LURGAN is a thriving and rapidly extending market town, in the parish of SHANKILL, barony of O'Neilland East, county of Armagh, 85 miles N. from Dublin, 60 SSE. from Coleraine, 20 SW. from Belfast, 19 S. from Antrim, 17 N.E. by E. from Armagh, 11 WSW. from Lisburn, 12 S by W from Crumlin, 9 NNW. from Banbridge, and 5½ N.E. by E. from Portadown ; eligibly situated about three miles south of the south-east corner of Lough Neagh, on the line of the Great Northern railway, for which the town is a station.

The surrounding country is flat, fertile and luxuriant, populous, and replete with evidences of industry, and consequent comfort and respectability. The principal Street, which, indeed, is the principal part of the town, extends for nearly a mile along the Belfast and Armagh road, and is spacious, airy, well built, remarkably clean, and may really be termed handsome. That which may be considered the suburban part of Lurgan is extensive and populous, for numerous lines of houses and detached dwellings stand along nearly all the radiating roads, and form, as it were, villages for a considerable distance.

Brownlow House and demesne, the seat of the Right Hon. Lord Lurgan, proprietor of the town, extends along the whole of the north-east of it, and the entrance is by an elegant lodge from near the centre of the street. The mansion has been rebuilt in the Elizabethan style with beautiful freestone brought from Scotland. The grounds, which are generously thrown open to the public, are richly embellished with thriving plantations, reflected in a fine sheet of water, which abounds with various water-fowl, and is encompassed by a well-kept gravel walk. The linen and muslin manufacture is the staple of Lurgan, and in producing variety of fabrics, as cambrics, lawns, drapers, damasks, &c. a large proportion of the population of the town and its vicinity are employed; while some of the establishments of the yarn and linen merchants are extensive. The Belfast Banking Company, the Northern Banking Company, and the Ulster Bank have each a branch in operation here. A facility of intercourse with Belfast is afforded by Lough Neagh and the Lurgan navigation. A newspaper, entitled the Lurgan Times and Portadown Recorder, is published weekly. The general quarter sessions of the county are held in the Court House, William street, in the months of January, April, July and October., and petty sessions the first and third Tuesday in each month. The constabulary have three stations in the town.

The parish church of Shankhill is a handsome structure, with a finely-proportioned octagonal spire, containing a good clock. The interior of the church is neatly fitted up, and furnished with a fine-toned organ. The present Lord Lurgan, in 1853, inserted a beautiful stained-glass window in the church in memory of his father, Charles Baron Lurgan; it is a great ornament to the interior, and represents, among other devices, the three figures of Faith, Hope and Charity. The Roman Catholic parochial church is a neat Gothic building.

There are places of worship for Presbyterians, the Society of Friends, Methodists, and Plymouth Brethren. The Model school, situated in Brownlow terrace, is a large and handsome religious building of brick, with white facings, erected at a cost of £8,000, and opened in 1863. It consists of boys', girls' and ‘infants' departments. The other educational establishments are the National schools, a convent and a free school and the charities are a dispensary and a union workhouse.

The Town Hall, situate at the junction of Union street with Market street, is a large and commodious building, opened in November, 1868. It contains a lecture hall, by capable of seating 1,000 people, and public offices. The cost was £2,500, a part of which was raised by subscription. The Mechanics' Institute is a handsome structure situated at the corner of Market street and Union street, and adjoining the Town Hall; it was opened in March, 1859, and cost £1,310; besides this sum, £400 was expended in purchasing the library of the Lurgan Literary Society, now incorporated with the Institute. The building belongs to no one distinct style of architecture, but approaches more neatly to the Romanesque than any other. Its general appearance is light and attractive, and the pleasing effect is much increased by a lofty and beautiful Clock tower. The market, which is held on Thursday, is abundantly supplied with provisions, and is besides a considerable one for the manufacturers of the town and district, and there is also a great market every second Thursday in the month. Fairs, August 5th and November 22nd. The population of the town in 1861 was 7,772, and in 1871 10,632.

POST OFFICES

MARKET STEEET, LURGAN
Dora Lindsay, Post Mistress.

ARRIVALS.
From Dublin, England, Portadown, Derry, Belfast, &c. at ten minutes past two morning.
From Scotland, Belfast, and Lisburn at five minutes before eight morning.From Dublin England, Belfast, Lisburn, Portadown, Banbridge?, Newry, &c. at five minutes past eleven morning.
From Belfast, Lisburn, &c. at forty-five minutes past three afternoon.
From Dublin, Armagh, Portadown, &c. at ten minutes past six evening

DESPATCHES.
To Dublin, Armagh, Portadown, &c. at twenty minutes past seven morning.
To Belfast, Ballymena, Coleraine, Derry, &c at half-past ten morning.
To Dublin, England, Portadown, Banbridge, Newry, &c. at five minutes past three afternoon.
To Belfast, Lisburn, and Scotland at thirty-five minutes past five evening.
To Dublin, England, Portadown, Derry, &c.. at twenty five minutes past ten evening.
To Belfast, Lisburn, &c.. at forty-five minutes past ten evening.

Money Order and Telegraph Office. & Savings Bank

SUB-POST OFFICE, MAGHERALIN, Robert McVeagh, Sub-Post master.—Letters from all parts arrive from Lurgan) at seven morning, and are dispatched thereto at seven evening.

The nearest Money Order Office is at MOIRA, distance one mile.
Post Office, MOIRA, Jane Watson, Post Mistress.—Letters arrive from Lurgan at ten minutes before eight morning, from all parts at half-past eleven morning, and from Belfast and Scotland at ten minutes before four afternoon ; and are dispatched to Belfast and Scotland at twenty minutes past ten morning, and to all parts at a quarter before three afternoon, and to Lurgan at fifteen minutes past six evening.

Money Order and Telegraph Office and Savings Bank.
Sub-Post Office, WARINGSTOWN, John New, Sub Postmaster.—Letters from all parts arrive (from Lurgan) at ten minutes before seven morning and twenty minutes before five evening; and are dispatched thereto at a quarter before five and ten minutes past seven evening.

The nearest Money Order Office is at LURGAN

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