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More about Banbridge

Banbridge (from the Irish: Droichead na Banna meaning "the Bridge on the Ban (river)") is a market town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road. It grew as a coaching stop and from Irish linen manufacturing. Its population was 14,744 people in the 2001 Census. The town is the headquarters for Banbridge District Council. The town was named after the first bridge built over the Upper Bann in 1712.

The main street is very unusual, and rises to a steep hill. Banbridge used to be an important stop on the Belfast to Dublin stagecoach route and the town's best known feature is the underpass constructed in 1834 by William Dargan known colloquially as The Cut. The official name is 'Downshire Bridge'. It is thought that this was the first underpass ever built. Its construction was due to pressure from the Post Office, which was concerned that its horses could not pass through the centre of the town without fainting before they reached the top of the hill.

Nearby towns and villages include: Rathfriland, Corbet, Annaclone, Magherally, Seapatrick, Donaghcloney, Blackskull, Lawrencetown, Loughbrickland, Dromore, Scarva and Gilford.

Banbridge, home to the Star of the County Down, is, relatively speaking, quite a young town. The town grew up around the site where the main road from Belfast to Dublin crossed the River Bann over an Old Bridge which was situated where the present bridge now stands. The town owed its success to flax and the linen industry, becoming by 1772 the principal linen producing district in Ireland with a total of 26 bleachgreens along the Bann. This industry has now greatly diminished in prominence, but Banbridge still has two of the major producers in Ulster Weavers Ltd, and Thomas Ferguson & Co Ltd., the last remaining Irish linen damask weaver. Recently Banbridge has been twinned with Ruelle in France.

Banbridge is classified as a Medium Town by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 10,000 and 18,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 14,744 people living in Banbridge. Of these: 24.4% were aged under 16 years and 16.1% were aged 60 and over 49.5% of the population were male and 50.5% were female 3.3% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed.

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