Sir Thomas Phillips Weir
Autumn colours at the Sir Thomas Phillips Weir in the Roe Valley Country Park, Limavady, Northern Ireland.
The two best known instances of water power being exploited in the Roe are seen in the installation of Ireland’s first hydro-electric turbine in 1896 and the use of water for the flourishing flax industry in both the 17th and 18th centuries.
However, the earliest known use of power from the red river can be traced to a much earlier date. While it has long been known that the Norman invaders of the 12th Century made use of water power from the Roe, it has been suggested by recent archaeological evidence that the monks who lived in the area made use of sophisticated water mills before any Norman French had set foot in Ireland.
The next known use of the river for power comes from the modernising English soldier, Sir Thomas Phillips. Phillips was a professional soldier, who has left a significant mark on the town of Limavady, with some commentators suggesting that without his vigour and zeal, the town as we know it might today be nothing more than another small village.
Phillips was one of the leading figures in the plantation of Ulster, serving the Crown through warfare as a ‘servitor’ and also as chief advisor to the Crown on the plantation of County Londonderry.
Phillips was granted some 3,500 acres in the Roe Valley, in addition to 500 in Castledawson, which he described as “the horsepond of Limavady” and the “cabbage patch of Castledawson.”
He did, however, immediately set about making improvements to his new territory. He extended and repaired the O’Cahan Castle and dug out a surrounding ditch.
Other works included a ‘pleasure garden’, a fish-pond, an orchard, a ‘malt house’ for brewing beer as well as a host of embattlements.
It was Phillips who built what remains today of a ‘weir’ in the Roe, having constructed a water mill and a mile long race. It has been suggested, however, that the race was more likely a renovated version of the old race built by the Normans for their own mill centuries earlier.
An interesting fact about Sir Thomas Phillips reveals him as the man who applied for the licence for the brewery at Bushmills, which still produces world-famous whiskey to this day.
It wasn’t until the development of the linen industry, however, that the Roe was to be fully exploited. The Roe Valley was an ideal location for the process of linen production, commonplace throughout Ireland on a large scale from the late 17th Century onwards.
Sir Thomas Phillips Weir
Autumn colours at the Sir Thomas Phillips Weir in the Roe Valley Country Park, Limavady, Northern Ireland.
The two best known instances of water power being exploited in the Roe are seen in the installation of Ireland’s first hydro-electric turbine in 1896 and the use of water for the flourishing flax industry in both the 17th and 18th centuries.
However, the earliest known use of power from the red river can be traced to a much earlier date. While it has long been known that the Norman invaders of the 12th Century made use of water power from the Roe, it has been suggested by recent archaeological evidence that the monks who lived in the area made use of sophisticated water mills before any Norman French had set foot in Ireland.
The next known use of the river for power comes from the modernising English soldier, Sir Thomas Phillips. Phillips was a professional soldier, who has left a significant mark on the town of Limavady, with some commentators suggesting that without his vigour and zeal, the town as we know it might today be nothing more than another small village.
Phillips was one of the leading figures in the plantation of Ulster, serving the Crown through warfare as a ‘servitor’ and also as chief advisor to the Crown on the plantation of County Londonderry.
Phillips was granted some 3,500 acres in the Roe Valley, in addition to 500 in Castledawson, which he described as “the horsepond of Limavady” and the “cabbage patch of Castledawson.”
He did, however, immediately set about making improvements to his new territory. He extended and repaired the O’Cahan Castle and dug out a surrounding ditch.
Other works included a ‘pleasure garden’, a fish-pond, an orchard, a ‘malt house’ for brewing beer as well as a host of embattlements.
It was Phillips who built what remains today of a ‘weir’ in the Roe, having constructed a water mill and a mile long race. It has been suggested, however, that the race was more likely a renovated version of the old race built by the Normans for their own mill centuries earlier.
An interesting fact about Sir Thomas Phillips reveals him as the man who applied for the licence for the brewery at Bushmills, which still produces world-famous whiskey to this day.
It wasn’t until the development of the linen industry, however, that the Roe was to be fully exploited. The Roe Valley was an ideal location for the process of linen production, commonplace throughout Ireland on a large scale from the late 17th Century onwards.