Knockcloghrim

Knockcloghrim is a small village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, near Maghera. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 186 people. It is predominantly Protestant, although there is a small Roman Catholic population. It lies within the Magherafelt District Council area, more specifically within the Magherafelt Town District Electoral Area. The local MP is Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin.

Locally significant buildings include Termoneeny parish church (Church of Ireland), built in 1801 to replace another church at Knocknakielt, near Maghera; the present church is a listed building. The chimney and windmill south of Hillhead Road represent the local industrial heritage and are important local landmark features. The village is also noted for its well preserved stone walls, built in the late 1830s' by John Bates, a prominent Belfast solicitor who, on travelling through the area on his way to the azzizes in Londonderry, felt it would be a good site for a model village. Bates also served as Town Clerk of Belfast, apparently being a prominent member of the Tory machine which controlled the city after local government reforms of 1842. Rumour has it that he also embezzeled money from the Corporation to fund the building of the village, and when this was discovered, he absconded to France, dying there in 1855. There is a monument to his memory in Termoneeny Parish Church. Bates is also responsible for the fine 'Knock House', originally intended as a hotel. It served until 1921 as the Anglican rectory, and has since been a private dwelling. The last incumbent to dwell in the rectory was the Reverend Thomas Fisher, who was rector for 34 years until 1921.

*The village was also the site of a severe riot in 1830 or 1831, when local Orangemen were involved in a scuffle with Roman Catholics.

*The village hosts very little in the way of major events, barring an annual parade by Knockloughrim Accordion Band, which is usually held on the second Saturday in June. The RBP's "Last Saturday" demonstration was hosted in Knockloughrim in 1925. Every August, normally on the third Saturday, the South Derry Wheelers Cycling Club host the Stephen Smyth Memorial Time Trial. This event is named after a former resident of the village, Stephen Smyth, who was British Schoolboy Cycling Champion and who died in a road traffic accident in 1985 at the age of 17.

Name

Knockcloghrim is alternatively spelt as Knockloughrim. Knockcloghrim is the name that has been adopted by the local council which all local residents with past knowledge know to be wrong. The alternative spelling is used by:::Magherafelt District Council [ [http://www.magherafelt.gov.uk/ Magherafelt District Council] ] . ::The local Orange Order lodge, Knockloughrim Rising Sons of Ulster LOL 401 [ [http://www.orange-order.co.uk/chronicle/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1920 Orange Order Chronicle] ] . Also by the attendant Royal Black Preceptory, Knockloughrim Red Cross Knights RBP 746. The preceptory celebrates its centenary in 2008, and on July 14th that year, attended the 'Sham Fight' at Scarva, County Down.::The regional newspaper for the Magherafelt and Cookstown District Council areas, the Mid-Ulster Mail. [ [http://www.midulstermail.co.uk/ Mid Ulster Mail] ] .
*Knockloughrim Primary School.

Both spellings have been simultaneously used on various UK government sites and the BBC website adding to the confusion.

*The name is taken from the Gaelic "Cnoc na Cruitha", meaning "hill of the stony ridge." Knockloughrim Hill is a prominent physical landmark in the area, until recently covered in woodland. While a substantial amount of woodland cover remains, considerable numbers of trees, not to mention the bulk of the hill itself, have been removed in order to facilitate quarrying, as well as the construction of a pre-cast concrete plant and attendant yard.

Places of interest

*Knockcloghrim Windmill is a restored windmill which was in operation until the Great Wind of 1953 blew the sails off. It is an historic monument and contains local history exhibits. The windmill is now owned by the Magherafelt and Knockcloghrim Methodist Church and stands in the church grounds. Not surprisingly, it is the only windmill owned by the Methodist Church. The windmill was built some time between 1860 and 1875 by William Palmer (1823-1898). Apparently it used to be called Palmer's Folly because it never worked properly. The windmill was built beside a steam mill, also owned by Palmer, making this one of very the few sites in all of Ireland that had originally both steam and wind powered machinery in the same location, described as a corn and flax mill. The buildings where the steam and flax mills were once located now form a small industrial estate, known as "The Mill Yard." The windmill is said to have had six sails as opposed to the more common configuration of four, although there is some argument about this. The original roof was blown off by the Big Wind in 1895 and the strange onion shaped top that is there today is a replacement. After it was disabled by the Big Wind it had many uses, one of which was as a meeting place for the local Orange Order before the present Orange Hall was built in 1908. The windmill was restored in 1993. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, it is currently closed, and will probably remain so indefinitely.

Transport

*Knockloughrim railway station opened on 18 August 1880, closed for passenger traffic on 28 August 1950 and finally closed altogether on 1 October 1959. [cite web | title=Knockloughrim station | work=Railscot - Irish Railways | url=http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf | accessdate=2007-10-28]

The railway station was a stop on the railway line between Magherafelt and Maghera. The old railway bridge at Derganagh Road, under which locomotives passed on their way to and from Maghera, remains in excellent condition, although it is now substantially overgrown and difficult to access. After the Second World War, daffodils were planted on the embankment in a 'V for Victory' formation, and this is still evident today.

*The A6 Glenshane Road (Belfast-Londonderry route) passes less than half a mile from the centre of the village. Until c1970, the main route between the two cities actually passed through the village.

Religion

*There are two places of worship located within the village boundaries, namely St. Conlus' Parish Church (Anglican communion) and the Methodist Church, built in 1984 to replace the old Gospel Hall, which is a joint charge with Cookstown and Magherafelt Methodist Churches. The Presbyterian Church, originally built in 1765 and replaced with the current building in 1840, is outside the village a little bit, in the townlad of Ballinacross; the local Roman Catholic church, constructed in c.1870, is located roughly 2 miles away, in the townland of Mayogall. Termoneeny Parish Church is a joint charge with St Comgall's Parish Church, Desertmartin and the Presbyterian Church is united with Bellaghy Presbyterian Church.

*The village is located within the Anglican parish of Termoneeny, and within the Roman Catholic parish of Lavey.

Services

*The village is home to a post office, a primary school (opened in 1980 after the amalgamation of the old national schools at Derganagh and Curran), the two aforementioned churches, the relatively well known Bentley Nightclub (also known as Club Inferno) and at least three motor garages. The village shop closed in Spring 2006. The bus service is relatively infrequent, but far from non-existent. The Orange Hall is located just beyond the village boundary. The old railway station was, until recently, a car dealership. It now appears to be a base of operations for an "environmental solutions" company.

*Knockloughrim is also home to FP McCann Ltd, one of Northern Ireland's biggest quarrying contractors. Responsible for many major projects, not least the construction of the Toome by-pass, which opened in 2004, McCann's distinctive blue lorries are a common sight on the roads of Northern Ireland and further afield. Their facilities now encompass a large portion of both sides of the Quarry Road, just beyond the village boundary, including the old McLean's Quarry.

*P. Keenan Ltd also maintain a quarry on the Rocktown Road, and their crimson lorries are also quite a common sight.

Streets

Quarry Road,Hillhead Road,Lurganagoose Road,Carricknakielt Road,Porte Gardens,Malcolm Villas,Rock Villas,Termoneeny Park,Cabragh Heights,Rocktown Lane.

*Until the early 1950s, Knockloughrim was little more than a collection of houses on the old Belfast-Londonderry route. However, the Northern Ireland Housing Trust (forerunner of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive) constructed a new estate called Malcolm Villas, which was completed in 1952. Rock Villas was completed later that decade. Porte Gardens was built in the 1970s, and named after the late Unionist councillor for the area, Cllr David Porte. Termoneeny Park dates from the 1990s and Cabragh Heights was completed in 2007, replacing an old grain silo on the Lurganagoose Road which had become something of an eyesore. There has been significant single-house private development as well. The Housing Executive have plans to build a number of new dwellings on green space between Rock Villas and Porte Gardens. It is not known when construction will commence. Currently, the 11th July bonfire is built on that site.

*The village is built in the townlands of Derganagh, Cabragh and Lurganagoose, all three of which are part of the parish of Termoneeny. Interestingly, there is no townland called "Knockloughrim." These three townlands, along with the townland of Broagh, were the property of the London Vintner's Company, which acquired the land during the Plantation of Ulster, four centuries ago.

*The Derganagh Road, less than half a mile beyond the village, is often jokingly referred to as a suburb, given the substantial development it has seen in the last decade. This impression has been compounded by the provision of streetlighting.

References

* [http://www.ninis.nisra.gov.uk/ NI Neighbourhood Information System]
*Draft Magherafelt Area Plan 2015
* [http://derry.goireland.com/scripts/low/xq/asp/areaid.173/areatype.C/cat.9/SubjectID.156/PremisesID.14844/qx/premises.htm Go Ireland - Knockcloghrim Windmill]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/yourplaceandmine/londonderry/A803602.shtml Your Place and Mine - Knockcloghrim Windmill]

See also

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