Today, the main architectural remnant of the Plantation in this area is the town plan of Coleraine. This, like the renamed Londonderry, was completely redesigned and rebuilt to a new, rational, grid layout by a new company - the Honourable the Irish Society - formed by a partnership between the 12 guilds. At Coleraine only the church and reused monastery remained in their original position. This reflected the latest thinking of how an ‘ideal’ settlement should be laid out. Building upon the legacy of the Romans, and influential in the American colonies, both settlements had a ‘diamond’ (market square) at their centre. This reflected the commercial focus of the City of London but also marked a change with the past. These are post medieval settlements. In previous eras a castle or church would have taken on this focus role. The drawing shown here is a copy of a map drawn of the settlement in 1622.
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