Major
George Rawdon, (1604-1684) came to the area in 1631 to manage
the Estate of Viscount Conway at Killultagh. He built the
Garrison for soldiers at Aghalee. We call the place Soldierstown.
The garrison was close to the site of Soldierstown church.
George
Rawdon
There was a Rebellion in 1641-2, when the armies
of Sir Phelim O'Neill attacked Lisburn. George Rawdon, with
an army of 200 Englishmen fought off the enemy. Twice he escaped
death (in Lisburn 1641 and in Armagh 1642) when in each battle
his horse was shot from under him.
Rawdon received large grants of land, particularly O’Lavery’s
lands and property in Dublin, as a reward for saving Lisburn.
Rawdon was responsible for the early growth and development
of Lisburn after the Rebellion. He also bought the Ballynahinch
estate around 1660. Over the next twenty years he rebuilt
Ballynahinch from scratch, erected cornmills, and laid out
the market square. But Moira was always a special place for
the Rawdon family.
Arthur Rawdon
Arthur Rawdon, (1662-1695) was born and grew up here. Like
his father, he was a Member of Parliament and became a General
in King William of Orange's Army. When King William landed
in Ireland, Rawdon fought on his side. He was such an effective
leader that he was given the nickname “Cock of the North.”
Rawdon was seriously wounded in the trenches in Portglenone,
yet still led his men through tremendous battles and eventually
was besieged in Derry. (1688-1689) There he became dangerously
ill. He still played a very important role in the events of
that siege but because of illness he had to escape and he
returned to Moira. He gave up being a soldier and set about
developing the Moira estate and became Sir Arthur.
Sadly Sir Arthur lived only a short time to enjoy the garden
he created and loved, for he died in 1695 on his 33rd birthday.
Sir Arthur's successor was Sir John (1690-1723). Throughout
his short life he had much ill health, owing to tuberculosis.
He was buried in the family vault underneath the newly consecrated
Parish Church - perhaps the first burial there.
Rawdon's Church and burial place
His son, also called John, (1720-1793) was born in the castle
and inherited the estates at the age of three. He is the one
credited with the development of the village, though if dates
are correct; it is more likely his father was the prime developer.
It is generally accepted the village was completed in 1735
at which point young John was only 15 years old. John was
also knighted and later became Earl of Moira in 1762. This
first Earl was a well known figure in Irish Government circles.
Eventually
the Rawdon family moved their seat to Ballynahinch around
1770. But when Sir John died in Dublin in 1793, his funeral
was the largest ever seen in Ireland and it took place in
Moira. He was buried in the family vault in St. John's. The
funeral was attended by up to 800 carriages, with 4000 people,
among whom 2000 hatbands and scarves were distributed.”
Around
1770 the castle was let to Colonel William Sharman, Irish
M.P. for Lisburn. The Sharman family lived here for only a
short time. A son was born here and became a very notable
and radical politician called William Sharman-Crawford.
In 1800
the Demesne was purchased by the family of Sir Robert Bateson.
Mr Bateson was MP for County Londonderry. He owned Belvoir
Park in Belfast. He resided there; it is likely that Moira
Castle was a ruin by this time. His son Thomas became Lord
Deramore in 1885. The Bateson family built the Market House
in 1810 and their crest is prominent on the building.
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