a county in the eastern part of the province of Ulster, in Ireland, is bounded on the north by the county of Antrim and Carrickfergus Bay, on the east by the Northern Channel and the Irish Sea, on the south by the same sea, and on the west by the county of Armagh. It measures, in its greatest length, from Cranfield Point in the south to Gray Point in the north, fifty-one miles, and in breadth, from the junction of the Newry Canal with the Bann near Portadown, to Ballyhalbert Point in the Ards, forty miles, comprehending an area of 611,404 acres, or 955 square miles, of which 502,677 acres are cultivable, 108,569 are mountain and bog, and 158 are covered with water.

This county was anciently inhabited by the tribes of the Vinderii and Voluntii. After the arrival of the English, who early formed a settlement here under the guidance of the celebrated John de Courcy, the principal families were a branch of the Oheils, distinguished by the name of Clanboye, the McGuinesses, and the McArthurs, of Irish descent, and the Whites and Savages, descendants of the English settlers. Queen Elizabeth made it shire ground, but at what particular period of her reign has not been precisely ascertained. It is now divided into the eight baronies of Ardes, Castlereagh, Dufferin, Upper Ivesagh, Lower Ivesagh, Kinalearty, Leckale, and Mourne, and the lordship of Newry. These are again subdivided into fifty-seven parishes, and five parts of parishes, the remainders of which are in some of the adjoining counties.

According to the ecclesiastical arrangements of Ireland, the county comprises the diocese of Down, the greater part of that of Dromore, and the lordship of Newry. The former of these dioceses contains forty-nine parishes, consolidated into thirty-four benefices, having thirty-one churches. The cathedral was fixed at Downpatrick by James I., with a chapter consisting of a dean, four dignitaries, and three prebendaries; but in consequence of its subsequent decayed state, Charles II. erected the church of Lisburn into the cathedral of the united dioceses of Down and Connor. The part of Dromore diocese included in this county contains 21 parishes. Its cathedral is in the town of Dromore; also within the same limits, and near it, is the bishop's palace. The lordship of Newry is exempt from episcopal jurisdiction, a privilege which it enjoys from having appertained to a monastery before the reformation. The proprietor of the lordship exercises episcopal jurisdiction in his peculiar court, granting marriage licenses, probates of wills, &c. under the ancient monastic seal.

As far as inequality of surface is essential to scenic beauty, this county has strong claims to it, as it presents every variety of plain, hill, and mountain. The plains are chiefly confined to the vicinity of the rivers; the hills occupy by much the greater portion of the soil, insomuch that its appearance has been quaintly compared to a dish of spinach set over with eggs cut in two; and the mountains are piled together in one immense mass in the barony of Mourne in the south. The summit of Slieve Donard, the highest, is 2809 feet above the level of the sea. Slieve Croob and Slieve-na-boly, to the north of the principal group, and in a great degree detached from it, are also of considerable elevation.

The Mourne Mountains give rise to the four principal rivers, the Bann, the Lagan, the Ballynahinch, and the Newry water. The first-named of these rivers flows north-eastward by Banbridge and Portadown into Lough Neagh. The Lagan, after flowing northwards, takes an eastern direction, and passing by Lisburn and Belfast, separates the counties of Down and Antrim. The Ballynahinch discharges itself into the southern extremity of Strangford Lough. The Newry water is an insignificant stream, except where it is affected by the influence of the tide, and would be wholly undeserving of special notice, were it not that it has been made the commencement of a communication by water with Lough Neagh. The Newry navigation, the first canal completed in Ireland, commences at Fathom, two miles and a half below Newry, to which town it conveys vessels drawing nine or ten feet water. From Newry to the Bann is a canal for twelve miles, navigable for boats of from forty to sixty tons. Its summit-level is sixty-five feet above the sea, and twenty-two above the surface of Lough Neagh. The navigation thence to the lake is carried on in the river, a distance of nine miles, whence a communication by water to Belfast is maintained by the Lagan navigation. The chief trade on the Newry Canal is the import of bleaching materials, flax seed, iron, timber, and foreign produce; the exports are grain, yarn, linen, cottons, and coal in small quantities.

Lakes, properly so called, are numerous, but insignificant in extent. Strangford Lough, otherwise called Lough Cone, is a spacious gulf, extending ten miles northwards into the land, and affording a secure roadstead to large vessels in its interior. Strangers, however, are unwilling to have recourse to it, through an apprehension that the rapid current of the tide, which rushes through the narrow strait between Portaferry and Strangford at the rate of eight or ten miles an hour, might drive them on some sunken rocks near its entrance. This gulf is studded with numerous islands, some beautifully wooded, others affording rich pastureage, but none inhabited. Bangor, Kilclough, and Ardglass, have each a harbour for fishing boats and small craft. An artificial harbour has been constructed at Donaghadee for the accommodation of the packet-boats to Scotland; but the introduction of steam navigation has rendered it comparatively useless. Near the coast of the Ardes, a long narrow peninsula between Strangford Lake and the sea, are the Green Island, Bird Island, and Burr Island; and at the entrance of Carrickfergus Bay is a group of three, called the Copeland Islands, upon one of which stands a lighthouse. There is another lighthouse on a sunken reef, called the South Rock, near the northern entrance of Strangford Lough.

The predominating soil is a loam of little depth, but good in quality. In most places it is intermixed with considerable quantities of stones of various sizes; a circumstance easily accounted for, as quarries are to be found everywhere not far from the surface. Clay is mostly confined to the eastern coast of the Ardes, and to the northern parts of Castlecragh. Of sandy soil the quantity is small, and chiefly on the sea coasts near Dundrum, where in some places its abundance and shifting nature have prevented any attempt at improvement. Moor grounds are mostly confined to the skirts of the mountains. Bogs, though frequent, are scarcely sufficient to form a supply of fuel to the numerous and increasing population. The husbanding and apportioning of them among the tenantry forms no small part of an agent's or land-steward's duties. There are several quarries of fine freestone. The best is that on Scrabo Hill, where a very close-grained and clear-coloured stone is raised. The quarries of Kilwarlin afford flags of large dimensions, varying in hue from a clear stone colour to a brownish red; the former are superior in beauty and hardness. Slates are raised in several parts; and though they cannot compete with the Welsh in lightness and colour, they are superior in hardness and durability. Limestone is not very general. Large blocks of a yellowish magnesian species are found near Hollywood, but this kind is not used for manure, except where the white is not easily attainable. Near Comber, on the shores of Strangford Lough, is a very hard and sparkling kind of reddish granular limestone. But the greatest magazine of this most valuable mineral is found in the vicinity of Moira. It is supposed to be a continuation of that mass which is perceptible, with little interruption, from Magilligan, in Londonderry, round the headlands of Antrim, to the range of mountains that lie north of Lisburn, whence turning westward, it is lost in the acclivities that border the Lagan between Moira and Magheralin. Here the quarries lie very near the surface. They consist of horizontal strata intermixed with flints, in some cases stratified, in others in detached pieces of various form and size. It is not unusual to see three of these large flints, like rollers, each a yard long and twelve inches in diameter, standing perpendicularly over one another, and held together by a narrow neck of limestone, funnel-shaped, as if they had been poured in a liquid state into a cavity formed to receive them. Various kinds of shells and other marine exuviae are found in this stone. Granite occurs in many places in detached masses, but the great body of it is confined to the southern and western regions, chiefly in the barony of Mourne. Yet though it is here the prevailing mineral, it does not wholly exclude the schist or slate, which is often seen in contact with it, raising itself from out of the middle of a surrounding mass of the former stone, which is itself in turn imbedded, or, as it were, set in the schist.

The mineral springs found here are of two qualities, sulphuro-chalybeate and purely chalybeate. The most celebrated of the former kind is at the foot of Slieve Croob Mountain, about two miles from Ballynahinch. In appearance, taste, and effects, it strongly resembles the waters of Aix-la-Chapelle. It is used both externally and internally, and has been found peculiarly effective in scrofulous affections. The town is much frequented in summer by invalids to enjoy its benefits. The chalybeate springs are numerous, and widely scattered through the county. The richest is that of Granshaw, in the Ardes. An alum spring has been discovered near Clough.

According to an account of the number of houses taken in 1751, the population, at an average of 5½ths to a house, amounted to 110,800, and, by a similar account, taken in 1791, to 220,519, thus doubling in forty years. Beaufort estimates it in the following year at 201,500. Dubourdieu, in 1802, states it to be 226,632. According to the parliamentary returns in 1812, 1821, and 1831, it increased progressively to 287,290, 325,410, and 352,571, having more than trebled itself in a period of eighty years.

The state of education, as collected from the parliamentary returns in 1821 and 1824–26, is as follows:

| Year | Boys | Girls | Sex not ascertained | Total | |------|------|-------|---------------------|-------| | 1821 | 13,081 | 64,65 | ... | 19,564 | | 1824–26 | 13,456 | 83,75 | 997 | 22,828 |

Of the total number contained in the latter of these returns, 4347 were Protestants of the established church, 6120 were Roman Catholics, and 11,615 dissenters; the religious persuasion of the remaining 411 was not ascertained. The number of schools was 550; of which ninety-four, containing 6667 pupils, were educated by grants of public money; sixteen, containing 972 pupils, by the voluntary contributions of societies and individuals; the remaining 440, containing 15,595 pupils, were pay schools. The diocesan grammar school of Down is now formed into a joint district school for Down and Dromore.

The presbyterian form of worship predominates, especially in the towns and low country. In the mountainous part the Roman Catholic religion prevails to a very great extent.

During the existence of the Irish parliament this county returned fourteen members, two for the county at large, and two for each of the boroughs of Downpatrick, Bangor, Killyleagh, Hillsborough, Newry, and Newtownards. Since the union it is represented by four members, two for the county, one for Downpatrick, and one for Newry. The reform act has made no change in this respect. The state of the constituency, as affected by the changes made by the disfranchisement of the forty-shilling freeholders in 1829, and the subsequent alterations which terminated in the reform act, is as follows:

| Date | £50 | £20 | £10 | 40s | Total | |------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-------| | 1st Jan. 1829 | 713 | 176 | ... | 10,775 | 11,664 | | 1st Jan. 1830 | 720 | 252 | 1,018 | ... | 1,990 | | 1st Jan. 1831 | 267 | 189 | 1,058 | ... | 1,514 | | 1st May 1832 | 887 | 338 | 1,902 | ... | 3,127 | | 1st Jan. 1833 | ... | ... | ... | ... | 3,127 | The land is very unequally portioned out among the inhabitants. There are many landed proprietors, mostly resident, each of whom holds large tracts in his own hands. Under these is a numerous tenantry of every grade, from those who deem themselves entitled to rank on an equal footing in society with the proprietors of the soil, to the holders of a few acres, who depend on their manual labour for the support of their families. The connection of all ranks hence arising has had a great effect upon the state of society. The great bulk of the population is orderly and industrious; their dwellings are better constructed and furnished than those of a similar class in most other parts of Ireland. The small farmers form a respectable body, honest, yet quickwitted and clever in their dealings, as might be expected from the density of the population, the constant intercourse, and the frequent traffic carried on in fairs and market. They are anxious to secure and to enjoy such of the comforts of life as are attainable by a vigorous exertion of industry and intellect. The processes of agriculture, owing in a great degree to the example set by the resident gentry, are as skilfully carried on as in any part of the united kingdom. The fields are well laid out and fenced, the crops laid down in a judicious succession, the progress of their growth carefully attended to, and the harvest well saved and secured. The most improved implements of husbandry are generally known, and their value is duly appreciated. The crops commonly cultivated are wheat, rye, bear, barley, oats, peas, flax, and potatoes. Barley is extensively grown, particularly in the light soil of Leicestershire. Green crops are also in general use. Much attention is paid to the culture of grass, particularly on the borders of the larger rivers, where extensive tracts of fine meadow land are annually enriched, by the overflowing of the banks, with deposits of the finer particles of mould washed down from the higher grounds. Lime and marl are in general use as manure. Horned cattle are principally reared for dairies, and therefore the same attention to figure and flesh is not paid as in some other agricultural districts. The resident gentry are, however, laudably emulous in the improvement of their respective stocks. The breed of horses is also an object of much attention. In the reign of James II., a public body was incorporated under the name of the Royal Corporation of Horsebreeders of Down, under whose auspices races are held annually at Downpatrick and at the Maze near Hillsborough. Some of the best racers in Ireland have been bred in this county. The native breed of sheep is confined to the mountains. They are a small hardy race, mostly horned, but in some instances not so. Though born in the mountains, they are removed during the first winter after birth to the more genial atmosphere of the lower country, and brought back on the return of spring. Many of this breed are well made and finely woolled. It is also much prized for the delicacy of its mutton. The various other kinds of sheep have been much improved by judicious crosses from the best British breeds. Hogs are reared in great numbers, chiefly for the Belfast market, where the large exportation occasions a constant and brisk demand for them. Hams of very superior quality are prepared from them in that town. Rabbits form a part of farm stock in the sandy southern tracts. Bees are found to thrive well, and hives have been constructed for the purpose of saving the honey without destroying the swarm.

Manufactures are carried on largely in the neighbourhood of Belfast and Newry. Several of the smaller towns also support some branches on a smaller scale. The linen manufacture still continues to be much attended to, but by no means so extensively as formerly; it is more and more superseded by the cotton every year. The finer fabrics of linen were the object of particular attention. The woollen manufacture is confined to a coarse cloth wrought solely for home consumption. Kelp is made in large quantities along the shores.

The fisheries are by no means so extensive or flourishing as the great scope of sea-coast might lead to suppose. Belfast market is chiefly supplied from Carrickfergus, yet fish of every description abounds. Shoals of herrings frequently go up Strangford Lough, but they are not so much esteemed as those caught in the open sea. Smelts are taken in large quantities at the entrance of the same lough. The fishing for sand-eels at Newcastle is deemed to be of importance sufficient to require a code of regulations, adopted and enforced by the people themselves, to prevent the injuries and losses resulting from indiscriminate fishing. Shell-fish abound along the rocky shores, particularly in the neighbourhood of the Copeland Islands. Oysters are dredged at Ringhaddy, Carlingford, and Bangor. Mussels in inexhaustible numbers cover the shallow banks that stretch out before Holywood. They are chiefly consumed by the families in the immediate neighbourhood.

Several remains of antiquity, supposed to be coeval with the rudest ages of society, are to be found in this county. At Slidderford, near Dundrum, is a group of pillar stones, consisting of ten or twelve, forming a circle. They are from eight to ten feet in height. A remarkable cairn stands on the summit of Slieve Croob. It is nearly eighty yards in circumference at the bottom and fifty at the top, forming a platform, on which several cairns of various heights and dimensions are erected. Another cairn near the village of Anadorn was found to cover a cave containing ashes and a number of human bones. Several cromlechs or stone altars have been discovered at various times. The most remarkable is in the Giant's Ring, on the summit of a hill between Lisburn and Belfast. The altar is formed of an unwrought stone seven feet long by six and a half broad, resting in an inclined position on several rude pillars from two to three feet high. It stands nearly in the centre of an enclosure about one third of a mile in circumference, formed of a rampart of earth about twenty feet high, sloping in on each side, and broad enough at the top for two persons to ride abreast upon it. Near Downpatrick is a rath or mount of earth three quarters of a mile in circumference. Its exterior consists of three artificial ramparts, the largest of which is thirty feet broad. The number of monastic ruins is also considerable. The most ancient and celebrated is the Abbey of Downpatrick, where the three favourite saints of the Irish, St Patrick, St Columba, and St Bridget, are said to have been buried. Near the abbey was a round tower, which was thrown down some years ago, when the abbey, now converted into the cathedral church, was rebuilding. Beneath the foundation of the tower a wall was found to proceed, crossing it, and extending to the main building of the abbey. Struel Wells, to the east of Downpatrick, merit notice from their connection with former religious observances. They are four in number, each covered by a stone vault, and having the water conveyed from the others by subterraneous aqueducts. Great numbers assemble here at midsummer's eve, and on the Friday before Lammas, to perform religious ceremonies, chiefly consisting of penances, and to obtain recovery from their bodily complaints. The ruins of many castles, particularly upon the coast, are still visible. Amongst the most remarkable is Greencastle, built on an islet in the barony of Mourne, and intended to maintain a communication between the English settlers in this county and those in the county of Louth. This castle was considered of such importance that no person but one of English birth was permitted to be constable of it. Dundrum Castle, erected on a rock near a small harbour in a bay of the same name, still preserves considerable vestiges of its former grandeur. At Ardglass are the remains of considerable fortifications.

Downpatrick, the county town, is situated at the extremity of the southern branch of Strangford Lough. It is said to owe its name to St Patrick, the founder of the abbey here, in which he was interred. The town, which consists of four streets meeting in the bottom of a valley formed by hills of some elevation, comprehends a surface of 1486 acres, and contains a population of 4780, according to the latest return. Vessels coming to the town are obliged to discharge their cargoes at the Quoill Quay, about a mile distant. The public buildings are, the cathedral, the courthouse and assembly rooms, the jail, the barracks, the parish church, the Catholic chapel, some dissenting meeting-houses, the county infirmary, and the fever hospital. Near the court-house is an asylum for clergymen's widows, and an hospital for the decayed tenants of the Southwell estate. Two miles from the town is the race course, under the superintendence of the corporation of horsebreeders. The town is an ancient manor, governed by a seneschal. Previously to the reform act it was the most open borough in Ireland, as all persons who paid scot and lot, or boiled a pot in the town, were electors. Newry, situated in the southwestern extremity, and extending into the adjoining county of Armagh, is of much greater size and of more commercial importance than Downpatrick. It covers 2500 acres, contains 13,370 inhabitants, and ranks as the twelfth of the principal towns of Ireland as to population. Situated at the extremity of Carlingford Bay, and connected by its canal with Lough Neagh and the Tyrone collieries, it enjoys peculiar advantages. Even in the earlier periods of British domination it maintained a high position, from being at the extremity of the pale, and serving as the key to the then unsubdued and generally hostile province of Ulster. In 1641 the town was taken and cruelly treated. In 1689 it was again stormed and reduced to ashes by the Duke of Berwick, to secure his retreat from Duke Schomberg. The public buildings are, a court-house, jail, exchange, assembly rooms, custom-house, theatre, and several places of worship. The environs of this town are of great beauty. The prospect towards the Bay of Carlingford is magnificent, and the villages of Narrow-water and Rosstown on its northern coast are objects of much interest to numerous visitors. The lordship, of which mention has been already made, is the property of the Needham family.

Harris's History of the County of Down; Dubourdieu's Statistical Survey of Down; Shaw Mason's Parochial Survey; Rutt's Mineral Waters; Nimmo's Sailing Directions; Parliamentary Reports on Population, Education, and State of the Poor.

Downs, the fine feathers on the breasts of several birds, particularly of the duck kind. Those of the cider duck are the most valuable. These birds pluck the down from their breasts and line their nests with it. Three pounds of this down may be compressed into a size scarce larger than one's fist; yet it is afterwards so dilatable as to fill a quilt five feet square. That found in the nests is most valued, and termed live down; it is infinitely more elastic than that plucked from the dead bird.