| Richhill | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location withinNorthern Ireland | |
| Population | 2,738 (2021 Census) |
| • Belfast | 29 mi (47 km) |
| District | |
| County | |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Armagh |
| Postcode district | BT61 |
| Dialling code | 028, +44 28 |
| UK Parliament | |
| NI Assembly | |
| |
Richhill is a large village andtownland inCounty Armagh,Northern Ireland. It lies betweenArmagh andPortadown. It had a population of 2,738 people in the 2021 Census.[2]
Originally named Legacorry, it takes its name from Edward Richardson, who builtthe manor house around which the village grew.
At the beginning of the 1600s, the area of Richhill had long been part of theIrish Gaelic territory ofOneilland. In 1610, as part of thePlantation of Ulster, the land was granted to Englishman Francis Sacherevall. His granddaughter Ann married Edward Richardson, who was an English officer,Member of Parliament for County Armagh from 1655 to 1696,[3] andHigh Sheriff of Armagh in 1665.
Around 1660, Richardson builta manor house on the site that would become Richhill, and in 1664 it was reported that there were twenty houses there.[4] At this time, the village was named Legacorry,[4][5] after thetownland in which it sprang up. Legacorry comes fromIrishLog an Choire, meaning 'hollow of the cauldron'.[3][5][6]
In Thomas Molyneux'sJourney to the North (1708), the townland appears as "Legacorry, a pretty village belonging to Mr Richardson".[4] It gradually became known as Richardson's Hill and this was shortened to Rich Hill. The original gates to the manor house were wrought by two brothers named Thornberry fromFalmouth, Cornwall and were erected in 1745. In 1936 they were moved to the entrance ofHillsborough Castle.[7][8]
In 2012, it was announced that work would begin on a £1.5 million regeneration scheme, which will transform the village and involve the restoration of about 20 buildings. The Richhill Partnership began work in 2013 with the concealing of overhead wires and cables on streets within the conservation area, and building restoration work began in early March.[9]
TheUlster Railway openedRichhill railway station on the line between Belfast and Armagh on 1 March 1848.[10] It was part of theGreat Northern Railway from 1876.[11] TheGovernment of Northern Ireland forced the GNR Board to close the line on 1 October 1957.[12]
Portadown is the nearest station run byNorthern Ireland Railways with trains toLanyon Place,Bangor and theEnterprise direct toBelfast Grand Central in the east and south toNewry,Dundalk Clarke andDublin Connolly. There are proposals to reopen railway lines in Northern Ireland, including a single tracked line Mullingar-Portadown Line viaArmagh,Monaghan,Clones, andCavan and the dual trackedDerry~Londonderry-Portadown Line viaDungannon,Omagh andStrabane.[13][14]
Ulsterbus operates buses through the village, most of which operate betweenBelfast and Armagh. These include the 61, 251/a/b, 270/u (Monaghan), 271 and 551a.
Source:[22]
It had a population of 2,738 people in the 2021 Census.[2] Of these:
It had a population of 2,821 people (1,076 households) in the 2011 Census. Of these:[23]
The NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) classifies Richhill as an intermediate settlement (i.e. with population between 2,250 and 4,500 people).On Census day (29 April 2011) there were 2,818 people living in Richhill. Of these:
