Banbridge
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Banbridge is a market town in County Down, northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road. It grew as a coaching stop and from Irish linen manufacturing. The town is the headquarters for Banbridge District Council. The town was named after the first bridge built over the Upper Bann in 1712.
The main street is very unusual, and rises to a steep hill. Banbridge used to be an important stop on the Belfast to Dublin stagecoach route and the town's best known feature is the underpass constructed in 1834 known as The Cut. It is thought that this was the first underpass ever built, and was done to allow horses to pass through the centre of the town without fainting before they reached the top of the hill.
Banbridge, home to the Star of the County Down, is, relatively speaking, quite a young town. The town grew up around the site where the main road from Belfast to Dublin crossed the River Bann over an Old Bridge which was situated where the present bridge now stands. The town owed its success to flax and the linen industry, becoming by 1772 the principal linen producing district in Ireland with a total of 26 bleachgreens along the Bann. This industry has now greatly diminished in prominence, but Banbridge still has two of the major producers in Ulster Weavers Ltd, and Thomas Ferguson & Co Ltd., the last remaining Irish linen damask weaver.
The main street is very unusual, and rises to a steep hill. Banbridge used to be an important stop on the Belfast to Dublin stagecoach route and the town's best known feature is the underpass constructed in 1834 known as The Cut. It is thought that this was the first underpass ever built, and was done to allow horses to pass through the centre of the town without fainting before they reached the top of the hill.
Banbridge, home to the Star of the County Down, is, relatively speaking, quite a young town. The town grew up around the site where the main road from Belfast to Dublin crossed the River Bann over an Old Bridge which was situated where the present bridge now stands. The town owed its success to flax and the linen industry, becoming by 1772 the principal linen producing district in Ireland with a total of 26 bleachgreens along the Bann. This industry has now greatly diminished in prominence, but Banbridge still has two of the major producers in Ulster Weavers Ltd, and Thomas Ferguson & Co Ltd., the last remaining Irish linen damask weaver.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banbridge
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 54°20'59"N 6°16'16"W
- Belfast 41 km
- Dublin 104 km
- City of Salford 265 km
- Manchester 273 km
- Newcastle upon Tyne 300 km
- Leeds 305 km
- Sheffield 308 km
- Birmingham 341 km
- Bristol 393 km
- London 497 km
- Kernan 3.8 km
- Tullyorior 5.7 km
- Balloolymore 8.4 km
- Drumlough 15 km
- Crossgar/Upper Crossgare 19 km
- Slieve Croob (Sliabh Crúb) 19 km
- County Armagh 22 km
- County Down 23 km
- Tollymore Forest Park 25 km
- Mourne Mountains 27 km
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