|
Glenravel Environmental Improvement Association
Glenravel, known locally as the tenth Glen,
is one of the lesser-known Glens of Antrim
with probably one of the most interesting
pasts. Glenravel Glen covers an area stretching
from Martinstown to Parkmore, laong the
road from Ballymena to Cushendall.
Looking Towards Glenavel
Standing stones and artefacts such as arrowheads
found in the area, denote an early habitation
dating back to the Stone Age. The nearby
St.Patrick's Well and local names like Glenravel
(the glen of the berries) tel of a link
with St. Patrick and the Celtic way of life.
At that time migrating farmers spent the
summer in the mountains with their cattle
and butter, buried into the moss, can still
be found to this day in the local bogs.
The practice, known as 'Booleying', is reflected
in the local name "Booleynahallie".
Mass rocks throughout the area date back
to the mid 18th Century and are a sign of
the penal days when Mass had to be held
in out of the way places.
Glenravel Church After Heavy
Snowfall
Around the start of the 19th Century, with
the advent of landlords, Glenravel became
a community of small farmers. The Benn family
were the first landlords, and although unpopular
with the tenants, they had a major influence
within the area, improving agriculture,
planting trees and hedges and generally
creating the landscape character we see
today.
Taking Home the Turf
The Red Earth
The area changed dramatically when James
Fisher, from Barrow in Furness, opened an
Iron Ore Mine on the slopes of Slievenanee
in 1866. Others before him, like Nicholas
Crommelin and Edward Benn, were aware of
the existance of iron-bearing rock but failed
to exploit it or locate the richest seams.
Crommelin went so far as attempting to smelt
the ore in a furnace using local using local
peat for firing, but ran into so many difficulties
that he abandoned the idea. His furnace
still stands near the village of Newtowncrommelin.
Traffic Jam on Rushy Island
Road
Edward Benn gave Fisher permission to dig
for a year at a rent of £10. In the
first six months of 1866 Fisher wa able
to ship 18,000 tons of iron ore to england
worth about £1 per ton. By 1873 there
were about 700 men employed directly in
the mines and 600 horsed were used to cart
the ore away. The transportation of the
ore to the coast for shipment to England
was a slow process by horse and cart and
so a unique development occurred: the builind
of a wire tramway. This ran from just outside
Cargan through to Red Bay Pier and worked
on a pulley system, whereby full buckets
(hutches) of ore ran down one side with
empty ones returning on the other. The wire
tramway was sabotaged by the carters (as
they lost out on work on it's introduction)
but was replaced, this time by a railway,
which opened in 1875 between Ballymena and
Parkmore. The remnants of this can still
be seen as you drive through today.
The last iron ore mine closed in 1933 as
it could not compete with ores being imported
from abroad. However bauxite, the aluminium
ore, was to be found in association with
the iron ore deposits and some of the mines
were reopened because of the shortage of
aluminium for planes. The last mine closed
in 1945, but if you look closely as you
pass through Glenravel, it is still possible
to see the scars of the mining industry
on the surrounding mountains.
Click on the images below to enlarge
|
