
COMBER HISTORICAL SOCIETY
1840
This was an important year in the history of Comber’s churches, with no fewer than three new buildings opening for worship. The first was the Unitarian Church on 1st March, over a year after its mishap with the windmill on the Night of the Big Wind. The building was officially opened by Rev Dr Montgomery, who preached from Romans 14. The Remonstrant Synod of Ulster held their deliberations here on 28th-30th July.
Then on 31st May it was the turn of the new St Mary's which replaced the 17th century church. The west wall may be that of the older church, if the evidence of a blocked up window which must pre-date the tower is taken into consideration. A huge chandelier was presented by Lord Castlereagh, as was the clock which has a 90 foot pendulum with the inscription “Be on time. Time at best is very short”. There was an ancient custom that the bell be rung for five minutes at nine o’clock on Sunday mornings.
19th July saw Rev Archibald Bennie preach to a packed house at the opening of Second Comber Presbyterian. This was believed to be the first new meeting-house opened for worship since the formation of the General Assembly on 10th July. James Patterson of Ballyrush was the builder at a cost of £523-1-6½d. Farmers carted stones, sand, timber and lime from John McKee's kiln at Castle Espie. Rev Rogers of Second Comber married Mary Smith of Moneycarry, Co Londonderry on 10th September.
A soiree attended by 900 members was held at First Comber on 17th May to pay tribute to William Stitt, Wm G Andrews and Dr Wm James Patterson, all of Comber, and John Stitt of Ballycreely. These gentlemen had laboured hard in the task of choosing a new minister (Rev Isaac Nelson), and Mr Alexander McKee presented each of them with an inscribed Bible.
John Andrews circulated an address among the tenantry on the Down Estates of the Marquis of Londonderry, regarding important matters which had been wholly disregarded by some and insufficiently observed by many others. Farm improvements were not being carried out as he would have liked, and he emphasised topics such as green feeding, crop rotation, drainage and deepening of the soil. He also advocated support of the local Farming Society and its library. Punctuality in payment of rents must also be adhered to.
1841
The population of Comber was 1,964.
Frances Andrews, youngest daughter of James, married Henry James Leslie, of Courtmacsherry, County Cork, on 6th April.
In June, Robert Saunderson opened a new hotel in Comber Square know as the "Old Inn".
On 8th June the foundation stone of a new schoolhouse was laid at First Comber by William Stitt.
On 9th June, at a meeting in Newtownards, the Parishes of Comber and Newtownards petitioned Parliament against a repeal of the Corn Laws.
James Andrews was taken ill on 25th May while chairing a meeting of Non-Subscribers at 1st Rosemary Street Church, Belfast. He was taken home to Comber but never recovered, dying on 2nd July in his 80th year.
In his will James left £1,000 to his son Isaac, along with an extra 30 acres of land at Carnesure on which to build a house – provided he married! Isaac did marry, but his house was not to be at Carnesure, but rather the Big House in Comber Square. Uraghmore was left to John and the Old House to William Glenny, Margaret and Mary for life, passing afterwards to John or his eldest son.
A deputation from Newtownards and Comber waited on the Marquis of Londonderry to present him with an address of condolence on the loss he had sustained in the burning of his magnificent mansion at Wynyard in County Durham.
On 19th July the Conservatives of Comber met in Lowry’s Hotel to celebrate their triumph at the recent general election.
An inquiry was held on 4th May into irregularities at Comber Post Office. As a result Comber's postmaster, Dr O'Neill, was dismissed in August and replaced by Mr Shean.
In October a sixteen year old girl called Mary Quin, was given three months' jail with hard labour for stealing several articles of dress at Drumhirk.
Lord Londonderry was not impressed with the state of Comber. For instance, the school was “neglected in interior cleanliness and outward management – the garden and premises indicating sloth and filth”. The glebe house could do with “some decent rough-cast or whitewashing, and the strange spouts put up on the side of the house are perfectly unaccountable and ridiculous”. The sewers got little attention, special mention being made of houses next to the Meeting House. Mr Stitt’s house in South Street (Killinchy Street) also came in for criticism. When the market was established in the new Market House, the inn yard must be kept clean and bad fences taken down. This Market House should be arranged in a similar manner to that of Newtownards. Lord Londonderry intended to build a front wall here, but the side ditches and hedges would have to remain for the present. He recommended the formation of “a Town Committee for the arrangement, cleanliness and propriety of the town”. Praise was reserved for improvements instituted in the town by Dr Allen, which were described as “multifarious and effective”. Lord Londonderry would be glad if Comber were to enter into the same arrangements as Newtownards for Watching and Lighting, but would leave it to the inhabitants to decide.
Nor was Lord Londonderry happy with the state of the farms of his tenants. In future he would only grant new leases to those who were conspicuous in their agricultural improvements – in their cattle, and in their farm buildings. A register would be kept of each farm. In addition, tenants were expected to attend agricultural meetings and subscribe to the agricultural library. They must display cattle at the annual shows, have slated dwelling and office houses, properly maintained gates and fences, and every measure of good farming adopted, especially thorough draining and well deepened soil. Arrears of rent were inexcusable and there would be ejection of tenants where rents were not paid.
On 15th November the inhabitants of Comber and its vicinity displayed their joy at the birth of an heir to the British throne, by a general illumination of the town, bonfires etc.
Also in November, an infirm man about seventy years of age, employed at the Lower Distillery, was accidentally killed when he fell into the water and was swept under the large water-wheel
1842
In the courts, James Longbridge was given 3 months' jail with hard labour for stealing potatoes. And John Dixon got the same sentence for deserting his wife and 3 children.
A new line of road from Comber to Saintfield was approved.
Isaac Nelson resigned as minister of 1st Comber, and moved to Donegall Street congregation in Belfast. He was to earn notoriety for controversy, and already at Comber this may have been evident. In 1859 he was to write a sketch on the religious Revival entitled “The Year of Delusion” and, after a less than fruitful ministry, he retired to become Nationalist MP for County Mayo, not something that would have endeared him to the Presbyterian stalwarts of Comber. He died in 1888.
The Comber Poorhouse closed round about this time following the opening of the Workhouse in Newtownards.
In October the body of a man named McCreely was found lying dead in a field in the townland of Trooperfield. The poor man had died of apoplexy.
Rev WM Hetherington, the distinguished historian of the Church of Scotland, preached in First Comber, when a collection was made to assist in liquidating the debt incurred in the erection of the new Schoolhouse.
There was a proposal to erect a Monument in Comber to General Gillespie, and a committee was formed.
There was friction between Rev John Rogers (2nd Comber) and William Hugh Doherty (Unitarian) about payment of the Regium Donum (Royal Bounty). Rev Rogers was up in arms that he wasn't yet in receipt of the Bounty whereas his counterpart in the Unitarian congregation was.
1843
George McCulloch, of the Nursery at Nurseryville, died on 13th January. Died, on the 13th Inst. at the residence of his father, Rathgael, Bangor, Mr G McCulloch, of Nurseryville, Comber.
Thomas Andrews of Ardara (son of John and Sarah Andrews) was born on 26th February.
A committee had been formed and fundraising had commenced for the proposed Monument in Comber to Sir Robert Rollo Gillespie.
James Miller Killen was ordained on 9th May as the new minister of First Comber, in place of Isaac Nelson, now minister at Donegall Street, Belfast.
On 7th November a previous minister of the congregation, John McCance, died and was buried in St Mary's graveyard.
A new Presbytery, to be called the Presbytery of Comber, was established in July.
On 29th August Rev WH Doherty of Comber was elected Moderator of the Remonstrant Synod of Ulster.
Newtownards and Comber Farming Society held its eighteenth annual cattle show at Comber on 17th October. At a dinner held afterwards in Milling's Hotel, Mr Bole of Ballyrickard was pronounced winner of the Castlereagh Cup for best farm.
A new bridge (the present one) was built over the Enler in Newtown Street, contractor Edward Porter. This replaced a narrow and dilapidated bridge, with a crooked approach to the town via what is now Lower Crescent
1844
The Newtownards and Comber Farming Society held a ploughing match in a field of James Cairns at Maxwell's Court on 1st February. The Society had discontinued its ploughing matches for a number of years, but now these were resumed. First premium went to Robert Boyd of Ballywilliam, plough held by David Cameron. In the evening a dinner was held in Milling's hotel.
On 1st March Robert Yates got six months imprisonment with hard labour for stealing at Comber a basket containing tea and sugar and some other articles, the goods of Mary Stewart and another.
The Marriage Bill of 1844 proved controversial. Even at this late date the Establishment did not always recognise Presbyterian marriage and there had been high-profile cases in the Courts of marriages which had taken place between an Episcopalian and a Presbyterian, performed by a Presbyterian minister. Opinion was divided on the legality of these marriages, and so a Bill was brought in to attempt a solution. But there was a problem. This Bill would legalise all such marriages which had already taken place, but not future unions. Second Comber were one of several congregations opposed to the Bill. A public meeting was held in the church on 28th March 1844. And a petition was sent to Parliament. The Marriage Act of 1845 eventually legalised ceremonies carried out by Presbyterian ministers, even if one of the couple was an Episcopalian.
The Dissenters' Chapels Bill was also going through Parliament at this time. There was much unease, especially among Unitarians, regarding their occupation of chapels, schools, manses etc. In particular there was a problem relating to the deeds of buildings which specified the form of worship to be observed. Many specified as Trinitarian had since been taken over by Unitarians, and there was a real fear that Unitarians could be thrown out of their places of worship following litigation. The Dissenters' Chapels Bill was an attempt to stop this from happening, the proposal being that a congregation who had inhabited a meeting-house for a certain number of years (in the end 25 was agreed upon) could not be ejected. Controversy raged in Comber, with petitions being raised for and against the Bill. Predictably the Unitarian congregation supported it. But they were enraged by a petition got up by Second Comber which the Banner of Ulster newspaper claimed had 900 signatures. This led to a heated exchange of views in the Press between William Doherty and John Rogers. One seemingly trivial, but contentious issue, was the name Second Comber. Rev Doherty maintained his congregation was Second Comber, whereas that of Rev Rogers should be the third congregation. Then there was the extremely high number of signatures. Rev Doherty queried this in light of the number of families belonging to Rev Rogers. And he also maintained, on the word of John Miller, that dubious means had been used to obtain signatures. Two individuals, William Halliday and Henry Coard, had gone from door to door with three sheets to be signed, which they represented as being intended to be attached to petitions on the marriage question, which was also circulating at this time. However Halliday and Coard issued a statement that this was untrue and that they had emphasised that the third sheet related to the Chapels Bill. At the end of the day the 900 signatures from 2nd Comber were all in vain. The Dissenter's Chapels Act was passed and a sigh of relief uttered throughout the ranks of the Unitarians.
Isaac Andrews, at the age of 45, married on 25th April. His bride was Mary Anne Drew, the daughter of a Glasgow merchant and 20 years his junior. They took up residence in the Big House in Comber Square, put up for auction by the insolvent William Stitt. In order to extend his house and garden, Isaac also purchased the old Gillespie house which he demolished. There is a story that during the demolition work the foreman discovered a hoard of gold. He took it home and hid it, and it is said that he never had to work again.
The foundation stone was laid on 24th June for a monument to Sir Robert Rollo Gillespie. By the end of August it had reached a height of 19 feet. By October the column had been completed and was ready for the figure to be placed on top.
In October the Session Room of 2nd Comber was broken into. The pulpit gown and some other articles, including a carpet and looking glass, were stolen.
On 4th November Lord Londonderry, along with Lord Castlereagh and a considerable entourage, visited Comber. The party examined the work on the Gillespie Monument, and embarked on a tour of inspection of the town, noting all the improvements, including the recently built stone bridge over the Inler in Newtown Street.
1845
Talks were held on the feasibility of a railway which would come through Comber. Three Comber men were on a committee to promote the railway in Parliament – John Andrews, John Miller and Guy Stone.
Delightful weather favoured the Comber Steeple-chase on Wednesday 5th March. The sport was described as excellent, and well-attended, despite the opposition of some local gentry who had been fulminating against the deadly sin of such exhilarating amusement.
John Millar married Agnes Pirrie on 25th March
In April a petition was forwarded to Parliament from the town of Comber (signed by both Presbyterians and Episcopalians) protesting against the proposed increase of grant to the Roman Catholic College of Maynooth. The grant was, nevertheless approved, in the face of nationwide opposition.
The death occurred on 24th April of well-known Comber solicitor, Alexander Montgomery.
In the wake of the Marriage Act, three Comber churches were registered for solemnising marriages - the Remonstrant Presbyterian Meeting-house on 18th April, First Comber on 11th April, and Second Comber on 6th May.
Messrs Andrews of Comber received the Gold Medal of the Royal Agricultural Improvement Society for drainage work on their farm.
The unveiling of the Gillespie Monument took place on Tuesday 24th June, St John’s Day. On that day an estimated 25-30,000 people crammed into Comber Square, many of them freemasons. Special dispensation had to be obtained to hold the event as this was a time when processions were illegal. The masons assembled on the Belfast Road and, accompanied by music and headed by Gillespie’s former lodge, made their way to the Square. There they formed up around the Monument, which was described as a 55 foot high Grecian column. The ceremony was scheduled for 2 PM. By this time the downpours of the morning had cleared away and the sun was shining. There were the usual speeches, including one by Colonel Cairnes, the Military Secretary, who appeared in the full regalia of a freemason. The Rev Jex Blake cautioned the crowd against indulging in drink. The proceedings were brought to a close with the National Anthem, played by the Newtownards Amateur Band.
On 3rd July a large meeting of tenant farmers from much of the north of County Down was held at Comber. Its purpose was to express opposition to the Landlord and Tenant Bill, currently before Parliament, which would interfere with the existing rights of farmers, and prevent future permanent improvements. A petition against the Bill was subsequently forwarded to Parliament.
On 19th August the Newtownards and Comber Farming Society held their 22nd autumnal meeting at Comber. The cattle show commenced at midday, and at four o'clock 60 members of the Society sat down to dinner in Milling's Hotel. Reports were given on various farms in the district who had been awarded premiums, and the Castlereagh Cup for best farm went to Robert Boyd of Ballywilliam.
On 22nd September the Testimonial Committee connected with the Gillespie Monument presented the architect and contractor, Mr Johnston, with a complimentary certificate, signed by every gentleman present. They expressed themselves satisfied with the work that he had done.
The potato crop was badly damaged, and disturbing reports came from the local area in October. Exports were halted as there weren't enough to feed the labourers at home.
On 13th November David McMillen, an employee at the distillery of Messrs Byrne & Gaffikin, was charged with purloining a quantity of whiskey. He was found guilty and sentenced to a month in the House of Correction with hard labour.
1846
In January First Comber were looking for a teacher for a new school about to be established.
On Sunday 15th March Second Comber was packed to hear the Rev James Morgan of Belfast preach. A collection was taken up to liquidate a debt of £200 still remaining on the meeting-house, and also to start a fund for the erection of a schoolhouse.
In April a boy named Robert Smith was scalded to death when he fell into a reservoir of hot wash at the Lower Distillery.
About 50 lodges assembled for the Twelfth on a hill belonging to Mr Bowman, on the Newtownards road. The town was decorated with flags and several beautiful arches were erected, composed of lilies and ribbons.
A tenant-right meeting held in July in a large building belonging to Alexander Miller called for the Landlord and Tenant Bill before Parliament to be abandoned, and for adequate compensation for improvements made by tenants forced out of their farms.
The potato crop was almost totally destroyed over the whole of Ireland. To make matters worse the yield of wheat, barley and oats was exceedingly poor. Many faced starvation. It has been suggested that Co. Down was not so much affected as other places. However, the situation was probably a lot worse than we imagine. In August the crop was, in the words of the Newtownards Board of Guardians, a total failure. Food prices rose, with the result that farmers could not afford to employ labour. Many were laid off, with resulting destitution. Many landlords announced general rent reductions to try and alleviate the situation. Not, however, Comber’s landlord Lord Londonderry, who was opposed to sweeping rent reductions as “dangerous and fatal”, although he was open to make exceptions in individual cases.
1847
The famine continued, and numbers entering the workhouse in Newtownards doubled between October 1846 and January 1847, and doubled again between January and July. In Comber some ladies set up a committee in January, selling meal and coal at reduced prices, and paying women and girls for knitting and sewing. On 4th February, after meetings of the concerned in the town, a soup kitchen was set up and “much visited”. It supplied 230 families daily with free bread and soup, and sold soup to another 100 families at a halfpenny a quart. The soup kitchen cost over £30 per month, of which Lord Londonderry contributed £10. The Andrews family subscribed to the various relief funds, and members of the family were on the Committees for distributing relief to the poor. Since wheat was too expensive, James Andrews & Sons imported direct to Comber large quantities of Indian corn. Buckwheat, peas and beans were obtained from France, and there was a direct shipment of wheat from Egypt. Apart from the price, the buckwheat, peas and beans turned out to be a bad speculation, as not even the starving poor would eat the meal made from them and so they had to feed it to their cattle and pigs. By Spring 1848 the crisis had passed.
A steeple-chase for £20 took place on 16th February over two miles between Mr Andrew Harbison's horse "Derry" and Mr Thomas Cunningham's horse "Romeo". "Derry" came home an easy winner. This was followed by a sweepstakes for which four horses entered, and this was won by Mr Donaldson's old horse "Ten and Sixpence".
On the night of 1st March the grounds of Nurseryville were broken into and considerable damage done, including the removal of two hundred Irish Yew Trees.
An Address and Presentation was made on 22nd May to Dr Patterson, on the occasion of his leaving Comber to practice in Belfast.
The death of James Cairns on 8th June left John Miller in sole charge of the Upper Distillery.
James Wightman of Ballyalton left for Denmark in July to take charge of the cultivation and improvement of flax in that country.
Alex Murphy was appointed precentor in Second Comber.
Thomas James Andrews (son of Isaac) was born on 9th August.
In September an accident occurred to the Killyleagh, Comber and Belfast day coach, at Adair’s Hill outside Comber on the Killyleagh Road. The coach was overladen and overturned at the foot of the hill, pitching passengers and luggage on to the road. Several people were injured, including a Rev Gault who had his shoulder dislocated and his right leg severely torn. Mr Breakey was severely shocked, Mr Moore from near Killyleagh had a severe leg wound, and a girl had head injuries and a sprained wrist. It seems there had been previous complaints about overcrowding on this coach, and the Northern Whig called for such a dangerous practice to cease.
Also in September, Newtownards and Comber Farming Society held their annual cattle show in Comber Square. This was followed by a lecture on chemistry by Dr Hodges in the Market-house at four o'clock and later by a dinner in Mr Milling's hotel.
Towards the latter part of the year there were several court cases involving tenant farmers and the Belfast and County Down Railway Company, as compensation was sought for land taken over by the railway.
1848
A meeting held in Comber on 17th May resolved to maintain the Union with Great Britain. Troops had been poured into Ireland during this Year of Revolutions when Government after Government had fallen in Europe. The meeting praised the firm stance taken by the Lord Lieutenant during recent events, but it seems that the starving people of Ireland really had no interest in revolution. There were, however, grievances to be addressed and, although the meeting asserted their attachment to constitutional principle and order, attention was drawn by Rev John Rogers to the unsettled relationship between landlord and tenant, and the Government was urged to put this right by legalising the Ulster tenant-right. The Chairman, the Rev Jex Blake, refused to put this last resolution and, along with John Andrews, walked out of the meeting. A new chairman was installed, and the resolution was passed.
On 3rd July Rev John Rogers was presented with an Address and a gold watch and chain by his congregation of Second Comber.
Two labourers working on the railway construction were badly injured when a portion of an earthwork fell on them. Another man named McCartney was killed on 17th October when a truck passed over his body.
On 26th October a soiree was held in the Wesleyan Chapel as a token of esteem to Mrs McMinn and family of Camperdown, prior to their leaving the neighbourhood for Donaghadee.
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First record of Comber White Flag Orange Lodge LOL 244.
1849
In February Comber was hit by a cholera epidemic, with the principal locality of the disease being the Mill Street area. A temporary hospital was set up in the Market House, but there were many deaths. The town was clear of cholera by the middle of March.
Unicarval House came into the possession of George Allen after he purchased it from Alexander Montgomery.
John Andrews brought a charge of slander against Rev John Rogers of Second Comber regarding certain anonymous letters which had appeared in the Londonderry Standard newspaper and which he claimed Rogers had written. The matter was brought before Comber Presbytery in March, but they did not uphold the charge.
A meeting of ratepayers was held on 26th March in the Square to protest against the Rate-in-Aid – a national rate to be imposed on all Poor Law Unions in aid of 23 bankrupt unions all in Connaught and Munster. Opposition in Ulster was triggered by the view that Ulster Unions had managed the famine crisis well, whereas it had been mismanaged in other areas. There was criticism of Lord Londonderry who supported the Rate-in-Aid.
A cattle show was held by the Newtownards and Comber Farming Society in Comber Square on 16th August. Thomas McCracken of Ballyrickard won the Landlord’s Challenge Cup, given by Lord Londonderry to the member who exhibited the best stock of cattle. For the third year in a row Robert Boyd of Ballywilliam won the Castlereagh Challenge Cup for the best cultivated farm.
John Ferguson was accidentally run over on the railway between Comber and Newtownards by two full trucks of earth.
The first Session of 2nd Comber was formed in October. James Montgomery of Ballyrush, John McKee of Ballykeigle, William Malcolm Orr and John McKee of Drumhirk had served as elders since the formation of the congregation. They were now joined by John Wightman, William Smylie and Hugh Murphy.