In the graveyard is St. Mark's Cross (above). This is a 14ft high granite cross from the early church at Burgage, now submerged by the Blessington Lake.
Blessington was formerly
called Baile Coimin and then Burgage until 1680. In early times there
were three Churches - Kilmalum, Three Castles and Burgage. In 1547 there
were two chaplains, one at Burgage and the other at Three Castles. The
Church stood high above the Liffey beside a ford and it appears to have
been an important ecclesiastical settlement in the early Irish Christian
period. The district was first called Burgage in 1547 and continued to
be known by that name until the erection of the village and church in
1683. The word 'Buirghis' (Burris) signifies burgage or borough. The borough
of Blessington returned two members of the Irish parliament until the
Union. £15,000 was paid to the Marquis of Downshire as compensation
for the loss of this privilege. The name Blessington comes from Blessing
in the biblical sense of a gift or favour.
The Manor of
Blessington was created in 1669 by Charles 11 for Michael Boyle, Archbishop
of Dublin and cousin of the First Earl of Cork. Boyle laid out the one
street village and built the Protestant parish Church in 1662. He also
built a great brick mansion in Blessington Demesne. This house stood on
410 acres including a large deer park of 340 acres. The whole estate was
surrounded by a brick wall. (This house was destroyed by fire in 1760)
In 1678 he became Lord Chancellor of Ireland and went to live in Armagh.
He was the last ecclesiastical Chancellor of Ireland. He often returned
to Blessington and followed the custom of landowners in those days and
granted a portion of his estate for the site of a church, which he built
and furnished at his own expense. The bells bear the date 1682. In 1798
the village was attacked by insurgents and "every good house burnt
to the ground".
In the graveyard
is St. Mark's Cross (top left). This is a 14ft high granite cross from
the early church at Burgage, now submerged by the Blessington Lake.
| History
Books of the Area An Emigrant Nun. |
| Elizabeth Smith – from Bombay to Baltiboys. |
A
personal reflection of coming to Blessington
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page will take about 12 seconds to download @ 28.8 Kpbs)
The
Manor of Blessington Created by Michael Boyle
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The
mapping of the Ordinance Survey across the Wicklow Gap in 1839
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Interments
in the Blessington Area
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Placenames around Blessington
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Russborough
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The
Battle in the Hayfield.
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The Most Gorgeous Lady Blessington
The Ulster Bank (Downshire Lodge)
The Blessington Estate 1667 - 1908