Eglinton Village I Causeway Coastal Route

Eglinton History

Eglinton History

Nothing remains of the original settlement except for the ruins of the Parish Church of Faughanvale which was built circa 1626, the gable and window arch still stands in the graveyard of the current St. Canice church, the present parish church which was built in 1826. The fortified bawn stood until 1823 when the Grocer's Company remodeled the village and built a Glebe house (rectory) on the site, they also built a schoolhouse, courthouse, manor house, market house and cottages. Several of these are still to be seen today including the Erasmus Smith schoolhouse built in 1812. During the rebellion of 1641, the bawn was taken by insurgents under the command of Colonel McDonnell, they held out under siege through the winter of 1641 eventually being relieved by allied troops from Derry in the summer of 1642.

The Parliamentarians then took the bawn and destroyed its fortifications. Later in 1690, it was taken over by the troops of King James II during the Siege of Derry, they set up camp here and went foraging the surrounding countryside for livestock to eat. A couple of kilometres outside the village on the Old Coach Road you will find Faughanvale Presbyterian Church, the current church was built by public subscription in 1894, some of the money being sent back by those who had emigrated from the area to America, it replaced an earlier church founded in 1730. The church and graveyard sits on an elevated site in a beautiful rural setting with excellent views over the airport to Lough Foyle and Donegal, well worth a visit to see.

The name of the village changed from Muff to Eglinton in 1858 after the Earl of Eglinton, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland paid a visit to Templemoyle Agricultural School. The school had been founded by the Grocer's company in 1826 to teach modern farming. The school could accommodate 70 borders and had 175 acres of land which was farmed. They had a novel way of management, while half the school studied theory in the morning the other half did practical work on the farm, they would then swap roles for the afternoon. A fair day was also held here in Feb, May, Aug and September of each year, the school closed in 1865.

St. Canice, named after the local saint, is another location well worth visiting, especially if the sun is shining. The Grocer's company commissioned the architect, John Bowden of Dublin, to design and build the church circa 1826, he was also responsible for the Foyle College in Derry and St. George's Church in Belfast. The church had a close affinity with the airbase here in the 1940 and 50s, evident by over thirty headstones of young men and women who lost their lives while on duty at Eglinton.

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