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LondonderryHistoric city and port on the River Foyle, 35 km/22 mi from Lough Foyle, county town of County Londonderry, Northern Ireland; population (2001) 105,100. Industries include engineering, information technology, food processing, clothes manufacturing, and elasthane. History Londonderry dates from the foundation of a monastery there by St Columba in AD 546. The city was subject to a number of sieges by the Danes between the 9th and 11th centuries, and by the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century; however, these were unsuccessful until James I of England captured the city in 1608. The king granted the borough and surrounding land to the citizens of London. The Irish Society was formed to build and administer the city and a large colony of English Protestants was established. The city, then governed by Major Henry Baker and the Reverend George Walker, was unsuccessfully besieged in 1689 by the armies of James II, who had fled England when William of Orange was declared joint sovereign with James's daughter Mary. James's army was led by Richard Talbot, Earl of Tyrconnell, in a conflict known as the Siege of Derry, when 13 Derry apprentices and citizens loyal to William of Orange locked the city gates against the Jacobite army. The siege lasted 15 weeks, during which many of the inhabitants died of starvation and disease because of the blockade. Features the Protestant Cathedral of St Columba dating from 1633; the Gothic revival Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Eugene (completed in 1833); the Guildhall (rebuilt in 1912), containing stained glass windows presented by livery companies of the City of London; the city walls, on which are modern iron statues by the English artist, Anthony Gormley; four gates into the city still survive. The Catholic church of St Columba is on the site of the 12th-century abbey, Teampall Mor. The University of Ulster Magee Campus is located here. |
Topography The old city walls that still surround Londonderry extend for over 1 km/0.5 mi and include seven gates and several bastions. The waterside, the part of the city on the right bank of the Foyle, is connected to the old city by the Craigavon Bridge (opened in 1933), which carries a roadway 360 m/1,180 ft long. The original eight bells in the tower of the Cathedral of St Columba were recast in 1929 and another five were added. Among the parks are Brooke Park in which is situated the municipal library, St Columba's Park, and Meenan Park. |
From Derry to Londonderry Derry was pillaged by the Danes on several occasions. In 1164 Abbot O'Brolchain, the first bishop of Derry, built the Teampall Mor or ‘great church’, and in 1311 the town was granted to Richard de Burgo, Earl of Ulster. An uneventful period of several centuries followed until the rebellion in 1566 of Shane O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone. O'Neill suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Edward Randolph, commander of the English forces, and was killed. However, Randolph's successor, Edward St Low, abandoned Derry in 1568, after an accidental explosion in which the town and fort, including the Teampall Mor, were blown up. |
| The town of Derry was fortified and garrisoned by the English, and made a city in 1608. In 1609, during the Plantation of Ireland, James I granted Derry, Coleraine, and a large tract of land between to the City of London. The land was distributed among the London livery companies, but in order to avoid jealousy among the companies, the City of London Corporation retained the boroughs of Londonderry and Coleraine. The Irish Society was formed in 1613 to administer the boroughs; its members were appointed from within the City of London Corporation. The Society was incorporated by royal charter in 1613 and was trustee for the Corporation. Its court consisted of a governor, a deputy governor, and 24 assistants, in addition to the Recorder of London. It was on account of the connection with the City of London Corporation that the name of the city was changed from Derry to Londonderry. Nationalists still know it as Derry but their repeated attempts to change its name have failed, as this requires an act of Parliament. The local council has been named City of Derry since 1984. |
| The port was a major naval base during World War II, but has declined in importance since. |
LondonderryHistoric county of Northern Ireland; area 2,070 sq km/799 sq mi. Nationalists know it as Derry, but their attempts to change its name have failed, as this requires an act of Parliament. The principal towns and cities are Londonderry/Derry, Coleraine, Portstewart, and Limavady. The county is bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, and is dominated by the Sperrin Mountains which run in an arc from southwest to northeast, dividing the lowlands fringing the River Bann in the east from those of the River Foyle in the west. It borders the Republic of Ireland to the west. Administrative responsibility for the county is held by the councils of Londonderry/Derry, Magherafelt, Coleraine, and Limavady. Mount Sawell (670 m/2,198 ft) in the Sperrin Mountains is the county's highest peak. The Roe and the Faughan are the main westward flowing streams, while the Bann forms the eastern border for most of its length. Other waterways include the Moyola and Clandy rivers. The county has Ireland's longest beach, Magilligan Strand. The ruined Downhill Castle estate contains the cliff-top Mussenden Temple, built in classical style, to accommodate a bishop's library. Londonderry| Town in southeastern New Hampshire, 22 km/14 mi southeast of Manchester; population (1990 est) 19,800. Near Merrimack and Nashua, and on the fringes of the Boston area, Londonderry is a growing suburb, although agriculture remains important. |
| Early settlers, here since the 1720s, grew flax and potatoes and made linen. |
Londonderry| Administrative region in the north of Northern Ireland, on the northern coast of County Londonderry/Derry; area 381 sq km/147 sq mi; population (2001) 105,350. The town under the council's remit is Londonderry/Derry. The principal sources of employment include information technology, the communications industry, textiles, engineering, local government, distribution, airports, and retail. |
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