Banbridge

Town in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the River Lower Bann, 35 km/22 mi southwest of Belfast; population (2001) 14,700. It is a shopping and service centre with a small textile industry and shoe manufacturing. In the past, the main industry in Banbridge was the manufacture of linen.

Lisnagade ring fort, 5 km/3 mi southwest of Banbridge, is the largest of the forts that marked the boundary of the ancient kingdoms of Ulaidh and Oriel. Scarva, 6 km/4 mi southwest of Banbridge, was the site where William III's armies gathered before marching to the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, and is therefore an important focus in the annual celebrations of Protestant Orangemen.

Banbridge

Administrative region in the south of Northern Ireland, serving an area in the northwest of County Down; area 451 sq km/174 sq mi; population (2001) 41,400. The towns under the council's remit include Banbridge, Scarva, Gilford, Loughbrickland, and Rathfriland. The principal sources of employment include agriculture, clothing and textile manufacture, engineering, and the service sector.