placenamesBroughshane
Bruach Sheáin
Broughshane's history brings together the linen economy of the Braid valley, a church enlarged over generations and the remarkable collections assembled by its nineteenth-century rector.
The name
A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.
Recorded forms
- Bruach Sheáin · Irish · main form · validated name
- Broughshane · English · main form
Place & story
Linen and the Tuesday market
In 1837 Samuel Lewis described four large bleach greens in the surrounding parish of Racavan, equipped with beetling machinery and finishing more than 100,000 webs of linen each year. A spinning mill and scattered weaving added to that textile economy. Broughshane's Tuesday market sold substantial quantities of pig carcases to agents working for Belfast merchants, while its August fair dealt in horses, cattle and pigs. The village was also the meeting place of the monthly Buckna manorial court, which heard claims for debts of up to twenty pounds. [2]
St Patrick's and its memorial windows
Charles O'Neill of Shane's Castle erected St Patrick's Church in 1765. It was enlarged in 1829 and altered further during the nineteenth century. One east window commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the Reverend W. C. Crawford's ministry in 1865. The churchyard contains Canon John Grainger's grave, marked by a replica of the Monasterboice high cross. Repairs completed in 2006 addressed the tower, roof and windows, continuing the care of a building whose fabric and memorials record successive generations of the parish. [3]
John Grainger's crowded rectory
Canon John Grainger's collecting transformed the Broughshane rectory into a storehouse of archaeology, natural history and objects brought from abroad. A surviving photograph from the 1880 s shows him with visitors, a dugout canoe, quernstones and a stuffed flamingo outside the house. He had become the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club's first president in 1863 and later participated in the Ballymena club. His interests increasingly centred on archaeology, including prehistoric Irish tools and weapons. The collections which filled his home gave this country parish an important connection with the development of the Ulster Museum. [4]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Broughshane. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Racavan, A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland,1837 · Samuel Lewis
- History of St Patrick's Church Broughshane · St Patrick's Church, Broughshane
- Canon Grainger: Country Rector, Magpie Collector and Father of the Ulster Museum · Kenneth James, Ulster Museum; Glens of Antrim Historical Society
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2021-05-26. How this page was prepared.