Ballyhaise

In 1609, at the beginning of James I's Plantation of Ulster, English settler John Taylor was awarded a 1,500-acre grant of land in Aghieduff in County Cavan.[5] This was in the barony between Loughtee Upper and Loughtee Lower which had been previously under the rule of the O'Reilly clan.[6] Taylor established the town of Ballyhaise, encouraging both English and Scottish settlers to settle on the land. Taylor is said to have erected 'a strong bawn of lime and stone for his own residence on the site of the present house from which he would command the fort over the river.'[6] A 1618-19 survey revealed that eighteen families had settled and 'everything in the infant colony appeared in a most prosperous condition.'[5] The 1641 Irish Rebellion, which was led by Sir Féilim Ruadh Ó Néill, disrupted the village's development. County Cavan was retrieved by native rebels forcing settlers to flee. By the mid-1650s, the territory was regained by Sir Charles Coote, and further expulsions of Catholic Irish from County Cavan, County Monaghan, County Tyrone and East Donegal took place in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Scarrifholis, which was fought near Conwal, on the outskirts of Letterkenny, up in the north-west of Ulster.[6] The restoration of Charles II to the throne in 1660 saw the Ballyhaise settlement resume and begin to progress.

Estate villages were typically known to be villages based around one estate, usually owned and preserved by one family.[7] The Ballyhaise Estate passed through the Taylor family. Brockhill Taylor, an MP for the borough of Cavan in the 1630s and the eldest son of John Taylor, held possession of the estate until his death. Brockhill Taylor's Ballyhaise Estate then passed to his eldest daughter, Mary. Mary's marriage into the Newburgh family saw possession of the Ballyhaise Estate pass into the hands of the Newburgh family. The significant development of Ballyhaise can be attributed to Colonel Brockhill Newburgh, who obtained the estate through marriage.[5] As the High Sheriff of Cavan, a serving MP and the chairman of the local linen board, Colonel Newburgh oversaw notable developments and upgrades to Ballyhaise.[6]

Newburgh and another local landowner constructed an arched stone structured bridge over the River Annalee in the same period as Newburgh embarked on constructing a new planned estate village.[5] He had a great vision for the estate and village, one that was laid out with 'great taste'. It adopted the experimental shape of an octagon with the circular, arched market place at the centre of the village and radial roads emerging from the heart. The houses were built in an unusual manner, whilst the surroundings were 'richly-wooded'.[6] The gardens were elaborately arranged with 'ponds, jets d'eau, fruit and flowers'.[5]

The village and demesne of Ballyhaise was renowned for its beauty and characterised by the innovative urban planning programme undertaken by Colonel Newburgh.[5] It was said that visitors would travel “far and near” to observe the scenery and buildings in the village of Ballyhaise. The interesting architectural style of the houses in the town along with the house, grottoes and gardens were the main points of attraction in the village.[8] The Ballyhaise Estate remained in the Newburgh family until around 1800, when it was sold to Dublin-based merchant, William Humphreys.[6]

It is situated on the River Annalee (a tributary of the Erne). It was built for the Newburghs, a local landowning family, in the early eighteenth century, replacing the previous house built by John Taylor.[9] Although a date of 1733 is often given for the start of the construction of Ballyhaise House, most architectural historians now believe that the house was begun slightly earlier than this.[9] It is said to contain the earliest surviving oval room in Ireland and Britain. The building was traditionally credited to Richard Cassels, a German architect living in Dublin, who designed many of the capital's finest buildings and squares (including Leinster House). More recently, its thought that Ballyhaise House was designed by the architect of Parliament House in Dublin, Sir Edward Lovett Pearce.[9][10] The core of the building consisted of two story's over half-basement, and of seven bays. The house was the focal point of this Palladian scheme that was extended on either side by quadrants terminating into pavilion wings[5] None of these interior features of the house remain today.

The Market House was built around 1730 and is said to have collapsed by 1736. It was located on Fair Hill, a radial road leading from the octagonal Market Place to the Fair Green.[11] It was the product of Colonel Newburgh's innovative programme of urban planning, once considered an 'arched edifice built of brick.' It was rebuilt in 1837 but still retains some essential components of its original form.[5]

Ballyhaise House has been used as an agricultural college (Ballyhaise College) since the beginning of the 20th century; the college, now run by Teagasc, celebrated its centenary in 2006 and has over 400 enrolled students.

Ballyhaise Bridge was built around 1710 by Colonel Brockhill Newburgh. It is made from roughly coursed limestone elevations which have elliptical arches having cut-stone arch rings. The bridge was positioned on a central axis with Ballyhaise House, which acts as a reminder of the formally laid out demesne.[12] Its location across the Annalee River was a priority link between Cavan Town and County Monaghan. The new route enabled an accessible passage for goods in and out of the village.[11]

This neo-Gothic sandstone parish church, often known locally as 'the Chapel', was originally built in Cavan Town c. 1823, later being significantly extended in 1853.[13][14] The building was elevated to being the cathedral for the Catholic Diocese of Kilmore in 1862.[13][14] When the new cathedral was completed in Cavan Town in 1942, the old cathedral was dismantled and largely re-erected, on a smaller scale, in nearby Ballyhaise as St Mary's Church.[13][14] The 'new' church replaced an older and smaller T-plan chapel of c. 1810.[13] The interior of St Mary's, when it was rebuilt, was very different from how it looked when it was a cathedral in Cavan Town, the new, much plainer 1940s interior being designed by W.H. Byrne & Sons.[13] The sanctuary of the church was reordered in 2000.[13] The church is located at the top of the Chapel Brae, on the main road connecting Ballyhaise with Cavan Town. It is a complex architectural structure that is important for the village.[11][14]

Some parts of this Church of Ireland parish church may have been built in the seventeenth-century, during the Plantation of Ulster.[15] However, almost all of the present structure was built c. 1820, probably to a design by John Bowden, as a 'hall-and-tower' type church.[11][15] The church, which is constructed of limestone rubble and dressed sandstone, was extended c. 1860, when a new transept was added to the south, a small vestry was added to the north, and a new bay was added to the east.[13][16] The Romanesque windows in the main body of the church were refenestrated at this time.[13] The church tower is largely in the Gothic style.[16] The building is located midway between The Square, in the centre of Ballyhaise's planned village settlement, and the estate house.[11]

Local Link route C1 links the village with Cavan and Butlersbridge several times daily Mondays to Saturdays inclusive. Route C3 from Redhills to Cavan also serves the village with three services each way Mondays to Saturdays.

Ballyhaise railway station opened on 1 April 1862, closed for passenger traffic on 14 October 1957, and finally closed altogether on 1 January 1963.[17]

Ballyhaise Bridge