Clifton is a

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

in the Parish of

Tomregan Tomregan ( ga, Tuaim Dreagain, ) is a civil parish in the ancient barony of Tullyhaw. The parish straddles the international border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The largest population centre in the parish is Ballyconn ...

, Barony of

Loughtee Lower Loughtee Lower (), or Lower Loughtee, is a barony in County Cavan, Republic of Ireland. Baronies were mainly cadastral rather than administrative units. They acquired modest local taxation and spending functions in the 19th century before being ...

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Etymology

The townland name is an anglicisation of the Gaelic placename ''Clochán'' which means 'A small beehive-shaped stone house". The 1790 Cavan Carvaghs list spells the name as ''Cloghan''.

Geography

It is bounded on the north & east by

Aghavoher Aghavoher () is small a townland in the civil parish of Tomregan, County Cavan, Ireland. It is approximately in area and lies in the former barony of Loughtee Lower. Geography Aghavoher is bounded on the north by Cranaghan townland, on the west ...

townland, on the south by

Breandrum, Tullyhunco Breandrum (Irish derived place name, either Brea an Droim meaning 'The Fine Hill-Ridge' or Bréan Droim meaning 'The Filthy Hill-Ridge'.) is a townland in the civil parish of Kildallan, barony of Tullyhunco, County Cavan, Ireland. Geography Brea ...

and

Berrymount Berrymount is a townland in the Parish of Tomregan, Barony of Loughtee Lower, County Cavan, Ireland. Etymology The townland name means 'The Hill of James Berry', who took a lease of the land in 1753 and erected a mansion there. The earliest re ...

townlands and on the west by

Mullynagolman Mullynagolman is a townland in the Parish of Tomregan, Barony of Loughtee Lower, County Cavan, Ireland. Etymology The townland name is an anglicisation of the Gaelic placename ''Mullach na gColmán'' which means 'Summit of the Pigeons'. The ol ...

townland. Its chief geographical features are some small drumlin hills reaching to 300 feet above sea-level. Clifton is traversed by Ardlougher lane. The townland covers 82 statute acres.

History

Clifton formed part of the termon lands belonging to

Roman Catholic Church which were granted to the Protestant Bishop of Kilmore in 1610 as part of the

Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the sett ...

. By a lease dated 6 April 1612 the said bishop granted the lands to Sir Oliver Lambart of

Kilbeggan Kilbeggan () is a town in the barony of Moycashel, County Westmeath, Ireland. Geography Kilbeggan is situated on the River Brosna, in the south of County Westmeath. It lies south of Lough Ennell, and Castletown Geoghegan, north of the boundar ...

County Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces o ...

and Sir

Garret Moore, 1st Viscount Moore Garret Moore, 1st Viscount Moore PC (I) (1564 – 9 November 1627) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. Birth and origins Garret was a son of Sir Edward Moore of Mellifont and his wife Elizabeth Clifford. His father was a knight and owner of ...

Mellifont Mellifont Abbey ( ga, An Mhainistir Mhór, literally 'the Big Monastery'), was a Cistercian abbey located close to Drogheda in County Louth, Ireland. It was the first abbey of the order to be built in Ireland. In 1152, it hosted the Synod of Ke ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

. On 17 July 1639 the bishop re-granted the lands to

Charles Lambart, 1st Earl of Cavan Charles Lambart, 1st Earl of Cavan (c. March 1600 – 25 June 1660) was an Anglo-Irish Royalist soldier and peer. Lambart was the son of Oliver Lambart, 1st Baron Lambart and Hester Fleetwood. He served as the Member of Parliament for Bossiney ...

. In the 1740s the bishop leased the land to John Jones for 21 years. This lease was renewed to his descendant John Copeland Jones on 20 May 1843. In the 1860s the holder of the lease was David Fielding Jones. The Tithe Applotment Books for 1827 list the following tithepayers in the townland- Berry, Faris, Pringle. The Ordnance Survey Name Books for 1836 give the following description of the townland- ''Lies in the South of the parish, 3 miles from Ballyconnell. Bishop's land. Held on lease by Jones. Lease rent 5 shillings & 6d per arable acre. The houses are built of mud. The soil produces oats and potatoes.'' The Clifton Valuation Office Field books are available for December 1838.

Griffith's Valuation Griffith's Valuation was a boundary and land valuation survey of Ireland completed in 1868. Griffith's background Richard John Griffith started to value land in Scotland, where he spent two years in 1806-1807 valuing terrain through the examinati ...

of 1857 lists the landlord of the townland as Jones & the tenants as Faris, Pringle and Griffith.

Census

In the 1901 census of Ireland, there are four families listed in the townland. In the 1911 census of Ireland, there are three families listed in the townland.http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Cavan/Carn/Clifton/ ''Census of Ireland 1911''

Antiquities

# A Bronze-Age ring-barrow on the border with Aghavoher (Site number 94, page 20, Aghavoher townland, in "Archaeological Inventory of County Cavan", Patrick O’Donovan, 1995, where it is described as- ''Marked 'Fort' on OS 1836 and 1876 eds. Sited on the S slope of a steep hill. Raised circular area (int. diam. 11.8m) enclosed by a low earthen bank with a wide, deep internal fosse. The internal area is greatly disturbed by a modern field boundary running NNW-SSE which divides the site into two roughly equal portions. Original entrance not recognisable''.)

References

External links

The IreAtlas Townland Data Base
{{coord missing, County Cavan Townlands of County Cavan