Upperlands

Upperlands (Irish name: Ath an Phortáin; i.e. "Ford of the little bank") is a small village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is situated 3 miles north east of Maghera. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 535 people. It lies within the Magherafelt District Council area.

History

Upperlands owes its existence to the linen industry and the Clark family who established the first linen mill there in 1736. Subsequent development of the industry led to the construction of substantial residences and small groups of workers homes, and shaped the form and character of Upperlands. Boyne Row (a group of listed buildings), in its riverside setting, represents workers housing, built by the mill-owners. There are four man-made lakes or "dams" in Upperlands. These used to serve the linen mills. They are Craig's dam, Island dam, Green dam and Lapping-room dam. There is a scenic walk around the dams and they are kept stocked with fish for the benefit of anglers.

Amenities

The centre of the village has a post office, a small shop called Junes Superstore, and a Royal British Legion. Upperlands also has a flute band which goes to parades throughout the year.

Education

*Ampertaine Primary School

port

Upperlands currently has its own football club, Upperlands FC, which plays in the lower leagues of the Northern Ireland football system.

People

*Dean Shiels (born 1 February 1985) is a Northern Irish professional footballer currently playing for Hibernian in the Scottish Premier League. He was previously contracted to Arsenal, but made no first team appearances for the club. He was born and grew up in Upperlands. Dean is also a regular member of the Northern Ireland International squad.

*British cyclist from Upperlands, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, [1] riding on both the road and track, but specialising in the latter. She has represented the United Kingdom in various world cycling championships, most notably winning a gold medal in the team pursuit at the 2008 Track World Championships. She has also won various British national competitions and represented England at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. On the road, she rides under the sponsorship of Science in Sport.com. Houvenaghel is based in Cornwall. [1] Wendy will also partake in the Individual Pursuit at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Transport

*Upperlands railway station opened on 18 December 1880, closed for passenger traffic on 28 August 1950 and finally closed altogether on 1 October 1959. [cite web | title=Upperlands station | work=Railscot - Irish Railways | url=http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf | accessdate=2007-11-24]

2001 Census

Upperlands is classified as a small village or hamlet by the [http://www.nisra.gov.uk/ NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)] (ie with population between 500 and 1,000 people).On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 535 people living in Upperlands. Of these:
*21.5% were aged under 16 years and 21.2% were aged 60 and over
*51.2% of the population were male and 48.8% were female
*4.9% were from a Catholic background and 94.4% were from a Protestant background
*4.2% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed

For more details see: [http://www.ninis.nisra.gov.uk/ NI Neighbourhood Information Service]

See also

*List of villages in Northern Ireland
*List of towns in Northern Ireland

References

*Draft Magherafelt Area Plan 2015

External links

* [http://www.upperlands.net/ Upperlands Linen Village]
* [http://www.henokiens.com/index_william_gb.php William Clark & Sons]