Wellpark

Information taken from a variety of official documents

Research: Noreen Shiel, Abbey Heritage

Wellpark Townland

Wellpark, Pairc an Tobair, Well Field

Wellpark is a small townland in the civil parish of Ballinakill, in the electoral district of Abbeyville, the barony of Leitrim and the county of Galway. It is situated in the north east end of the parish of Ballynakill (sic), about 3 miles north east of Woodford partially cultivated and chiefly composed of rough boggy land. The south end is known by Park a Tubber and it derived this name from a well in the southwest end called Feigheen’s Well close by the north east side of Feigheen’s grave yard. This civil parish corresponds with the following Roman Catholic parish or parishes: Abbey & Duniry in Galway East and Woodford in Galway East. This civil parish corresponds with the following Church of Ireland parish, Ballinakill.

According to O’Donovan’s Field Name Books (1838) the standard name of the townland is Well Park. O’Donovan also states that there is a reference to Well Park in the following documents:  S Sketch and Hyath. Clarke, Esq.

Old Age Pension

There were no records for this townland.

Tithe Applotment 1834

The Tithe Applotment Books were compiled between 1823 and 1837 in order to determine the amount which occupiers of agricultural holdings over one acre should pay in tithes to the Church of Ireland. The land was measured in Irish acres or plantation acres at the time and this equated to 1.6198 English acres.

The tithe applotment for the townland of Wellpark was undertaken in 1834. It states that the townland of Wellpark was in the parish of Ballinakill and in the Diocese of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh

There was one proprietor in the townland at this time, namely Lord Riverston.

According to the Tithe Applotment Books he held 35 acres 3 roods and 30 perches of land which was occupied by 2 named tenants. The following is an account of the tenants’ landholdings, the value of their acres, the amount of composition of the tithe and how this was dispersed among the church hierarchy:

Wm  [William] Craughwell held 13 acres 2 roods of land that was valued at £1 2s 0d per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £14 17s 0d. He paid 8s 11d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 1s 1½d and the Vicar received 5s 6¾d which was a total of 6s 8¼d.

Lauc [Laurence] Abberton held 22 acres 1 rood and 30 perches of land that was valued at £1 2s 0d  per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £24 13s 8d. He paid 14s 8d of a tithe tax.  The Bishop got 1s 9d and the Vicar received 9s 3d which was a total of 11 shillings.

Griffith’s Valuation

According to Griffith’s Valuation (1855) the area of Wellpark is 58 acres, 1 rood and 2 perches. The valuation of the land was £22 10s 0d and the valuation of the buildings was £1 10s 0d giving a total valuation of £24 0s 0d. Anthony F Nugent was the immediate leaser of all the land in Wellpark. There were just two occupiers listed: Peter Murray who had a rateable valuation of £13 5s 0d and William Craughwell who had an annual rateable valuation of £10 5s 0d.

Census 1901

The N Form shows that there were two inhabited houses at the time of the 1901 census with 11 inhabitants. There were 5 males and 6 females and all were Roman Catholics. All the residents were born in Co Galway. Elizabeth Quinn and William Croughwell were the heads of the households. According to the B1 Form both houses were built as private dwellings and had walls made from permanent material and the roofs were made from perishable material. The B2 Form reveals that there was a total of 10 outhouses consisting of 2 stables, 2 cow houses, 2 piggeries,  2 barns, and 2 sheds. Form A was collected from both Wellpark households on 8th April 1901.

Elizabeth Quinn was a widow and was 55 years of age. She lived with her daughter, Elizabeth who was 18 years old and her son Pat who was 17 years old and 8 year old John Francis Power who was listed as a relation. There was no occupation listed for any of the family apart from John Francis Power who was a scholar. The adult children, Elizabeth and Pat are single. All the family could read and write and Elizabeth the head of the family could speak both Irish and English. Elizabeth Quinn’s house had 3 front windows and it was listed as a second class house with 3 rooms. Elizabeth owned the land on which the house was built and had 5 outhouses, consisting of 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 calf house, 1 piggery, and 1 barn.

William Croughwell was 60 years old and he was a farmer. He lived with his wife Mary who was 35 years old and his children: Margaret who was 11 years old; John who was 9 years of age; Tessa who was 7 years old; Catherine who was 5 years old and one year old Pat. Margaret, John, Tessa and Catherine were scholars. William, Mary, Margaret and John could read and write while Tessa could read. William and Mary spoke Irish and English.

William Croughwell’s house had 3 front windows and it was listed as a second class house with 3 rooms. Michael owned the land on which the house was built and had 5 outhouses, consisting of 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 calf house, 1 piggery, and 1 barn.

Census 1911

The N Form shows that there were two inhabited houses at the time of the 1911 census with 13 inhabitants. There were 6 males and 7 females and all were Roman Catholics. All of the inhabitants were born in Co Galway. Lizzy Quinn and William Croughwell were the heads of the households.  According to the B1 Form both houses were built as private dwellings and had walls made from permanent material and the roofs were made from perishable material. The B2 Form reveals that there was a total of 2 outhouses, both cow houses. Form A was collected from both households on 6th April 1911.

Lizzy Quinn was 70 years of age and she was a widow.  She lived with her son Pat who was 32 years old and her nephew John Francis Power who was 20 years old. Lizzy’s occupation was listed as a farmer while Pat and John Francis were both farm labourers. All the occupants could read and write. Pat was married and John Francis was single. Lizzy Quinn’s house had 3 front windows and it was listed as a second class house with 3 rooms. Lizzy owned the land on which the house was built and she had 1 outhouse, namely a cow house.

William Croughwell was 75 years old and his occupation was listed as farmer. He lived with his wife Mary who was 44 years old and his children: Margaret M who was 21 years old; John who was 18 years of age; Kathleen who was 14 years old and Pat who was 11 years old.  All the Croughwell family could read and write. William, Margaret M, John, Kathleen and Patrick spoke Irish and English. Also resident was 46 years old Daniel Donnelly who was a relative of William Croughwell. Daniel’s 3 young children Mary Delia who was 5 years old, Annie T who was 3 years old and 2 year old Kathleen were also resident. Daniel could read and write. William was married for 23 years to Mary and they had 6 children, 4 of whom survived. Daniel Donnelly was a widower. He was a herdsman and his children Mary Delia and Annie T were scholars as were Kathleen and Patrick Croughwell. William Croughwell’s house had 3 front windows and it was listed as a second class house with 3 rooms. William owned the land on which the house was built and had 1 outhouse, namely a cow house.

 

 

This page was added on 12/07/2015.

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