Penal laws |
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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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