Richhill, County Armagh

Richhill is a large village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, centrally located between Armagh and Portadown. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 2,818 people.

Richhill takes its name from Edward Richardson, Member of Parliament for County Armagh from 1655 to 1696, who constructed Richhill Castle, a Dutch-gabled manor house. Richhill has won a string of Best Kept village awards. The bottom of the village is overlooked by St. Matthew’s Church of Ireland, which provides a backdrop to most views of the village.

Places of interest

Richill Castle is situated about 6 miles from Armagh in the village of Richill. It was erected around 1665 for Major Edward Richardson. The original gates to Richill Castle have since 1936 adorned the entrance to Hillsborough Castle. The gates were erected, in Richill, by William Richardson in 1745 and were wrought by two brothers named Thornberry from Falmouth, Cornwall.

Education

* Hardy Memorial Primary School

Transport

*Richhill railway station opened on 1 March 1848 and finally closed on 1 October 1957. [cite web | title=Richill station | work=Railscot - Irish Railways | url=http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf | accessdate=2007-11-23]

2001 Census

Richhill is classified as an intermediate settlement by the [http://www.nisra.gov.uk/ NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)] (ie with population between 2,250 and 4,500 people).On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 2,818 people living in Richhill. Of these:

* 2.8% were aged under 16 years and 92.1% were aged 60 and over
* 49.8% of the population were male and 50.3% were female
* 3.4% were from a Catholic background and 94.6% were from a Protestant background
* 11.9% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed

For more details see: [http://www.ninis.nisra.gov.uk/ NI Neighbourhood Information Service]

See also

* List of villages in Northern Ireland
* List of towns in Northern Ireland

References

External links

* [http://www.richhillonline.co.uk/ Richhill online]
* [http://www.visitarmagh.com/ Visit Armagh]
* [http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/town_Home.aspx?co=3&to=295&ca=0&sca=0&navID=1 Culture Northern Ireland]
* [http://www.richhillpc.org.uk/ Richhill Presbyterian Church Home Page] or download sermon from http://richhillpc.wordpress.com/
* [http://www.richhillmc.com/ Richhill Methodist Church]