Binghamstown
Encyclopedia
Binghamstown is a townland
and village in County Mayo
, Ireland
. It lies on the R313 regional road
on the Mullet Peninsula, near the town of Belmullet
.
, County Mayo. It was built in castlelated style with the offices and gardens commensurate with the full extent of the building. Nothing substantial survives of Bingham castle except for low grass covered foundations. A portion of the castle was pulled down in 1929, and the remainder was subsequently removed over a period of years and the stone used to build later dwellings in the locality.
The town itself was built in 1796 by Major Denis Bingham, and it was built essentially as a "landlord village" providing services for the Bingham estate. It was not until 1817 that a main road was constructed into Erris
from Castlebar
and it was only in 1824 that it finally ran through Binghamstown to the extremity of the peninsula.
In an attempt to keep the Binghamstown fair alive Major Bingham erected a huge gate across the roadway. Those who took their animals out of Binghamstown to the Belmullet
fair had to pay a toll as they passed through the gate, giving rise to the Irish name an Geata Mhór (the Big Gate) for Binghamstown. By the end of the nineteenth century, Binghamstown fell into disuse as a fair town.
Townland
A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...
and village in County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. It lies on the R313 regional road
Regional road
A regional road in Ireland is a class of road not forming a major route , but nevertheless forming a link in the national route network. There are over 11,600 kilometres of regional roads. Regional roads are numbered with three digit route numbers, prefixed by "R" A regional road in Ireland is a...
on the Mullet Peninsula, near the town of Belmullet
Belmullet
Belmullet is a coastal Gaeltacht town with a population of around 2,000 on the Mullet Peninsula in the barony of Erris, County Mayo, Ireland. Its name means the "mouth of the mullet"...
.
History
The townland was originally called Ballymacshedon (the anglicisation of an Irish name), before being renamed Binghamstown. In 1795 Richard Bingham built a castle on the northern reaches of Elly Bay on the Mullet peninsula in ErrisErris
Erris is a barony in northwestern County Mayo in Ireland consisting of over , much of which is mountainous blanket bog. It has extensive sea coasts along its west and north boundaries. The main towns are Belmullet and Bangor Erris. The name Erris derives from the Irish 'Iar Ros' meaning 'western...
, County Mayo. It was built in castlelated style with the offices and gardens commensurate with the full extent of the building. Nothing substantial survives of Bingham castle except for low grass covered foundations. A portion of the castle was pulled down in 1929, and the remainder was subsequently removed over a period of years and the stone used to build later dwellings in the locality.
The town itself was built in 1796 by Major Denis Bingham, and it was built essentially as a "landlord village" providing services for the Bingham estate. It was not until 1817 that a main road was constructed into Erris
Erris
Erris is a barony in northwestern County Mayo in Ireland consisting of over , much of which is mountainous blanket bog. It has extensive sea coasts along its west and north boundaries. The main towns are Belmullet and Bangor Erris. The name Erris derives from the Irish 'Iar Ros' meaning 'western...
from Castlebar
Castlebar
Castlebar is the county town of, and at the centre of, County Mayo in Ireland. It is Mayo's largest town by population. The town's population exploded in the late 1990s, increasing by one-third in just six years, though this massive growth has slowed down greatly in recent years...
and it was only in 1824 that it finally ran through Binghamstown to the extremity of the peninsula.
In an attempt to keep the Binghamstown fair alive Major Bingham erected a huge gate across the roadway. Those who took their animals out of Binghamstown to the Belmullet
Belmullet
Belmullet is a coastal Gaeltacht town with a population of around 2,000 on the Mullet Peninsula in the barony of Erris, County Mayo, Ireland. Its name means the "mouth of the mullet"...
fair had to pay a toll as they passed through the gate, giving rise to the Irish name an Geata Mhór (the Big Gate) for Binghamstown. By the end of the nineteenth century, Binghamstown fell into disuse as a fair town.
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland