The historical development of the town and parish of
Enniskillen in County Fermanagh is the subject of this important
publication, by W.H. Bradshaw. The opening chapter focuses on the development of
Enniskillen town, the principal urban centre in County Fermanagh,
straddled between the two Lough Ernes. The town was incorporated in 1612, with
William Cole appointed as the first provost. Although the early development of
the town is detailed, the part played by the town during the various seventeenth
century wars is, unsurprisingly, particularly prominent. So too is the
destruction of the town by fire in 1705, when '114 families and their servants
suffered very severe losses', which necessitated a general collection of
throughout the kingdom for the relief of the suffering inhabitants.
The remaining ten chapters of the book focus on various facets of the history
and development of the parish. Unlike today, the ecclesiastical parishes of the
Anglican Church during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries had civil as
well as spiritual responsibilities, with the Church of Ireland parish operating
as the lowest layer of governance. This aspect of the
Enniskillen is covered in considerable detail, with issues of social
order, security, road building, public health and welfare and education all
attracting the attention of the author. In the ecclesiastical sphere, the
central place of the parish church and churchyard is detailed in the course of
five chapters. The author details the successive modifications that were made to
the church, in response to an increasing population during the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries. Other notable features to be considered include the
various monuments and murals in the church, the tombstones in the graveyard and
the extant parish registers.
Included at the back of the book are copious notes regarding various aspects
of the parish, which may prove of even greater use to researchers. It is notable
in this regard that while the eleven chapters run to just seventy two pages, the
twenty nine notes span a further eighty pages. In typical antiquarian fashion,
these notes include descriptions of local antiquities, transcriptions of
relevant source material, biographies of noted parishioners, parliamentary or
privy council edicts and other diverse, valuable information.
A highly readable account of the development of the town and parish and
packed with notes and transcriptions it will prove particularly appealing to any
researchers interested in the history of Fermanagh and West Ulster, particularly
from the plantation of the county during the early seventeenth century.
High quality scanned images of the whole of the original book. This CD has
been bookmarked for easy navigation, and pages can be searched, browsed,
enlarged and printed out if required.
