Lynch Gate

GLENAVY PARISH CHURCH.

We have seen in the earlier part of this booklet that Glenavy was founded by St. Patrick ; also that it is mentioned in the martyrology of Donegal, which is copied from the more ancient calendar of Marianus of the 11 th century.

It was existing in the 6th century, since the three daughters of Comgall were buried at it, according to the Calendar of �ngus the Culdee, A.D. 788. There is no further mention of it until we come to the year 1306 A.D. One of the taxes to which the clergy of these islands was subject was that called the " Decim� Saladin�." This tax had its origin in the sensation which was experienced throughout Europe when intelligence arrived that the Holy City was captured by Saladin. It may be called the "Crusade Tax." Started in the 12th century, Edward the First, in 1306, used it to levy money for his own expenses. The Bishops of Lincoln and London were appointed collectors, and Richard de Bereford was Treasurer for Ireland. In that taxation we find the entry : " The Church of Lennewy, with the Chapel...10s.�Tenth, 12d." The Chapel here mentioned Bishop Reeves believes to be Ram's Island, or Enis Garden as it was called. From that date, 1306, we have no trace of the Church till we come down to the year 1622, when the Rev. Meredith Gwyllim became vicar. Of the church building of that date it is impossible to give any account, for the earliest record is that of the new church, which was erected in the year 1644 and bore that date. It had neither tower nor spire. It was 58 feet long by 20 feet wide, with a small gallery, and had sittings for 300. It fared better than the churches of Camlin and Tullyrusk during the ravages of the army of James II., probably owing to its being hidden in the deep forest which then covered the country. An interesting relic of those stirring times still remains in a silver chalice which the officers of a detachment of Duke Schomberg's army presented to the Church in consideration of the kindness shewn them when quartered in Glenavy. It is 12 inches high and 4⅝ inches broad, ,with a lid attached, which serves as a paten. It bears the inscription :�" This plate was given to y^e Church of Glenavy by the Officers of y^e Queen's Reg^mt of Horse, commanded by y^e Hon^ble Major General S^r John Lanier, in the year 1690. In honorem Ecclesi� Anglican�." This regiment was called " Queen's" from 1685 to 1714 ; " King's Own Regiment of Horse" from 1714 to 1746, and "1st King's Dragoon" Guards till the present time. This regiment served at the Boyne in 1690, and Aughrim in 1691.

In 1812 the church, being too small for the congregation, was taken down and a new one built, the Rev. Edward Cupples, LL.B., being Vicar at the time. To Mr. Cupples we are indebted for a statistical account of the Parish, published by Graisberry, Dublin, in 1814; an interleaved copy of which memoir, with corrections and additions, has been presented by Mr. Joseph English, of Crumlin, to the Parish, and is kept with the parochial records.

During the incumbency of the Rev. Edward Johnston-Smyth, M.A., who was appointed Vicar in 1852, the Church was extensively repaired in 1855, at a cost of �800, and a transept was added in 1863, costing �440. He also erected a neat chapel-of-ease at Femore, four and a half miles distant from Glenavy, at the cost of �209, which was opened on March 25th, 1855. The Select Vestry of the Parish are making an effort this year, 1892, to obtain funds to erect a chancel to this chapel-of-ease ; and it is hoped by the vicar that the sale of this little booklet, giving an account of the Parish, will add to the funds considerably. The Parish Church is situated on the Glenavy river ; and, with the Sunday School-house nestling under the bridge, and a pretty lych-gate, roofed with red tiles, at the end of a well-planted avenue, forms a lovely group. The stately trees around the church, of which there is a large number, add greatly to the beauty of the view. The Select Vestry have taken great interest in the graveyard, and "God's acre" in Glenavy Churchyard, with its asphalt walks and well-kept grounds, inspires the parishioners to feel

" This is the field and acre of our God,
This is the place where human harvests grow."

The Parish possesses an excellent vicarage, built in 1819, at a cost of �1,072, with a garden and 20 acres of land, at a rent of about �21. During the incumbency of the present vicar, in 1886, a cottage with garden attached, for the curate's residence, was bought from Dr. Mussen, J.P., and fitted up at a total cost of �410. In 1888 an organ with three manuals was provided, the cost of which was met by voluntary subscriptions, and in the following year the church was heated with the small-bore hot-water apparatus, the cost of which was also defrayed by the Parishioners. In 1890, a Lych-gate was erected at the entrance to the graveyard, "To the Glory of God and in loving memory of William Laird Finlay and Howard Finlay," brothers of the present Vicar's wife, the cost of which was defrayed by their surviving sisters and brother. The three windows in the transept have this year been filled with cathedral glass, the cost of which was defrayed by Mr. Joseph English, of Crumlin, and a vote of thanks for his generosity was passed to him at the last meeting of the Select Vestry. The Communion Plate (besides the chalice before mentioned) consists of chalice, flagon, and paten, which was presented by Captain George Dowglass, J.P., of Gobrana, in 1867. The flagon bears the inscription: "This flagon, with the chalice and paten, was presented by Captain Dowglass, of Gobrana, and his family, to the parish of Glenavy, in memory of his sister and child." The oldest parochial records are a registry of baptisms, marriages, burials, and acts of vestry, commencing in the year 1709. The first entries are most beautifully written, and a copy of the first is herewith given.

" 1709.
At a Vestry held in ye Parish Church of Glenavy by the Vicar, Church-Wardens, and Parish^ers of ye united Parishes of Glenavy, Camelin, and Tullyrusk, Ap. ye 25, were chosen.

Mr. Oliver Davies,   }Church-wardens.
 "    John Dobson,    }

 "   Robert Taylor,    }Sides-men.
 "   Paul Sawlly,        }

 "   John Mitchel,       }Surveyors for
 "   Robert Oakman,  }Glenavy, Upper part.

 "  Patk. M'Cranol,   } Glenavy, Lower part.
 "  James Marshall,   }

 "  John Barron,        }Camelin.
 "  Francis Rogers,    }

 " David Ramsey,     } Tullyrusk.
 " Wm. Cruthers,     }

                             GEO. WILKINS, Vic.�

A census of the Parish, made in 1889, gives the church population as 1,229, residing in 300 houses. The average attendance for the year was
 

It is interesting to compare this with the census made by the Rev. Edward Cupples in the year 1813 :�Total church population, 2,155 ; and in the year 1809 occurs the entry :

 

There are two National Schools under the Vicar's management, viz. :�Glenavy and Fourscore, both mixed schools. There is a Church Education School at Crumlin, under the Rev. A. H. Pakenham, M.A. (Cantab), J.P., and a National School under Mr. William Fitzgerald at Femore Sands. In the townland of Ballymacricket is a National School under Roman Catholic management, and one in Crumlin of which the Unitarian Minister is Manager.

Week evening services are held alternately at Fourscore, Crew, Ballyvannon Mission Room, and Femore Church.

From October to April a club-room for men is open in the Committee room of the Protestant Hall ; hours, 6 p.m. to ro p.m. The room is provided with various games, papers, and magazines. A lending library is open at 6-30 p.m. on Thursday evenings, in the Sunday School-room, which is well stocked with books. The hours of Divine Service are :�Parish Church, morning, 11-30; evening, 6-30; Femore at 12 noon ; Crumlin at 4-30 p.m. There are three Sunday Schools, viz. :�Glenavy, at 10-r5 a.m., with 10 Teachers and 123 Scholars ; Femore, at 10-45 a.m., with 4 Teachers and 44 Scholars ; and Crumlin, at 3 p.m., with 8 Teachers and 77 Scholars, of which Mr. Joseph English is Superintendent, and a teacher for over 40 years. The annual assessment of the Parish is 200, towards which Lady Wallace contributes �6o, and the Rev. A. H. Pakenham, J.P., Z30 ; a handsome subscription, seeing that the amount of his property in the Parish is small. The Parish, among other charities, gives on an average annually Z25 each to the Protestant Orphan Society and to Missions.

CHURCH OFFICIALS, 1892.

VICAR:

Rev. CHARLES WATSON, M.A., B.D., ord. 1877, inst. 1885.

CURATE:

REV. C. F. NEWELL, B.A., ord. 1885, app. 1891.

PAROCHIAL NOMINATORS:

SYNODSMEN :
 

CHURCH-WARDENS:
 

SIDESMEN :
 

LIST OF INCUMBENTS OF UNION.

ATTENTION is specially invited to the gap in the List (that follows) of Vicars, from 1622 to 1680. It is certain that Gwyllim, the first Vicar, cannot have been so for these 58 years. Though it is somewhat difficult to fill up this gap, yet the writer ventures to give a probable solution. The first Presbyterian Congregation in Ireland was formed at Braid in 1611. In the year 1647, under Cromwell, the Solemn League and Covenant, which directs the extirpation of Prelacy (the meaning of Prelacy being the "government by Bishops, Deans, &c.," see Westminster Confession of Faith, page 227, date 1889 A.D.) was established. Presbyterian and Independent Ministers were then settled in the livings of the Church out of which bishops and clergy were evicted. Now we find such happened in Glenavy, for in the MS. papers in Dublin Castle, called "Extracts from the Civil Establishment of the Commonwealth for Ireland for the year 1655," there is, among the other amounts paid to ministers, the entry�" Glenavy�John Wallwood, �40 " (Reid's History of Presbyterianism, Vol. II., page 499). This John Wallwood must then have been in 1655 acting as Minister of Glenavy Parish Church, the Vicar, whoever he was, having been deposed. In Woodrow's History of the Church of Scotland, at page 8o, Vol. II., we read, " Robert Lennox, of Plumptown, after the battle of Pentland Hills, Nov. 28, 1666, was forced to fly to England, where he was for three years. Thence he went to Ireland and settled in Glenavy, and was most useful in getting a Presbyterian minister settled there. For this he was persecuted by the Bishop and excommunicated." From this interesting excerpt we learn that John Wallwood was probably succeeded by Robert Lennox's minister whom he had brought over for the purpose. Now, after the Commonwealth, when Charles II. came to the throne, an Act was passed in 1667, providing that any one holding a benefice, who was not ordained by episcopal ordination, and refused to be so before the 29th of September, shall be deprived of the same (see 17 and 18 Charles II., 1665). By this act Lennox's minister was deprived of the living, by either Bishop Boyle or Bishop Hackett. This is an interesting event in the story of Glenavy Parish, and will recall a fact which is often forgotten, viz. :�the deprivation, under Cromwell, of the Bishops and Clergy of their livings.

 

LIST OF VICARS AND) CURATES OF
THE UNION SINCE 1622.

VICARS.

REVDS. MEREDITH GWYI.LIM, 1622 : PHILIP MATTHEWS, Or LEMUEL MATTHEWS, 1680 ; ALEX. MOOR, 1685 ; ROBERT QUAILE, 1690; GEORGE WILKINS, 1709 ; BENJAMIN GAT-FIELD, 1716 ; ANTHONY ROGERS, 1724 ; ANTHONY WELSH, 1728; CONWAY BENNING, 1763; JOHN PHIPPS, 1770; SAM. DUBOURDIEU, 1780; EDWARD CUPPLES, LL.B., 1813; ROSS JEBB, M.A., 1864; EDWARD JOHNSON-SMYTH, M.A., 1852; CHARLES WATSON, B.D., 1885.

CURATES.

REVDS. GEORGE WILKINS, 1707 ; JOHN LENNENS, 1713 ; BENJAMIN GATFIELD, �; GEORGE ROGERS, 1725; A. JONES, 1732 ; RALPH CUMINE, 1735 ; ALEX. STEWART, 1 746 ; GEORGE TAYLOR, 1749; ARTHUR TAYLOR, 1759; JAMES FORDE, 1762; CHR. M`ALLESTER, 1764; DAVID GORDON, 1779; EDWARD CUPPLES, 1808; DANIEL BELL, 1833; DOUGLAS N. TEAPE, 1849; J. TWIBILL, 185o; E. P. ROE, 1852 ; JAMES MARSHALL, 1854; W. COTTER, 1856 ; R. IRVINE, 1860; W. JOHNSON-SMYTH, 1867; C. W. HARDING, 1868; J. H. BENNETT, 1872 ; H. HARE, 1874; JOHN LESLIE, 1876; A. S. MELVILLE, 1876; WILLIAM MOORE, 1878 ; WILLIAM MURDOCK, 1884 ; WILLIAM MUNCE, 1885 ; JOHN R. SIDES, 1888 ; CHARLES F. NEWELL, 1891.

The following former curates of Glenavy now hold prominent positions in the Church :�The Rev. R. Irvine, D.D., is Rector of St. Stephen's, Belfast, and a member of the Diocesan Council; the Rev. E. P. Roe, Rector of Gartree ; the Rev. C. W. Harding, Rector of Ballysillan ; the Rev. T. H. Bennett, Rector of Kilroot; the Rev. John Leslie, Rector of Broomhedge; the Rev. W. Moore, Rector of St. Patrick's, Newry ; the Rev. W. Munce, Rector of Tullylish ; and the Rev. J. R. Sides, Rector of Clogherney. The late Vicar of Glenavy, the Rev. Edward Johnson-Smyth, resigned in 1885, and resides in Dublin.

The first Vicar, Meredith Gwyllim, M.A., was ordained Deacon by Primate Christopher Hampton, 24 Sept., 1617 ; and Priest by the same, 24 Sept., 1617. He became Domestic Chaplain of Edward Lord Chichester, 25 July, 1625. The fourth Vicar, Alexander Moor, M.A.; is mentioned in Harris' Life of King William, page 502: "Alexander Moor, Precentor of Connor, Vicar of Glenavy, Camlin, and Tullyrusk, apostatised to Popery : and the King, by patent dated 26 Sept., 1688, gave him a dispensation to hold and enjoy the said dignity and vicarage and the profits thereof, both spirital and temporal." He and Peter Manby were the only two clergy that are mentioned as perverts in the reign of James II. (Reeves).

 

CHURCH OF
CRUMLIN OR CAMLIN.

THE earliest record of this church is that given in the Taxation of the Dioceses, compiled in the year 1306. The entry runs :�" The Church of Camelyn�2 marks�Tenth 2s. 8d." In his note on this, Bishop Reeves says, "It is so called from a tortuous stream" (the crooked line). The Parish is now called Crumlin from "Crum-gleann" (the crooked glen). The Ordnance Survey places Camlin Church in the townland of Ballydonaghy ; but Lendrick's map preserves the old name "Bally-camlin," which was a small townland, anciently the property of the See of Down. The Church of Camlin is a venerable ruin, overgrown with ivy, and is situated at the verge of the Parish, on a steep bank overhanging the Crumlin river, being distant about a quarter of a mile from the town. It is 77 feet long and 23 feet wide. Although the present floor is on a level with the adjacent ground, the original one appears to have been much beneath it. Tradition relates that this church was destroyed in the wars of James II. It appears that his forces often occupied churches as garrisons. It is well known that the Church of Magheramesk, in a neighbouring parish, was demolished, in order to dislodge a body of his Irish troops, who had stationed themselves in it for the purpose of annoying an English garrison in that quarter. Crumlin Church must also have been destroyed at that time, and not in the Cromwellian wars, since it appears by the register of the Diocese of Connor, that an ordination was held in it on the 1st of December, 1661 (Cromwell died 1658), by the celebrated Jeremy Taylor, Bishop of Down and Connor, Chaplain to King Charles I., who died at Lisburn, Aug. 13, 1667. The person admitted to the order of Deacon on that occasion was Andew Aiton.

Camlin was anciently a Bishop's Mensal, and contained two townlands belonging to the See of Down, which were lost by being leased in perpetuity. It is called a Grange in the registry of Connor, and the Church designated by the name of the Chapel of Crumlin. This followed from the nature of a Mensal. A parish of which the Bishop was Rector was called a Mensal ; the duties were discharged by a Curate and the place called a Chapel. In Lewis's Topographical Dictionary we read--"The Church is a fine ruin ; it was destroyed by the army of James II., who had its dep�t here in 1689." After its destruction the people of Camlin attended Glenavy Parish Church, coming down the lane over the stepping stones in the river into the churchyard. The right to do so was disputed in 1891, but at the Assizes the Judge upheld the parishioners' claim, as a " Public Right of Way."
 

TULLYRUSK PARISH.

IN Reeves' Antiquities, page 6, we read�" The Church of Tullarusk, 40s....tenth 4S." Tullarusk, now Tullyrusk, a parish in the union of Glenavy. The churchyard contains the foundations of the old church, which measure about 63 by 19 feet. It occupies the summit of a hill, which rises from
swampy ground, hence the name " Tulach " a "hill" and "Ruisc" a "moor." It is about 3� miles distant from Glenavy, and now belongs to the Parish of Stoneyford, a portion of Tullyrusk and Glenavy parishes having been taken in when the parish of Stoneyford was formed in 1886. The house of Mrs. Wheeler is one of the most comfortable in Tullyrusk. Her husband was till his death a respected member of the Parish Select Vestry.

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.

THE Roman Catholic Church in Ireland is now a thoroughly organised system, but it was not always so. The Irish Roman Episcopate is called by us "Titular," which means, that they hold their title from the See of Rome, and are not regarded as of the Irish Church Episcopacy. At the close of Elizabeth's reign there were not two churches in Ireland ; for, though there were some Romish dissenters from the Reformed Established religion, with some titular bishops, yet there was no organised attempt to supply in a regular form a new episcopacy. After the death of the titular primate, Magauran, in A.D. 1594, as King tells us, no papal primate was appointed in Ireland for nearly 15 years, and on the accession of James in 1603 there was in Ireland only one titular bishop, named Cornelius Ryan, of Killaloe, who was living in Spain. Then Peter Lombard was added as titular primate in 1608 ; soon three other titular bishops ; but of the five appointed, there was only one, David Carney, of Cashel, residing in Ireland in 1613. This delay on the part of Rome was due most probably to a hope that the Irish Church would once again fall under the yoke of Rome, as it had done in the time of Queen Mary, and that prelates and people might again turn to submission. After ten years of James' reign, that hope died out, and at once, in 1614, a Titular Synod was held at Drogheda, a minute of the proceedings of which is given in one of the Usher MSS. of the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. Among other matters discussed, it decided that the vicars-general should appoint new parish priests, and the laity be cautioned not to participate in the religion of heretics (i.e., the Catholic Church of Ireland). A similar Synod was held at Leinster for the same object. It appears, then, that Rome, about 1614, roused herself to work, appointing "vicars-general," "deans," "parish priests," in fact a new hierarchy, new succession, new orders, new canons, and, in short, a new ecclesiastical establishment for Ireland. Philip O'Sullivan, a famous Romish author, who in 1621 was living an exile at the court of Spain, published a bitter " Compendium of the Catholic History of Ireland," which lets in much light on the times. From it we learn that the country was flooded with members of religious orders, monks and friars, backed by foreigners, especially of Spain, "who preach to the people and expose the heretics." They dressed as laymen to deceive the English, and he further says "that in 1621 the four archbishoprics and a large number of bishoprics are held by the ringleaders of heresy, while of our (titular) Bishops only two reside and the other two have entrusted their provinces to vicars." Such then was the original nucleus of the present Romish Church in Ireland. Emissaries from the Pope and intruders were they into the Irish Church. None have been ordained by any bishops of the ancient Church of St. Patrick.

This is the reason the records of the Roman Catholic Church in Glenavy are so very scanty ; not even is there a regular succession kept from the date of the first registered Roman Catholic priest in 1704. It may, perhaps, he well just to suggest a reasonable answer to the question which will arise, How it is that the bulk of the people are Roman Catholic, if the condition of the Romish Church was so weak in 1621 ? In the first place the Church of Ireland, from 1172 to 1542, through connection with England, was assimilated to the Church of Rome, and like the English Church was in full communion with it, though not subject. The Bishops were generally Englishmen, appointed through Papal influence. The Ritual of the Church of Rome suited the character of the Irish people, and was much nearer to that of the early Irish Church than the Reformed Ritual was. During this period England ruled Ireland with a cruel hand. The Statute of Kilkenny was passed in 1367, to which was appended the names of the Bishops of Dublin, Cashel, Tuam, Lismore, Killaloe, Ossory, Leighlin, and Cloyne. This Kilkenny Statute was really a declaration of war against the poor Irish, their language, their laws ; and these eight Irish Bishops, then Roman through English connection, pledged themselves to excommunicate all violators of the Act. Is it any wonder that everything English was hated by the Irish, and that the Reformation coming from England received little sympathy from them? Further, it is well-known that the Reformed Church was sorely crippled by the absence of Irish Prayer-books and Bibles. The people hated the English tongue. The emissaries of the Roman Mission were wiser. From their two colleges, in Salamanca and Alcala, Irish Catechisms and Books of Devotion were poured into Ireland. They were well printed, capitally illustrated, and, above all, they were in Irish, the mother tongue. What chance had the English books of devotion against these? But still further, the progress of the Reformation was marred by the introduction in 1611 of Scotch Presbyterians, who were a new body, and so formed a fresh element to weaken the position of the Reformed Church of Ireland. Rome, above all, shewed her astuteness in favouring the superstitions the Irish loved so well. In 1561 Donat O'Teige, Titular Primate of Armagh, joined alliance with Shane O'Neill, and having said mass with his friars went thrice about Shane's men and willed them to go forward, for God was on their side. Here we see revived the old pagan practice of Desiul, or going right-hand-wise round an object. O'Teige uses it to please Shane and his men. So many a superstition was fostered by the titular prelates to win popularity. O'Teige presents the spectacle of a bishop claiming the primacy, yet urging Shane to burn the cathedral (Olden, page 330). These points are enough to shew how the titular prelates won the Irish, and the Reformed Church lost its hold. Froude mentions in his History of the English in Ireland that a cardinal boasted that " Irish Nationality is the Catholic religion." Rome's success in Ireland is due to her clever perversion of the early history of the Irish Church joined to her fostering national feelings and old traditions.

I copy from the Rev. James O'Laverty's Historical Account of the Diocese of Down and Connor the subjoined story of the Roman Catholic mission station in Glenavy :�"On the 12th of July, 1704, Irial O'Hughian was registered at Carrickfergus as parish priest of Glenavy. Unfortunately tradition has not preserved even the names of the priests who officiated in Glenavy after the death of Irial O'Hughian. There was a Father White in 1750; he was succeeded by Father O'Neill. In 1766 John M`Glogan was priest. He was succeeded by the Rev. James Killen in 1783. The next was the Rev. William Crangle, from Dunsford. He re-erected the chapel of Glenavy after it had been burned in 1797 by the Wreckers. He died in 1814 and was buried in Glenavy chapel. He was succeeded by the Rev. Patrick Blaney who resigned in 1819. On his resignation the parish was conferred on the Rev. James MacMullan. He was sent to study in Salamanca under Dr. Curtis ; he died in 1841. After his death the parish was administered by Father Richard Hanna, curate, till 1841 ; then by the Rev. Joseph Canning till the Rev. James Denvir was appointed in 1843. On his promotion to Kilkeel, the parish was administered by Father Michael M`Cartan, curate, until the appointment of the Rev. George Pye." The Rev. J. O'Laverty's Account closes here, but the Rev. George Pye died in 1890, regretted by all denominations.

"A man he was to all the country dear."

His successor is the Rev. Geo. Conway, V. F., and the curate is the Rev. Patrick Darragh.

 

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHAPEL.

WHEN Roman Catholicism was suppressed by Act of Parliament, Mass was celebrated at Ballymacricket where the present church now stands. Mass was also celebrated at "The Gulf," between Bellbrook and Lennymore. The chapel of Ballymacricket was burned in 1796 by the " Wreckers," after which Mass was said at the ruins until one was built in 1802.

The Rev. E. Cupples, Vicar of Glenavy, says, writing in 1814 :�" The Roman Catholic chapel is a neat modern building 60 feet long by 30 feet wide. The Rev. Patrick Blaney is the Roman Catholic priest. This chapel was built about 15 years ago by subscription, to which the Marquis of Hertford and the Protestants of the Union liberally contributed." In 1868 a new church, dedicated to St. Joseph, was erected on the old site by the Rev. George Pye. It is of black stone, relieved by the light colour of the cut stone round the windows and doors. It has an arched ceiling, and a small bell-tower, surmounted by a spire, rises from the south-western angle of the nave, in which is a sweet-toned bell, weighing 10 cwt. The altar window is traceried, the western gable is pierced by five lancets, and the side walls by single lancets. A small gallery for the choir occupies the western end of the church." The Rev. George Pye also built a handsome parochial house.
 

THE MORAVIANS.

THE Moravians, or the United Brethren, who also call them-selves the "Ancient Protestant Episcopal Moravian Church," had at one time societies at Glenavy and Sandy Bay. On the 27th September, 1750, John Cennick preached for the first time at Glenavy to thousands in a large field. This gifted preacher continued to draw large audiences, to whom he preached from time to time in a barn and in a cloth mill. Mr. Gorman, who owned much property in the village, offered to convert a building into a chapel, and the offer being gladly accepted at a rental of 4 16s. a year, work began on March 11, 1751. Soon a chapel, with dwelling-house and garden, was the result, which was dedicated for public worship, more than 800 being present, while crowds stood around unable to get in. Many of the inhabitants are said to have joined the Society, but there does not remain one adherent to-day. A Single Brethren's �conomy was also established in 1756, of which Brother Jorde was overseer. There is no means of tracing the causes which led the Society in Glenavy to collapse, nor is there a trace of the chapel left. John Cennick was at first a preacher under John Wesley, then under Whitfield, and then, in 1745, joined the Moravians. He wrote many favourite hymns, such as :�" Lo! He comes," " Brethren, let us join to bless," " Children, of the Heavenly King." At Sandy Bay the Moravians flourished much longer, and in 1842 Brother John Birtill, B.A., T.C.D., bought an unfinished mansion there, where he prepared a large room with five windows as a preaching place, furnishing the house and becoming resident himself. The pulpit used was brought from the Baptist Academy, Bristol, and once belonged to Robert Hall, and it is still used for its proper purpose. Mr. Birtill left in 1846, and for a time a Scripture reader kept a Sunday-school and prayer meeting, but at his removal the services ceased. The building afterwards was used for storing grain, but has now, with the kind consent of Mr. James Farr, the owner, returned to its former use, and the clergy of the parish use it as a Mission station.