Benraw ()
is a
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 860 acres in
County Down
County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, two miles north of
Leitrim and six miles from
Castlewellan
Castlewellan () is a small town in County Down, in the south-east of Northern Ireland close to the Irish Sea. It is beside Castlewellan Lake and Slievenaslat mountain, southwest of Downpatrick. It lies between the Mourne Mountains and Slieve ...
. It is situated in the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of
Drumgooland and the historic
barony Barony may refer to:
* Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron
* Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron
* Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...
of
Iveagh Upper, Lower Half
Iveagh Upper, Lower Half is the name of a barony in County Down, Northern Ireland. It was created by 1851 with the division of the barony of Iveagh Upper into two. It lies in the centre of the county, and is bordered by six other baronies: Iveag ...
.
It is set in the middle of the
Dromara Hills and
Slieve Croob
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Slieve Croob () is a mountain with a height of in the middle of County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the heart of a mountainous area, the Dromara Hills, north of the Mourne Mountains. It is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Be ...
. It has an average population of 50 people. It contains two roads: the Whitehill Road and the Benraw Road. It is in the middle of the townlands Leitrim,
Legananny and
Derryneill. It is a very mountainous area and the two main mountains in Benraw are
Benraw Mountain and
The Whitehill. Benraw is also close to
Legananny Dolmen
The Legananny Dolmen is a megalithic dolmen or cromlech nine miles southeast of Banbridge and three miles north of Castlewellan, both in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the slopes of Slieve Croob near the village of Leitrim in Drumgool ...
.
History
The townland of Benraw has clearly been named after the hill now known as Benraw Mountain (242m). There is no fort in Benraw, but a slightly less than semi-circular arc remains on a ridge, formed by an inner ditch with outer bank, on what could have been a suitable site for a
ringfort
Ringforts or ring forts are small circular fortification, fortified settlements built during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and early Middle Ages up to about the year 1000 AD. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are ...
.
[
]
See also
*List of townlands in County Down
In Ireland, Counties are divided into Civil Parishes and Parishes are further divided into townlands. The following is a list of townlands in County Down, Northern Ireland:
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A
Acre McCricket, Aghacullion, Aghandunvarran, Aghavilly, ...
References
Townlands of County Down
Civil parish of Drumgooland
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