Binghamstown () 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 ...

and village in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

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 ...

. It lies on the R313 regional road on the

Mullet Peninsula The Mullet Peninsula ( ga, Leithinis an Mhuirthead)—also known as the Mullet (''an Mhuirthead'') and sometimes as the Erris Peninsula—is a peninsula in the barony of Erris in County Mayo, Ireland. As of 2016 it has a population of 3963. I ...

, near the town of

Belmullet Belmullet (, IPA: �bʲeːlənˠˈwʊɾˠhəd̪ˠ is a coastal Gaeltacht town with a population of 1,019 on the Mullet Peninsula in the barony (Ireland), barony of Erris, County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the commercial and cul ...

. The townland of Binghamstown has an area of approximately , and had a population of 106 people as of the 2011 census. Binghamstown is in the

electoral division An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

of ''An Geata Mór Thuaidh''.

History

The townland was originally called ''Ballymacshedon'' (the anglicisation of an Irish name), before being renamed ''Binghamstown'' after the local landlords. The Bingham family came to the

Erris Erris is a barony in northwestern County Mayo in Ireland consisting of over , much of which is mountainous blanket bog. It has extensive sea coasts along its west and north boundaries. The main towns are Belmullet and Bangor Erris. The name Er ...

area of County Mayo in the 18th century, and built a large house on the northern reaches of Elly Bay on the Mullet peninsula in 1796. Known as Binghamstown House, this structure was built in castellated style and had outbuildings, offices and gardens. Nothing substantial survives of this building except for low grass covered foundations. The village itself was built in 1796 by Major Denis Bingham, and it was built essentially as a "landlord village" providing services for the Bingham estate. It was not until 1817 that a main road was constructed into Erris from

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal poi ...

and it was only in 1824 that it finally ran through Binghamstown to the extremity of the peninsula. In an attempt to keep the Binghamstown fair alive, Major Bingham erected a large gate across the roadway. Those who took their animals out of Binghamstown to the

fair had to pay a toll as they passed through the gate, giving rise to the Irish name ''an Geata Mhór'' (the Big Gate) for Binghamstown. In ''

A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland Samuel Lewis (c. 1782 – 1865) was the editor and publisher of topographical dictionaries and maps of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The aim of the texts was to give in 'a condensed form', a faithful and impartial description ...

'', published in 1837 by Samuel Lewis, the fair at Binghamstown is described as taking place on the "first day of every month throughout the year". By the end of the nineteenth century, the fair had declined. Lewis (1837) describes Binghamstown as having a "good view of Saleen bay" where "a landing pier has been erected by the late Fishery Board". The pier at Saleen harbour was built in the 1820s to designs by engineer

Alexander Nimmo Alexander Nimmo FRSE MRIA MICE HFGS (1783 – January 20, 1832) was a Scottish civil engineer and geologist active in early 19th-century Ireland. Life and career Nimmo was born in Cupar, Fife in 1783, the son of a watchmaker, and grew up i ...

References

External links

Binghamstown statistics (19th century population summary)
(archived) {{County Mayo Towns and villages in County Mayo

History

See also

Further reading

References

External links