During the years 1820-1830 Moville seems to have come into existence in the general shape familiar to ourselves. I cannot tell, however, when Dougherty's farm ceased to exist, nor when the market square and present streets were actually laid out.

I can only fill up the gap of 1800 to 1825 with a couple of family stories, which will amuse. Both were told me by my father who was born in 1809. He was devoted to sport, and had an old bell-mouthed blunderbuss which he used to load with ball and take down to the shore. All that is now Ravenscliff was then in the Newpark demesne.

One day he crept down the bank and saw, to his joy, a heron perched upon the point of rock below what is now Ravenscliff House. With infinite care, he stalked it until he came within about sixty yards of his prey. He rested his gun on a rock, took steady aim and fired! The heron never moved. With a shout of joy, he rushed over to pick up his prize. When he approached it, a little boy rose up and said - "I cannot catch any pitchocks! The child was totally oblivious of the fact that he had been fired at.

That blunderbuss is the hero of another story. Over the rector's study mantelpiece at Newpark there hung a fine loading rod. Often had Robert eyed it with a great longing. One day in the Rector's absence, the house being empty, he purloined the rod and proceeded to charge his gun in a more complete manner than he had been able to effect before.

Unfortunately, he rammed too hard. Do what he could he couldn't extricate the rod. What was he to do? A thought struck him. There was a haystack in the backyard: why should he not fire the ramrod into it? No sooner said than done. He aimed for the middle of the stack and fired. The recoil hurled him on his back, and when he had recovered himself no sign of the wretched thing was visible, though he hunted high and low.

Questions were asked, of course, when the rector returned, but no one knew anything about the rod. So time passed and Robert returned to Foyle College. One day he received a letter from one of his sisters - "Dear Robert, A most extraordinary thing has happened. Would you believe it. They were taking down the haystack, and right in the middle of it was fathers ramrod. We can't imagine how it got there."

Of course, Robert had also some narrow escapes. He told me how he used to ride the cart horse bareback down to the water. One day the horse, on returning, galloped home and passed through the door in the backyard (it was still in existence till two years ago). Robert bent down flat on his face and the lintel of the door tore off his back brace button.

But to return to Moville. Somewhere about the year 1820, Mr. Grierson had a farm, about half the ground the town now occupies, and was, I think, a surveyor, and was prepared to build houses. He lived in a cottage which stood where the garage of M'Connell's Hotel now is, and I think it was the very farm house inhabited by Hugh Dougherty, the farmer.

THE ARK

But the most romantic event during the years 1820-1830 was the advent of the "Ark." It must have called attention to the eligibility of Moville as a residential place. The map shows the ship, and it is an authentic picture. Sometime between 1820 and 1830 Captain Ramsay, R.N., bought an old brig in Derry and had it towed to Moville. He dug a channel in the sand and dragged it up above high water mark, and converted it into a dwelling, living rent free, I suppose. The land on which it stood had long ago disappeared under the waves.

So extensive was it that an old friend tells me he remembers some eighty years ago a Hurley match on it, with 500 spectators. Another says there was grass enough to feed a cow. Captain Ramsay gave a dance as a house warming on the occasion of his taking possession of his home, and two ladies, known to me years ago, Mrs. Brown and her sister, Miss Grierson, were present at the ball. It was at this dance also that Captain Ramsay met the lady who became his wife.

In due time, Captain Ramsay went to serve on the Chile or Brazil Coast, under that most dashing of commanders, Lord Dundonald. And this seems to fix a date for the Ark, for Dundonald seems to have haunted the West of South America from 1823 to 1825, transferring his attentions after that to Brazil until 1827.

On his return home, Ramsay found the Ark in a very neglected state, owing to an idle caretaker. Moreover, the lady whom he had married practically refused to live in the Ark Whereupon, probably about the year 1833, he broke up the brig and built the present Ark House, the timber in it being entirely taken, I believe, from the ship.

If I may take one year as the centre of progress in Moville at that time it would be 1829. In that year the stone fishing pier was built and the first small wooden wharf erected, the patents for market and for fairs were obtained, and the cowpark was laid out. In 1830 the First slate roof appeared - namely, on the house on the east corner of the Malin road. Almost immediately afterwards, there appeared a second slate roof, on the house inhabited by Mr. Duggan. In order to commemorate the latter events, my father's two sisters. Charlotte and Mary, came to the dance which was given there. It was in 1829 also that Mr. Grierson obtained a lease from my grandfather, the rector, to build houses in Quay Street. Of course, also, the first market house was a small affair. A road ran right through. Out of it, there rose steps into the Court House. The back part of the market site was first occupied by stables for the horses for the mail, and the scales for weighing were in the open air in front.

THE MAP (note - not available)

This gives us the first view of early Moville, and was drawn in 1830. We owe it to the enterprise of my father's sister, Mary, who obtained it, in order to show my father, who had gone to India in 1828, how much Moville had extended since his departure. She accompanied the drawing with an explanation, which I give verbatim. It proves that the picture is accurate.

"You see the steam packet coming up to the pier and the situation of the Ark. The houses close to the Ark are the offices now belonging to the row of cottages, which are built up, Poiteen-street, or Whiskey-land, by Mr. Grierson and are no ornament to the village. The road where you see the arch of a bridge is the new road and bridge built instead of Molly Login's old one, which was carried away by a flood just the year you left (1828). think the road joins the road going up the town where Arthur Ward's and all the wretched cabins used to be. There are at present very nice slate houses there. The large building with the trees behind is a large corn store, and the houses next to it are shops.

Then there are a great many two-storey houses, the Market House, etc., which you cannot see in this view. The row of small cottages on the road to the Post Office, Malin-road, is very neat. The house at the top of the hill is Newpark, the cottage just below it Dohertys, the gardeners. The house on the shore with the smoke coming out of the chimney is Sir George Hill's, but it is occupied at present by Mr. Lyle, Carnagarve, to which there is a fine greenhouse built, and a garden wall, and a beautiful avenue a mile long."

Now, I comment: Molly Login's shop was, I believe, the only one in Moville, and stood by the old bridge. It is interesting to note that it was called her bridge, I suppose, to distinguish it from the ancient one. At this date, there were no buildings on the lough side of the Moville main road except Mr. Grierson's cottage.

THE VIEW OF MOVILLE FROM THE LOUGH (note - not available)
The Second Picture

My aunt's observations on this drawing are as follows: -

"This is the view of part of Moville from the water, "c" is the Police Barrack and the thatched cottages attached to it: and the long winding road leading to the baths. The Bath House is the slated house at the end of the road. The large slated houses next the Police Barracks are some of the houses you don't see I the other view. The cottage below the road, in the middle of the trees, is Mr. Grierson's, and the very small house on the shore below his cottage is a bathing house. I hope you will be able to make it all out, though, indeed, it is so changed that, except for the view and the shape of the ground, you would scarcely know it."

Thus for my aunt: I confess I cannot recognise the houses, and would be glad of suggestions. Apparently, these houses and the bath house were built between 1828 and 1831. The bath house is a fixed point for us. It will be noticed how many trees were in existence. I have no doubt they were all planted by my great-grandfather fifty years before. The Moville school-house had been in existence for some years, the old classroom was added in 1832.

MR. GRIERSON AGAIN

Some time in the 'thirties Mr. Grierson began to give trouble. His farm consisted of the land on the Lough side of Seville Main-street. He had only a short lease, but on this security only, he began to let portions of land for dwellings. Naturally, on such a short tenure, the poorest of structures were erected. But his worst act was the giving of so much ground for yards. Many have wondered why the houses, such as those of M'Connell's Hotel, and all the rest down to James-street, have been so lavishly supplied with back premises, even to the extent of a walled garden below the yards. It was Mr. Grierson s doing. My uncle, the Rev. Samuel Montgomery, was compelled to buy out Mr. Grierson at the cost of several hundred pounds, and so prevented any further loss of the Greens. Probably the Public Greens today would be larger by an acre had it not been for Mr. Grierson.

DONOVAN VISITS MOVILLE IN 1835

All Donovan's researches are to be relied upon. He found "a nice little village" here. He also gives a list of inhabitants in the neighbourhood, which is locally of interest. Doghertys, M'Loughlins, Mac Devits, Gilliams, O'Doorgiamas, MacColgans, MacConagails, Laffertys, O'Fearthams, MacFichillys, MacEtigans, MacConwells, MacKearneys, MacAteers, O'Brollogans, MacCuails, Deerys, O'Logertys, MacAcrossans, MacConalogues.

He also speaks of four "gentlemen who have seats on a small scale." Mr.
Reynolds, at Carrick; Mr. Grierson, at Moville Lodge; Mr. Montgomery, at
Newpark; Dr. Irvine, at the dispensary. He records the current wages in 1835.

"Stout men at the present time as labouring servants receive about six guineas per annum, a younger description about four guineas (of course, they were boarded and fed). Labourers are paid in winter 1 0d, and in summer 1s per day. Female servants, as spinners, are paid by farmers about £2 8s 0d per annum. When hired by a higher class as general servants, from £3 to £4. Quantities of yarn are shipped every week at Moville and Greencastle, landed at MacGilligans Point, and carried to market at Coleraine."

IRISH TERMS

Some may desire to know the meaning of "Ballyboes." It is a term for measurement of land, very ancient, going back to days when many Irish were nomads moving about with their cattle. It had an extremely indefinite meaning, but so far as I can tell, it always means measurement inside a townland. Primarily a ballyboe is the amount of ground, which is sufficient to sustain a cow. This depends upon the grass. There are places on the hills where 300 acres would not support a cow. Again, there are seven ballyboes in the 800 acres of Ballynelly - and one ballyboe in the 30 acres of Hugh Doughertys farm, where Moville now stands.

But the late Mr. Robert Nolan told me he had found other definitions in old records: such as "a cow and a calf, a "cow and a half". Bishop Reeve says that in some counties a ballyboe means as much land as a yoke of oxen could plough in a certain time.