Population centre

Clough

An Chloch

Clough’s surviving earthwork castle and two Presbyterian histories preserve different chapters of settlement in County Down.

Recorded locationClough54.28923° N · 5.83440° WInteractive map supplied by OpenStreetMap.

Approximate recorded location · Logainm.ie

The name

clochstone, stone building

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

An Chloch · Irish · main form · validated name
Clough · English · main form

Place & story

From timber defences to stone

Clough Castle began as an Anglo-Norman earthwork in the late twelfth or early thirteenth century. Dudley Waterman’s excavation in 1950 found evidence for a timber palisade on the mound. A hall and a small stone keep followed during the thirteenth century; the keep survives to two storeys. Later additions produced an L-shaped tower-house. The Department for Communities notes that the sequence remains debated, so the ruin should be understood as the product of several phases rather than a single building campaign.^[2]

A meeting house in the village

The history of Clough and Seaforde Presbyterian congregations begins with worship at Drumcaw in 1680. Under Hugh Williamson, the congregation obtained land in Clough from Francis Annesley in 1736 and built a meeting house the following year. The move established a lasting place of worship in the village. Later ministers became involved in disputes over subscription to the Westminster Confession, reflecting differences within Presbyterianism about doctrine and religious authority.^[3]

Two congregations and two buildings

A ministerial dispute following William Campbell’s death in 1829 divided the congregation. The competing groups ordained David Watson and Francis Dill, while the ownership of the meeting house went before the courts. A judgment in 1836 awarded it to the evangelical party. The Non-Subscribers opened their own church on Castlewellan Road in 1837. Their denomination dates the congregation from 1829, distinguishing its formation from the completion of its separate building eight years later.^{[3] [4]}

Geographic information

Place type: Population centre
County: Down
Barony: Kinelarty
Civil parish: Loughinisland
Coordinates: 54.28923, -5.83440 (approximate)
Logainm ID: 1413228 ↗

Population over time

CLOUGH — Settlement 2015 (N11000271)

Settlement population, 2011–2021

313people · 2021

Both censuses use the same 2015 settlement boundary. These exact counts cover usual residents in the settlement, rather than local government districts or historic counties. Other NISRA tables may use approximate counts.

View population figures

CLOUGH — Settlement 2015 (N11000271) — census population
Census year	Population
2011	279
2021	313

Source: NISRA — Census 2021 CT0046 and exact Census 2011 Settlement 2015 populations · Supporting source 1. Open Government Licence v3.0. Retrieved 2026-10-25.

Sources & further reading

Logainm.ie — Clough. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Clough Castle, DOW 037:060 · Department for Communities
History of Clough and Seaforde Congregations · Clough and Seaforde Presbyterian Church
Clough Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church · Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland

Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2019-10-08. How this page was prepared.