Garvagh ( or ''Garbhachadh'' meaning "rough field") is a
village
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
in
County Londonderry
County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...
,
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 ...
. It is on the banks of the
Agivey River, south of
Coleraine
Coleraine ( ; from , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, No ...
on the A29 route. In the
2001 Census it had a population of 1,288. It is situated within
Causeway Coast and Glens district.
History
Garvagh was important from very early times, and later rebuilt as a
Plantation
Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
town, as its broad main street and neatly planned buildings evidence.
It was founded in the early 17th century by George Canning from
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
, agent for the
Ironmonger's Company of London, it was later grown into a middling-size market town by the Cannings. A striking feature of the town is the stone clock tower with an attractive clock and castellations, which dominates the main route through the town and also serves as the district
cenotaph
A cenotaph is an empty grave, tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere or have been lost. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although t ...
.
On 26 July 1813 the Battle of Garvagh, a skirmish between Catholic
Ribbonmen attempting to burn a tavern frequented by
Orangemen, and the Orangemen themselves, took place. The town has been immortalised in the famous
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
folk-song "
The Battle of Garvagh".
The Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
was an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century, from 1968 to 1998. During that time, individuals and groups in the Garvagh area inevitably became
involved or affected.
Post Troubles
The Garvagh and District Development Association- GADDA undertook a project to modernise the town in the late 1990s and early 2000s by installing new water mains, upgrading road surfaces, improving pedestrian surfaces, new street lighting, a new community building and a new toilet block, which were funded through various support channels: the Coleraine Borough Council, the Ireland Fund of America, the EU and the British Government.
In August 2009, more than 20 windows in Catholic owned businesses including a public house, butchers’ shop and cafe were smashed some time around 3am. Police investigated the attacks as sectarian hate crimes.
Places of interest
*Garvagh Museum is a rural Folk Museum in the walled garden of Garvagh House, the former seat of the Canning family. George Canning was elevated to the peerage in 1818 and took the title
Baron Garvagh. This walled garden has historic links with
Donnchadh Ó Hámsaigh (aka Denis Hampson) the great blind harper who lived in three centuries, being born in 1695 and dying in 1807. George Canning, Dr Bacon and Squire Gage bought Hampson's first harp while he lived in Garvagh. At the entrance to the museum there is a memorial to Hempson in the form of a granite pillar. This unique collection holds almost two thousand artefacts which trace the history of the Bann Valley from 3000 BC through to the first half of the 20th century.
[Discover Northern Ireland: Garvagh Museum]
, accessed 3 July 2017
*Slagthaverty
Dolmen
A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...
is about three miles south of Garvagh.
*Garvagh Forest, the former estate of the Cannings covering over , is on the western outskirts of Garvagh.
*The River Agivey flows through Garvagh. It is a well known river for Brown trout and Salmon.
2001 census
Garvagh is classified as a village by the
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency
The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA, ) is an executive agency within the Department of Finance (Northern Ireland), Department of Finance in Northern Ireland. The organisation is responsible for the collection and publicat ...
(NISRA) (i.e. with a population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,288 people living in Garvagh. Of these:
*22.3% were aged under 16 years and 25.1% were aged 60 and over
*46.7% of the population were male and 53.3% were female
*25.0% were from a
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
background and 74.0% were from a
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
background
*3.6% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed
2011 Census
On Census day in 2011:
*24.5% were from a
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
background and 71.2% were from a
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
background
Transport
Garvagh railway station -formerly on Station Road- opened on 18 February 1880 as part of the
Derry Central Railway and was shut on 28 August 1950.
Disused remnants of the track still remain in a few locations including several railway bridges.
There are several bus stops in Garvagh town operated through
Ulsterbus
Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside Belfast. It is part of Translink (Northern Ireland), Translink, the brand name for the subsidiary operating companies of the Northern Ireland Transpor ...
, they are on Main Street and Bridge Street as well as several in the surrounding area.
People
* Sir
James Brown Dougherty KCB KCVO PC (1844–1934), clergyman, academic, civil servant and politician, born in Garvagh.
*
Billie Nicholl (1851–1937), New Zealand prospector and gold mine developer
*
Frederick William FitzSimons (1870–1951), South African naturalist, noted
herpetologist
Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...
, born in Garvagh
*
John Laurence Rentoul (1845–1926), Presbyterian minister and poet, emigrated to Australia
Education
In the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s there were two public schools in Garvagh. Garvagh Public Elementary School, which was the
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
school, was at the Southerly end of the town. Garvagh Youth Club now occupies the premises.
The second school, which was known as the Canning Public Elementary School, was the
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
school, and was positioned where the
Christian Workers Union Hall now stands.
In 1947 an ''Education Act'' was passed, changing education in Northern Ireland. Public Elementary schools were to be called Primary Schools, with pupils transferring at 11+ to Intermediate schools, Grammar schools, and Technical schools. This change took some time, as schools had to be planned and built. Garvagh Intermediate school opened in 1953. The primary school population fell as a result. Both primary schools continued to operate for some time, but eventually the Canning Primary School closed. Primary Education continued in Garvagh Primary School, but as housing development took place, the school could not cope with the numbers. Temporary accommodation was given in Garvagh Orange Hall.
In the grounds of Garvagh Intermediate School was the school, and Garvagh House, the former house of the Canning family, which contained some classrooms and flats for single female teachers. The house fell into disrepair over the years and was eventually demolished; in 1965 the County Londonderry Education Committee opened Garvagh Primary School on the site.
In the early 1970s, increased enrolment due to the
raising of school leaving age led to the Education Committee transferring the primary school buildings to the Intermediate school, and in April 1973 a new Garvagh Primary School opened. It was built on Ashe's Meadow. Where the gates are, was the site of the old cinema (AVON - which stood for Allies Victory over Nazis). The school was of a new design, with three wings. Each wing consisted of three classrooms, lavatories and an open area. Apart from the classroom for P1, the classrooms had no doors. This was referred to as open plan.
Today, there are two schools in Garvagh: Garvagh Primary School, St Patrick's & St Joseph's Primary School (
Glenullin).
Garvagh High School closed on 31 August 2013 as a result of enrolment decline. In addition, the future of Garvagh Primary School is unclear as there are ongoing discussions regarding forming an amalgamation with Gorran Primary School, which lies just beyond the town vicinity.
Garvagh was one of the first towns to provide early year education in the area. The preschool, Garvagh Community Playgroup, was established in 1974.
See also
*
Ballerin
Ballerin is a small village between Garvagh and Ringsend, Coleraine, Ringsend in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is located within Causeway Coast and Glens district. It includes Saint Columba's Catholic primary school and Saint Mary's C ...
and
Glenullin, nearby rural districts
*
Moneydig Presbyterian Church, outside the town
References
External links
Garvagh Museum
{{authority control
Villages in County Londonderry
Causeway Coast and Glens district