LOUTH, a maritime county in the province of Leinster, Ireland, is bounded on the N.E. by Carlingford Bay and the county of Down, E. by the Irish Sea, S.W. by Meath, and N.W. by Monaghan and Armagh. It is the smallest county in Ireland, the area comprising 202,124 acres, or 316 square miles.
The greater part of the surface is undulating, with occasionally lofty hills; and in the north-east, on the borders of Carlingford Bay, there is a range of mountains approaching 2000 feet in height. Many of the hills are finely wooded, and towards the sea-coast the scenery, in the more elevated districts, is strikingly picturesque. The northern mountains are composed of felspathic and pyroxenic rocks. The lower districts rest chiefly on clayslate and limestone. With the exception of the promontory of Clogher Head, which rises abruptly to a height of 180 feet, the sea-coast is for the most part low and sandy. The narrow and picturesque bay of Carlingford is navigable beyond the limits of the county, and the bay of Dundalk stretches to the town of that name and affords convenient shelter for a harbour. The principal rivers are the Fane, the Lagan, the Clyde, and the Dee, which all flow eastwards. None of these are navigable, but the Boyne, which forms the southern boundary of the county, is navigable for large vessels as far as Drogheda.
Agriculture.— In the lower regions the soil is a very rich deep mould, admirably adapted both for cereals and green crops. The higher mountain regions are covered principally with heath. Agriculture generally is in an advanced condition, and the farms are for the most part well drained....
In 1880 there were 97,954 acres, or nearly one-half of the total area, under tillage, while 74,944 were pasture, 4585 plantations, and 24,135 waste. The total number of holdings in 1880 was 8216, of which 1294 were less than 1 acre in extent. No less than 5340 were below 15 acres in extent, and of these 2486 were between 5 and 15 acres. The following table shows the areas under the principal crops in 1855 and 1881 :— [table]
Between 1855 and 1881 horses have diminished from 12,133 to 10,810, of which 7394 are used for agricultural purposes. The number of cattle has increased only slightly, from 32,107 to 34,739, of which 8728 are milch cows. Sheep in 1855 numbered 31,712, and 33,362 in 1881. Pigs in 1881 numbered 10,471, and poultry 241,446. According to the last return the land was divided among 1279 proprietors, who possessed 200,287 acres, with an annual rateable value of £209,090, or 20s. 10(1. per acre. Of the owners, 45 per cent, possessed less than 1 acre, and the average size of the properties was 156 acres. The largest proprietors were Lord Clermont, 20,369 acres; Viscount Masserene, 7193; A. H. Smith Barry, 6239; Colonel J. C. W. Fortescue, 5262; and Lord Beilew, 5109.
Manufactures and Trade.— Sheetings and coarse linen cloth are manufactured in some places. Many of the inhabitants are engaged in deep-sea fishing, and there is a very valuable oyster fishery in Carlingford Bay. At Newry, Drogheda, and Dundalk a considerable coasting trade is carried on.
Railways.— The county is intersected from north to south by the Dundalk and Belfast line, and the Irish North-Western line passes westwards from Dundalk to Enniskillen.
Administration and Population.— The county includes 6 baronies, 64 parishes, and 674 townlands. It is in the north-eastern circuit. Assizes are held at Dundalk, and quarter sessions at Ardee, Drogheda, and Dundalk. There are ten petty sessions districts within the county and a portion of one. It includes portions of the three poor-law unions of Ardee, Drogheda, and Dundalk. With the exception of Drogheda, which is in the Dublin military district, the county is in the Belfast military district; and there are barracks at Dundalk. Besides the two members at present returned by the county, and one member by each of the boroughs of Drogheda and Dundalk, Louth in the Irish parliament was represented by an additional member for each of the boroughs of Drogheda and Dundalk, and by two members for each of the boroughs of Ardee, Carlingford, and Dunleer. The principal towns are Drogheda (14,662) and Dundalk (12,294). In 1760 the population was estimated at 67,572, which in 1841 had increased to 128,347, but in 1851 had diminished to 108,018, in 1871 to 84,021, and in 1881 to 78,228, of whom 38,241 were males and 39,987 females. From 1st May 1851 to 31st December 1881, the number of emigrants was 33,521, a percentage of 37’2 of the average population during that period. The marriage rate to every 1000 of estimated population in 1880 was 3 - 4, the birth rate 23 - 5, and the death rate 21’4.
History and Antiquities.— In the time of Ptolemy, Louth was inhabited by the Voluntii. Subsequently it was included in the principality of Orgial or Argial, which comprehended also the greater part of Meath, Monaghan, and Armagh. A subordinate, territory which included Louth was known as Hy·Conal and Machuire-Conal. The chieftain of the district was conquered by John de Courcy in 1183, and in 1210 that part of the territory now known as Louth was made shire ground by King John, and peopled by English settlers. Until the time of Elizabeth it was included iiι Ulster.
In the county there are a large number of antiquarian remains of special interest. There are ruins of Draidical altars at Balrighan and Carrick Edmond, and of a Druidical temple at Ballinahatrey near Dundalk. The round tower at Monasterboice is in very good preservation, and there are remains of another at Dromiskin. The most remarkable cromlechs are those on Killin Hill and at Ballymascanlan. At Killin Hill there is an extraordinary fort called Faghs∙ na-ain-eighc, or “the one night’s work”; and near Ballymascanlan is Castle Rath, surrounded by lesser raths, and having a remarkable tumulus in its vicinity. About 2 miles from Dundalk there is a very ancient structure, the origin of which has been much discussed. Near Balrighan there is a curious artificial cave. A large number of spears, swords, axes of bronze, gold ornaments, and other relics of antiquity have been discovered. There are a great number of Danish and other old forts. Originally there are said to have been no fewer than twenty religious houses within the county. Of these there are interesting remains at Carlingford; at Faughart, where is also to be seen St Bridget’s stone and pillar; at Mellifont, the architecture of which is specially beautiful and elaborate; and at Monasterboice, where there are two crosses, one of which, St Boyne’s, is the most ancient and most finely decorated in Ireland.
LOUTH, a municipal borough and market-town of Lincolnshire, England, is pleasantly situated on the river Lud, and on a branch of the Great Northern Railway, 25 miles east-north-east of Lincoln. By means of a canal, completed in 1763, at a cost of <£28,000, there is water communication with Hull. The town is about a mile in length, and is well built and paved. The church of St James, completed about 1516, in the Later English style, wdth a spire 288 feet in height, is one of the finest ecclesiastical buildings in the county. There are an Edward VI. grammar school, which is richly endowed, a commercial school founded in 1676, and a national school. The other public buildings include a town-hall, a corn exchange, and a market-hall. In the vicinity are the ruins of a Cistercian abbey, founded in 1139. The industries include the manufacture of carpets, tanning, iron-founding, brewing, malting, lime burning, and rope and brickmaking.
The population, which in 1851 was 10,467, had increased in 1871 to 10,500, and in 1881 to 10,690.
Louth is a corruption of Ludôl, the ancient name of the river Lud. It received a charter of incorporation from Edward VI. In 1536 the town took part in the “Pilgrimage of Grace,” on which account the vicar was executed at Tyburn. Alfred and Charles Tennyson were educated at the grammar school, and their little volume entitled Poems by Two Brothers was published by a Louth bookseller, whose shop still exists.
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