estates. The ferry at the Bannfoot which survived until 1984 linked the

Lurgan Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and roughly southwest of Belfast. The town is linked to Belfast by both the M1 motorway (Northern Ireland), M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin rail ...

Derrytrasna Derrytrasna () is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The village is on a plateau surrounded mainly by bogland in the north of the county. It lies between Lough Neagh, Lough Gullion and the River Bann. History At ...

Road with the Columbkille-

Maghery Maghery ()Placenames NI
is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ire ...

Road and saved the traveller at least 12 miles of a detour. The proposed bridge would have been a permanent link between Lurgan and Charlestown in Oneiland West and the Manor of Richmond and Stewartstown in Oneiland West. It is claimed he intentionally erected it equidistant (seven miles) each from

and Stewartstown. The Grant Jury approved the plan for the bridge as well as the proposed toll charges but the bridge was never constructed. The Canal Company objected as they felt the presence of the bridge would restrict the amount and scope of the future boat traffic in Lough Neagh, the River Bann and

Newry Canal The Newry Canal is an abandoned canal in Northern Ireland. Opened in 1742, it was built to link the Tyrone coalfields to the Irish Sea. The navigable route ran from Lough Neagh via the Upper Bann river to Portadown (approximated 9 miles), then ...

. Little did they know when the railways arrived in 1841 their business would be greatly reduced anyway. The plan for the bridge was so far advanced that the tolls for crossing were already agreed. A coach drawn by 6 horses would cost 1s 6d, a carriage and one horse would be 0s 3d and one man, woman or child would be charged a halfpenny A ferry was operated by the Wilson family for most of the 20th century, but it no longer exists, and a bridge has never been constructed across the river, but there have been calls for a bicycle and pedestrian bridge as a means of boosting tourism.

References

{{Coord, 54, 30, N, 6, 31, W, display=title, region:GB_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Villages in County Armagh