placenamesAltmover
Alt Mómhar
Altmover’s glen supplied prized building stone and sheltered a small school later adapted as a mission hall. Geological observations and the surviving building record reveal different sides of this rural locality west of Dungiven.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Alt Mómhar · Irish · main form · validated name
- Altmover · English · main form
Place & story
Sandstone from the glen
The Geological Survey’s 1884 memoir describes extensive quarries in Altmover Glen, producing pale yellow to white sandstone in unusually large blocks. The stone was valued for building, and the surveyors noted abundant plant remains within it. Their account also records ripple marks and alternating layers of sandstone, shale and limestone along the glen. These observations connect a working quarry landscape with evidence of the ancient environments in which its rocks formed. [2]
The Hollow School
The school at the lower end of Altmover Glen was commonly called the Hollow School. The official building record describes its reopening on 1 July 1844 after a period of disuse: the floor was renewed, windows reglazed, part of the roof repaired and the room whitewashed. Known as Ballyhargan National School, it served pupils until 1923, when they transferred to Dungiven No. 2 Primary School. William Osborne, who lived nearby in the house later called Altmover House, was its patron in 1844. [3]
A classroom adapted for worship
After the school closed, its next owner converted the building into a mission hall and added projecting porches. The official survey describes a modest single-room structure with a natural-slate roof and sash windows, beside a small stream and the former road. Its secluded setting also includes the nearby Hollow Bridge and a former scutching mill. The record recognises its local historical interest but explicitly states that the building is not listed. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Derry
- Barony
- Keenaght
- Civil parish
- Bovevagh
- Within
- Ballyharigan
- Coordinates
- 54.93347, -7.00144 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 129703 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Altmover. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Explanatory memoir accompanying Geological Survey sheet 18, 1884, page 18 · J. Nolan and F. W. Egan, Geological Survey of Ireland
- Mission Hall, Altmover Road: HB02/04/014, record 12010 · Department for Communities, Historic Buildings database
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2010-04-19. How this page was prepared.