Castlewellan

Castlewellan
  • Irish: Caisleán Uidhilín
  • Castlewellan
Castlewellan village, from the "Peace Maze"
Castlewellan is located in County Down
Castlewellan
Location within County Down
Population2,782 (2011 census)
District
County
CountryNorthern Ireland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townCASTLEWELLAN
Postcode districtBT31
Dialling code028
UK Parliament
NI Assembly
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland
Down
54°16′01″N 5°55′59″W / 54.267°N 5.933°W / 54.267; -5.933
Main Street, Castlewellan, May 2010

Castlewellan (from Irish Caisleán Uidhilín 'Hugelin's Castle') is a small town in County Down, in the south-east of Northern Ireland close to the Irish Sea. It is beside Castlewellan Lake and Slievenaslat mountain, 11 miles (18 km) southwest of Downpatrick. It lies between the Mourne Mountains and Slieve Croob. It had a population of 2,782 people in the 2011 census.[1]

Castlewellan has a wide main street which runs through two main squares lined with chestnut trees. The town was designed by a French architect for the Annesley family. The Annesley family did not always own the land as they bought it from the Maginess family, then owners of what is now Castlewellan Christian Conference Centre and Castlewellan Forest Park. Castlewellan is unique within Ireland due to its tree-lined squares both in the old town (upper square) and new town (lower square) as well as its very wide main street.[citation needed] The old market house in the upper square was built in 1764 and now houses the public library.[2]

  1. ^ "Census 2011 Population Statistics for Castlewellan Settlement". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Castlewellan.org".