CAR 



.551 



CAR 



Lixi of Palcnls granted for Improicmenls in Carriages, fraw January 1802 to July IS12. continued. 



For an account of the method of manufacturing 

 carriages, see the article COACHMAK-NG. (w) 



CARRICKFE11GUS, formerly KNOCKFERGUS, 

 from Kneckogh, an adjacent hill, and Fergus the 

 founder, an ancient town of Ireland, in the county of 

 Antrim, situated on the north side of the large bay 

 to which it gives name. It was founded about 320 

 years btfore the birth of Christ, by Fergus, the first 

 king of Scotland, the cause of whose coming to Ire- 

 land is said to be this : Being afflicted with a lepro- 

 sy, he dreamed, that if he bathed in a well at this 

 place, he would immediately recover : he instantly re- 

 paired hither, and his dream is said to have been 

 fulfilled. The same tradition says, he founded the 

 castle, and adds, that this was the well inside the cas- 

 tle, which is now dry. The town is pleasantly situ- 

 ated along the shore, and has of late assumed some, 

 thing of a thriving appearance ; it has, however, lit- 

 tle trade, having sold its privileges to the inhabitants 



of Belfast. The houses are built mostly of stone, 

 and commonly two or three stories high. All the 

 streets, except the main street, are narrow, and kept 

 remarkably dirty. The number of inhabitants, in 

 1810, was about 1000. It does not appear to have 

 been a place of much importance till the arrival of 

 the English about the year 1178, when Hugh de 

 Lacy repaired, or rather founded, the castle, and 

 placed a strong garrison in it to overawe the adjacent 

 country. The town appears to have been anciently 

 a place of great strength, encompassed with a wall 

 and wet ditch, having four gates, some of which 

 were entered by draw-bridges, and flanked with bas- 

 tions twentv feet high ; but being commanded by the 

 adjacent hills, it never could have held out any length 

 of time since the invention of artillery. The castle 

 stands on a rock projecting into the sea, command- 

 ing the entrance of Belfast Lough, or, as it is frequent- 

 ly called, Carrickfergua Bay, which is as safe and spa- 

 3 ' r 



