Mullavilly-Laurelvale
Encyclopedia
Mullavilly-Laurelvale is a village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...

, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

. It was once two settlements but they have since merged. The village is 3 miles south of Portadown
Portadown
Portadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast...

 and 1.5 miles northwest of Tandragee. In the 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

 Mullavilly-Laurelvale had a population of 1,258.

Name

The village covers the townland
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...

s of Mullavilly and Tamnaghvelton (formerly Tawnavalteny). Laurelvale was the name of a mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...

 that was built in the 19th Century.

History

Mullavilly-Laurelvale was founded in the 1850s by Thomas Sinton
Thomas Sinton
Thomas Sinton, JP was an Irish industrialist and magistrate. Sinton made a significant impact upon the Irish linen trade; not least establishing the village of Laurelvale, County Armagh....

 JP
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 (1826–1887) to house the workers in his linen mill of Thomas Sinton & Co. Ltd, which was in the village. At its height, Sintons' Mill had over 1000 workers. The mill has since been demolished. The company remained in family ownership until 1945 when it was taken over by the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....

 and operated by Hoffmans (who made ball bearing
Ball bearing
A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races.The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It achieves this by using at least two races to contain the balls and transmit...

s for gun turrets). The Sinton family also ran mills and bleach-works in Tandragee, Killyleagh
Killyleagh
Killyleagh is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the A22 road from Downpatrick, on the western side of Strangford Lough. It had a population of 2,483 people in the 2001 Census. It is best known for its 12th century Killyleagh Castle...

, Tullylish
Tullylish
Tullylish is a small village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It sits on the River Bann, along the main road between the towns of Banbridge and Portadown. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 105 people...

 and at Ravarnet outside Hillsborough, County Down
Hillsborough, County Down
Hillsborough is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland, situated from the city of Belfast. It is within the Lisburn City Council area....

.

Thomas Sinton also built a large house in the village, Laurelvale House, which, following the Second World War, was the home of Michael Torrens-Spence
Michael Torrens-Spence
Captain Frederick Michael Alexander Torrens-Spence DSO, DSC, AFC was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm pilot in the Second World War...

, Lord Lieutenant of County Armagh. Laurelvale House has since been demolished to make way for housing development.

Sport

Laurelvale F.C.
Laurelvale F.C.
Laurelvale is an intermediate-level football club playing in the Intermediate A division of the Mid-Ulster Football League in Northern Ireland. The club are under the new management of former player Mark Robinson after the highly successful Keith Wilkinson left for Annagh United at the end of the...

 has a ground in the Laurel Park area of the village. Laurelvale Cricket Club has a clubhouse on Mullavilly Road.

2001 Census

Mullavilly-Laurelvale is classified as a village by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,258 people living in Mullavilly-Laurelvale. Of these:
  • 25.0% were aged under 16 years and 12.7% were aged 60 and over
  • 49.5% of the population were male and 50.5% were female
  • 9.2% were from a Catholic
    Catholic
    The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

     background and 90.8% were from a Protestant
    Protestantism
    Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

    background
  • 2.1% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed


For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

External links

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