BOVEVAGH

In 1868, the parish of Bovevagh contained the following places:

"BOVEVAGH, a parish in the barony of Keenaght, in the county of Londonderry, province of Ulster, Ireland, 2 miles from Dungiven. It is situated in a fertile and cultivated district, on the banks of the river Roe, and was the site of a monastery founded about the middle of the 6th century by St. Columb, and demolished by the Danes. Here are valuable quarries of building stone, which supplied the material for the episcopal palace at Ballyscullion, afterwards taken down, and the fine portico of which adorns the church of St. George, Belfast. Dungiven crystals are found in the neighbourhood. Some of the people are employed as linen weavers. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Derry and Raphoe, of the annual value of £529, in the patronage of the bishop. The church is a handsome modern edifice, with a lofty tower, standing near the river. It was built in 1823. The remains of the old church are near it. Vestiges of ancient stone circles and cromlechs exist here. The principal seats in the parish are Ballyharrigan, Streth House, and Ardenariff."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2018