NEWTOWN-MOUNT-KENNEDY, a post-town, in
the parish and barony of NEWCASTLE, county of WICKLOW,
and province of LEINSTER, 7 miles (N.) from
Wicklow, and 17 (S. by E.) from Dublin; containing
825 inhabitants. The town is situated on the mail coach
road from Dublin to Wexford, and owes its origin and its
name to Alderman Kennedy, who was knighted in the
reign of Chas. II. and obtained a grant of the manor.
In the disturbances of 1798 it was the scene of a sharp
skirmish between the insurgents and the King's forces;
the former, to the number of about 1000, variously
armed, commenced an attack on the town, early in the
morning of the 30th of May, by burning some houses;
but on advancing to the market-house, they were opposed
by the little garrison, consisting of a detachment
of the Ancient Briton cavalry, another of the Antrim
militia, and some yeomen cavalry, in all 100. In the
first onset the commander of the Ancient Britons was
killed and the captain and lieutenant of the yeomen
severely wounded, but after some loss on both sides the
insurgents were totally routed. The town is pleasantly
situated on a declivity towards the east, in the centre of
some of the most beautiful scenery in the county. It
chiefly consists of one wide street, with a small markethouse
in the centre, which being disused as such for a
long time, is now called the court-house; and contains
123 houses irregularly built, some slated, but the greater
number low and thatched. The market, which was held
on Friday, has been discontinued. Fairs are held on Feb.
2nd, April 5th, June 29th, Aug. 15th, Oct. 29th, and
Dec. 21st. Petty sessions are held on alternate Saturdays,
and road sessions every quarter. It is also a constabulary
police station. There is a fever hospital and
dispensary, supported in the usual manner. On an
eminence near the northern entrance of the town a
church is in progress of erection, as a chapel of ease to
Newcastle, on a site given by Robert Gun Cunningham,
Esq., the lord of the manor, who also contributed £100
towards its construction: it is in the later English
style, and although not finished, divine service is performed
in it. About 120 children are educated gratuitously
in a school kept in the old market-house. The
town has an excellent inn, well supplied with carriages
of various descriptions. In the neighbourhood are
some of the most beautiful and romantic places in
the county, such as the Glen of the Downs, Belview,
described under Delgany; Woodstock, under Newcastle;
Dunran, Kiltimon, and the Devil's Glen, under
Killeskey; and in its immediate vicinity are several
fine mansions and elegant villas. Mount-Kennedy,
formerly the residence of Sir Richard Kennedy, was
purchased from his descendant by the late Gen. Cunningham,
who was afterwards raised to the peerage by
the title of Baron Rossmore, and who expended upwards
of £60,000 in plantations and other improvements: it
is now the seat of R. Gun Cunningham, Esq. The house
is a noble structure of the Ionic order, built after a design
by Wyatt: from the portico on the western side is
a fine prospect of highly ornamented grounds, closed in
by the mountains in the distance; and from the eastern
front another prospect equally rich in scenery and more
extensive in scope, terminated by the sea: on the lawn
grew an arbutus of extraordinary dimensions, which
being shattered by a storm, the arms, having been laid
down and taken root, serve by the extent of ground they
spread over to convey an idea of the great size of the
parent trunk: the demesne contains some very fine
specimens of the sweet chesnut, oak, and ash in the
highest degree of vigour. In the hall are the fossil
horns of a moose deer, found with several others at
Kiltimon, Altidore, the seat of the Rev. L. W. Hepenstal,
is a large and plain building, but the grounds
are peculiarly picturesque: in a wooded glen near the
house is a succession of cascades of great height, over
which the late proprietor, Mr. Blachford, threw alpine
bridges, and also constructed seats and laid out a series
of walks calculated to display its beauties to the utmost
advantage: the glen, called the Hermitage, formerly
contained the mansion of Col. Carey. Glendarragh, the
elegant seat of St. George Knudson, Esq., on an
eminence overhanging a richly wooded glen; East Hill,
of Jas. Lamb Audouin, Esq.; Monaline, of T. J. Stamper,
Esq.; Hermitage, of the Rev. Joseph Callwell; Ballinahinch,
of - Rider, Esq.; Truddar House, of S. Henry,
Esq.; Newtown, of J. Armstrong, Esq.; and Warble
Bank, of Mrs. Smyth, are all worthy of notice.