CASTLE ROBIN AND HILLHALL COURT.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2140, 27 March 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

CASTLE ROBIN AND HILLHALL COURT.

A FEW years ago considerable discussion took place in the House of Commons respactiug ancient fane*, castle, and forts tn.it h .-id been raised mi•ll Ty timos in ditfeicnt paits <>{ tli ' U\ i^doin, arid on wbidi. doc,iy \\a* making .sad devastation, About tho commencement of the scventeonth tuutuiv Ulst'T liad within lier bound. v ie-> in. my rein irkablti utrongholds. It is pietl\ well known th.it tho old fc idal lords <if flic '-'ill in tins province, whwi not at w.i i witti Imi^l.uhl, got up locil campaigns ai{ain.sfc each other, as if to Keep thain«i<jU<'> in practic, :uid tint each of their castles vvas -troiiply foitified, as a precaution in c imj of any sudden surprise on the part of local or fiueign foemen. Tho undertaker*, who received gia'iU from tho Ciown of the .itad> forfeited by insurrectionary prince*, weio bttund by special obligation in thoir Royal jKitonti to erect fortifications on their e c tite?. . Moat ,^f these mi longer exist, but among the few which neither th<* ra\.urps of tune nnr tho assaults of vandalism had power to sweep totally away we miy note the remnants of Castle Rubin and those of Hillhalll Court. More than thiec centuries ago Sir Robert Norton, a celebrated commander of l^ueen Elizabeth's tioops, purchased from th 6 Lord of Derryvolgie a 'tract of wild land lying half-way .up the White Mountain^ and theie he erected the wonderful structure of which only the ruins still remain. Several years were spent in building the castle, and when finiahed iiu • 1573 it was said to be the loftiest in the Country Antrim. According to the, check, given in old chronicles', the J front wall 'Of Cistla Robin was eighty-four feet wide and forty feet high, the gable had a depth of thirtysix feet, and the watch tour ro»e,,to' an altitude of sixty- feet. Sir Robert Nortqn, made the mountain bide castle bit homo during a great part cf every season, and, with his retinue of wardera and henchmen, he maintained a degree ot lUto which rivalled that of the Kin? of Killultagh. After the death of Sir Rdbert, no history remained of his military career, nor doe* there exist .any authentic record respecting the succeeding tenants of the cattle,' '.lt, appears that when the estate of which the Manor of Derryvolgie formed a part; fell into the hands of the Conways the castle iras in perfect repair, and mpie than sixty years afterwards continued in good preservation. When Jeremy Taylor swayed the diocesan sceptre over the, See of Down and Connor, he delighted in 'taking his recreative' ridds over the estate of' his noblefriend Lord Conway, and the perspective of no other part of it gave' the famous pre- ; late greater pleasure than, that which ,he enjoyed in the look-out from Castle, Robin, j Fromrthat picturesque spot could have been seen the fields of Down, then being brought under the influence of spade and plougTi ; and far in the distance stood the mountains of Mourne and the peaks hf Slive Crdbb; while' in the valley that seemed to lie immediately below appeared the embryo town of Belfast, and the' circuitous River Ligan winding its way towards towards the lough where the fresh water joined Jhe sea *t Gannoyle. la (he surrounding landscape very little change .has .token plaoe sines then. Forest lands have been brought into cultivation, villas appear, and verdure pretails where oak waved and ash^ trees abounded, while the far distant hills of Down remain nearly the same as ' they appeared two hundred and thirty years ago, During the intermediate period Belfast, then a mere fishing village, owning five streets, chiefly of thatched houses, has become Ireland's Manchester, with its imnience factories, warehouses, mills, foundries, , and other seats of enterprise, and nearly two hundred and fifty thousand people. We have referred to the rude architecture of Castle Robin, but its stability far exceeded that of most modern building*. This is proved by ' the fact that so much of the walls is yet standing, while I the remains of the tower would indicate that it had originally been designed as a place of defence, as well as an ornamental adjunct of the structure. And even in these ruins, the portions that still exist may be noted as the most interesting of the ancient fanes that are to be found on the estate of Sir Richard Wallace. Hillhall Court, in the days of Jaine.3 tho First, was the great stronghold in Down. Sis Moybcs Hill, founder of the Downshire family felt proud of that structure as he did of his patent of knighthood. The building was originally known by the title Hall of the Hills. The extreme point of the Knight's estate bordered on the Conway property. It lay about two miles distant from Belfast. As was then the almost general state of partially inhabited Ulster, the lands in that portion of Sir Moyses Hill's estate were densely forested, car or carriage roads were rave, and in this district there was only a bridlepath for horsemen, which was afso used by pedestrains as the way to Belfast and the great seaport of Donaghadee. 4n immense number -of tall elms, the t»ro\vth of ages, sentinelled the lower part of the mound that formed the site of the Court, and through that mass of trees an avenue \v,is hewn from the rude bridleway. Numbers of , stoneu^asoua, bricklayers, carpenters, and artj^aus wejl up in the science, of svood carving were employed," and, as we have already Stated, the! design of the structure waa drawn by Sir Moyses Hill on the architectual ! lines oF'u baronial hall in Downshire, which in early tithes had been the residence of ona 61 his Ancestors. The outer. -works, .Jiowever, were modelled on, the plan of the fort at Caxrickfergus, v But is was not until the old warrior's successor, Sir Arthur Hill, came into the, prossesv.on of the Downshire estate that the flanlun? tower was erected, from the loojihoWof which there appeared sundry muzzles of brass cannon, ' which the' new proprietor had had cast as an armament for the formidable stronghold. -' We have seen from the traditions connected with this faaied home of the Hill family that the dwelling-house part of the build' ings was very chastely decorated with oak panels and curiously-carved ceilings. And there it was that, following the example of the native lords of the soil, the new-pro-prietor kept up the holiday sports of Christmas and Easter. Dui'ini? those seasons Hospitality held her carnival in the Hall of the Hills, the tenants were feasted, hurrels of ale and flagons of whisky, utimarked by the wand of the. exciseman, as well t\s sundry pirloiii.s of beef and f legs of mutton, graced the tables in the .large dining rooms, aud for the nonce there /was an open door for all.' commers. The late Colonel Mercer, whose ancestors held laqds on the Down section of the old Hertford estate from the reign of Charley the First, recollected, when a lad, hearing' old inhabitants of Hillhall tell of the thorough repairs which; about the middle of the past century,; the Earl of Hillsborough had made on the Court, but for a long tim« pant it has been left to the ravages ot decay. Banbridgo Almanac.

A St. Lodis poet has just produced a great epic, in which he informs the world that ' Sir Moses Mont eft" ore achieved for himself much glory,' and also'* tbat 'his exhibits were never gory, whether serving Whig or Tory.' Slowly but surely St. Louis is building up a literature of her own. The requirements of journalism, says the "Napier Telegraph," and the' peculiarities of the law of libel necessitate great delicacy of expression in newspaper men. A man is caught with his hand in a citizen's pocket, and the careful reportep records the fact as "alleged larceny from the person." A ratepayer is observed t diving into the Thames with his clothes on, and this is reported as "expected suicide," An ingdnibits' trader is detected dropping a lighted match in his' premises just before closing up, which is marked down at " supposed incendiarism." Their feelings'tire spareS, ariS the public net all the interesting" facts, with a reservation in favour or 1 possible innocence. A' recent instance' of this journalistic delicacy 1 refers 1 tp " the* lady who was taken drunk out of a 'cab yesterday with £200 worth of jeweller^ on her." The tribute to the social position of the heroine ot the episode thus 'conveyed must be very gratifying to 'the persons interested, and will no doubt be pointed to with pride in years to come, as a sort of official recognition. Compare the above with the matter-of-fact calroiisness to rank displayed in the following 1 advertisement :— '* Wanted, cabman *that removed sewing machine, bedding, and female,' on Monday, from street. Reward." This simply degrades 'the being referred to below the level' of. if\e sewing machine. A practiced jpurnttjist wonld have advertised for "'the gentleman who was alleged to halve driven "aT cab containing a supposed ladY and 4 aus.pe'cted'aeWifagraaohrae." ' ' '' (