Ordnance survey of the county of Londonderry / Colonel Colby ... superintendent. Volume the first.

  • Ordnance Survey of Ireland
Date:
1837
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Ordnance survey of the county of Londonderry / Colonel Colby ... superintendent. Volume the first. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    22/414 (page 2)
    The northern group, of which the highest point—in Elaghmore—is only 354 feet above the sea, is subdivided into low but distinct ridges by valleys parallel to that of the Foyle. Of these valleys that of Ballyarnet assumes, in some positions, an importance little inferior to that of the valley of Penny- burn. A general view of this tract, as seen from the road to Culmore, combines the characters de- rived from its moderate height and frequent subdivision : it there appears a wide and undulating plain, bounded on the S. by the higher land of the parish, and on the N.W. by the southern hills of Ennish- owen. Lakes The Ballyarnet Lake, the only one in the parish, occupies portions of three town- lands—Ballyarnet, Bally nashallog, and Ballynagard. It is small, containing only 3a. 3r. 27i\, and fills a shallow basin in the surrounding bog. Its height above the sea is about 100 feet. Rivers.—The Foyle is formed by the junction of the Mourne and the Finn at Lifford—the former having previously received the waters of the Derg, flowing from the county of Donegal: the Foyle,also receives below Lifford the Dale, or Burndale, flowing from the same county, and it empties itself into Lough Foyle at Culmore. The ancient Irish, however, appear to have applied the name Lough Foyle to the river up to Lifford, as well as to the present lough ; but, in the accounts of the early settlement by the English, they are distinguished as the “ harbour of Lough Foyle” (the present lough), and the “ river of Lough Foyle,” by which name the river is called in the “ Down Survey,” as well as in some later documents. The ancient Irish name of the river and lake, thus conjoined, was Coc Peabcnl rhic Looain, or the “ Lake of Feval, son of Lodan,” and it is always so written in the “ Annals of the Four Masters,” and other authorities. The origin of this name is explained in the “ Oinnpeancup”—a manuscript anterior to the 12th century—by a legend of the Tuatha-de-Dananns, who are stated to have been a Greek colony, importing that at the time when the lake was formed Feval, the son of Lodan, was drowned, and that its waves cast his body on the shore, and rolled a stone over it, which formed his sepulchral monu- ment. The similarity of this legend to that of Selim, in lord Byron’s “ Bride of Abydos,” w ill hardly fail to strike the reader. The river flows from S. W. to N. E. in a deep and tranquil bed, within the tideway. Its greatest breadth above Derry is at New Buildings, in Clondermot, where it measures nearly j mile. Be- low Derry is an expansion of it, called Rosses’ Bay, which is 1 j mile broad. At the city itself it is narrowest, being only 1068 feet wide at the bridge. Its depth at high-water is 22 feet, opposite Carri- gans, near which it enters the county of Londonderry: opposite Prehen it is 24, and it gradually increases to about 43 feet, its depth at the bridge of Derry. The point where it enters the county is about 4jr miles above the city. Its banks in this parish are bold, except at Pennyburn, where it is met by a transverse valley ; and their beauty is heightened by ornamental woods, which in many places sweep down to the water’s edge. Of the rivulets, which are insignificant, the greater number either flow into the river Foyle, or Lough Foyle: one, which passes by Coshquin, flows into Lough Swilly, in the county of Donegal. The springs are numerous: within a tract of not more than twenty acres, in Spring Hill and Creg- gan, no fewer than eight occur. These springs, percolating through the detritus of rocks, which abound in oxide of iron, become frequently charged with ochreous particles, and are sometimes slightly chalybeate. Bogs—The bogs are scattered through the parish in insulated patches. [See Geology.] Woods—In Ballynagalliagh alone there is a small patch of wood, apparently natural. Some more natural wood may have, however, been preserved in the demesnes beside the Foyle, which are all rich in ornamental planting. Coast—The shore of Lough Foyle, where it borders the parish, is low and flat. Climate—In the able “ Observations on the Climate of Ireland,” &c., by Dr. Patterson, the mean temperature of the city is stated to be 49, which is nearly that of the Earth, as indicated by the mean temperature of six wells in different parts of the city, the extremes being 17 and 71. The range of the barometer is from 28.6 to 30.6, and on an average of twelve years the medium number of fine days is 126. The hygrometer of De Luc varies from 26^ to 52a, and the mean annual depth of rain is 34.2 inches: the latter has, however, been stated by the Rev. Mr. Sampson at 31, in his “ Statis- tical Survey of the County of Londonderry.” The ratio of winds during nine years was N. 295— S. 398—E. 283—W. 1005—N. W. 737—N. E. 265—S. W. 599—S. E. 454. To estimate with accuracy the presumed variations of this climate long continued and carefully conducted observations would be necessary. In defect of such it may be mentioned that the farmers believe, and assert, that a marked amelioration has taken place—the times of seeding and harvest being both considerably advanced. In support of this opinion may be adduced the extending and successful cultivation of wheat, and the increased number of quails, a bird now comparatively abun- dant. However, though the circumstance of a recent improvement in this respect may be probable, it would be rash to pronounce it, on the present evidence, permanent.