Marks of Time
Historic Buildings as  illustrations of the past.
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Penal laws


The Penal Laws, enacted in the late Seventeenth Century, had the  impact of further reducing Catholic property ownership and barred both Catholics  and Presbyterians from many public offices. From 1697, bishops and monks and priests educated on the Continent were banned.  New priests had to resort to secret meetings. There are a number of sites around the city and region where such  gatherings were held. This is the mass rock at Ardmore which is a beautiful clearing above the River Faughan. When in use, a  canopy to cover the altar, in line with Canon Law, would have been erected.  Today, apart from a modern wooden cross, there is little architecture to examine  here, but such atmospheric places form an important link to this period of  history. 

A new market house  was one of the  first new buildings constructed in the city after the Siege.  It occupied prime  position at the centre of the Diamond for 200 years.   Funded by William and Mary, some of its  cellars remain under the War  Memorial which occupies the site today. Designs  for the building were very  Jacobean, with decorative flourishes like the  memorials in St Columb’s
Cathedral. It had an open arcaded space on the  ground floor with a courtroom  above and an overhanging roof. This drawing is  based upon a photograph taken in  the 1890s. By that time it had been  renovated with the addition of a  semicircular bay, the arcade had been  enclosed and the exterior given a more  sober treatment.



The continuing  impact of the Penal  Laws in the early part of the century contributed to the  first great wave of  emigration to America. Many Presbyterians gave  up  on Ulster  and sought a land which  offered more religious freedom. The City’s port and  location were well placed  to take advantage of this trade. With time,  emigration, sustained peace, and  other forms of trade allowed the City to  begin to realise its potential as a  market place and port. This income was  used to build, or to rebuild, its
structures once again.  This  drawing is based upon a photograph of the docks taken in the 1890's. 
   
 





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