Laurelvale 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 ...

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 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 beside the smaller village of Mullavilly and the two are sometimes referred to as Laurelvale-Mullavilly or Mullavilly-Laurelvale. The village is three miles south of

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 1.5 miles northwest of

Tandragee Tandragee () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is on a hillside above the Cusher River, and is overlooked by Tandragee Castle. The town is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Ballymore, County Armagh, Ballymore and t ...

. It had a population of 1,288 people in the 2011 census.

Name

Laurelvale is within 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 Tamnaghvelton (formerly Tawnavaltiny, ). Laurelvale was taken from the name of a

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

that was built in the 19th century. Mullavilly was named after the townland in which it lies. The name comes .

History

Laurelvale was founded in the 1850s by

Thomas Sinton Thomas Sinton, JP (February 1826 – 20 August 1887) was an Irish industrialist and magistrate. Sinton made a significant impact upon the Irish linen trade; not least establishing the village of Laurelvale, County Armagh. Thomas Sinton was born ...

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 A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

and operated by ''Hoffmans'' (who made

ball bearing A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races. The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It achieves this ...

s for

gun turrets A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechanism ...

). The Sinton family also ran mills and bleach-works in

Killyleagh Killyleagh (; ) is a village and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the A22 road between Belfast and Downpatrick, on the western side of Strangford Lough. It had a population of 2,787 people in the 2021 Census. It is bes ...

, Tullylish and at Ravarnet outside

Hillsborough, County Down Royal Hillsborough (Irish: ''Cromghlinn'', meaning 'Crooked Glen'Patrick McKay, ''A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names'', p. 81. The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, 1999.), more commonly known simply as ...

. Thomas Sinton also built a large house in the village, ''Laurelvale House'', which, following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, was the home of

Michael Torrens-Spence Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Frederick Michael Alexander Torrens-Spence, (10 March 1914 – 12 December 2001) was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm pilot in the Second World War. Torrens-Spence earned the distinction of holding commissions in the Royal ...

Lord Lieutenant of County Armagh This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Armagh. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II, when they were renamed governors. The office of Lord Lieutenant was recreated on 23 August 1831. L ...

. ''Laurelvale House'' has since been demolished to make way for housing development.

Schools

Mullavilly Primary School 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 or Mullavilly-Laurelvale. The village is three miles south of Portadown and ...

Churches

Mullavilly Parish Church 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 or Mullavilly-Laurelvale. The village is three miles south of Portadown and ...

Kilmore Parish Church Kilmore may refer to: Places Australia *Electoral district of Kilmore, Victoria * Kilmore, Victoria, Australia, a town * Shire of Kilmore, a local government area north of Melbourne Ireland * Kilmore, County Cavan, a parish * Kilmore, County Wexf ...

Sport

Laurelvale F.C. has a ground in the Laurel Park area of the village. The football club currently play in the

Mid-Ulster Football League The Daily Mirror Mid-Ulster Football League, or simply referred to as the Mid-Ulster League, is an association football league in Northern Ireland. It contains 9 divisions. These comprise two intermediate sections: the Intermediate A and Intermed ...

Intermediate B Division.

Laurelvale Cricket Club The following list composes the cricket clubs that make up domestic cricket in Ireland. The clubs are split into different cricket unions according to their geographic location within Ireland: Leinster Cricket Union; Northern Cricket Union; Mu ...

has a clubhouse on Mullavilly Road and are currently competing in the NCU League Section 2, having just missed out on promotion in the 2015 season by way of Net Run Rate. Lee Edgar had a club record breaking season with 63 wickets winning the club's and league's Player of the Year.

Demography

2011 census

In the 2011 census Laurelvale-Mulavilly had a population of 1,288 people. Of these: *99.46% were from the white (including Irish Traveller) ethnic group; *7.53% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion and 86.96% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion; and *78.49% indicated that they had a British national identity, 5.75% had an Irish national identity and 23.68% had a Northern Irish national identity*.

2001 census

Mullavilly-Laurelvale is classified as a village by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). On census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,258 people living in Mullavilly-Laurelvale.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in County Armagh Model villages Linen industry in Ireland