Town in County Down, Northern Ireland
Banbridge
Banbridge dug a trench through its own main street so stagecoach horses could survive the hill, and it gave the Arctic one of its most haunted heroes.
Key information
- County
- County Down
- Nation
- Northern Ireland
- Known for
- The Cut, linen, Captain Francis Crozier, and the road from Belfast to Dublin
- Famous people
- Francis Crozier, Patrick Brontë (born nearby)
- Football clubs
- Banbridge Town
About Banbridge
The street that was cut in half
Banbridge's best-known feature is a piece of civil engineering that still surprises visitors. The main road through town once ran straight up and down a steep hill, which was a misery for horses pulling coaches and heavy loads between Belfast and Dublin. The fix, in 1834, was to cut a deep channel through the hill. That channel is known simply as the Cut. The road now runs through the trench, while the shops of the old hill street sit on the higher ground either side. The Downshire Bridge arches over the trench, so traffic runs underneath while pedestrians cross above. It is an odd, memorable layout for a market town.
A town named after a bridge
The name is as plain as it gets: a bridge over the River Bann. The first crossing here was built in 1712, and a settlement grew around it, with the river powering the mills. Its position on the main coaching road between Belfast and Dublin gave Banbridge a steady stream of travellers, inns and trade. That road is also why the Cut was needed in the first place.
The linen years
Like much of Ulster, Banbridge grew rich on linen. Flax was grown, steeped, spun and woven across the surrounding countryside. Bleach greens and mills lined the Bann and its tributaries, and the cloth was sold in the market town. That trade shaped the town's solid Victorian streets and the confident buildings along the Cut. Weaving employed families for generations, long before the industry shrank in the 20th century.
The captain who never came home
Francis Crozier was born in Banbridge in 1796 and joined the Royal Navy at 13. He became one of the great polar sailors, serving under James Clark Ross in the Antarctic in the early 1840s. Cape Crozier on Ross Island is named after him and is home to a colony of emperor penguins. In 1845 he sailed as captain of HMS Terror on Sir John Franklin's expedition to find the Northwest Passage. Both ships were trapped in the Arctic ice. After Franklin died in 1847, Crozier took command and led the survivors on a retreat across the ice. He was last recorded in 1848, and none of the men returned. The wreck of HMS Erebus was found in 2014, and Terror followed in 2016 in Terror Bay. A granite monument topped with Crozier's statue stands in Church Square, and was erected in 1862.
Brontë country on the doorstep
The family behind Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights has roots in the countryside around Banbridge. Patrick Brontë, father of Charlotte, Emily and Anne, was born Patrick Brunty in 1777 in a small cottage at Emdale, near Loughbrickland. He was a clever local boy who taught at village schools before winning a place at Cambridge, where his surname became Brontë. The Brontë Homeland trail winds through the lanes and hills around Drumballyroney and Drumgooland, where he grew up and taught.
Sham fights and Saturday sport
Each July, the village of Scarva just outside Banbridge stages the Sham Fight, a staged battle between King William III and King James II in front of crowds. It is a loud, colourful tradition tied to the events of 1690. On the sporting side, Banbridge has a long-standing rugby club, and Banbridge Town carries the football colours. The nearby Bann and the surrounding Down countryside suit walkers and anglers. The A1 now bypasses the Cut, which has helped keep the old street the way it was built.