Larne 1903

Co Antrim Sheet 40.04 Larne 1903 - published 2004; introduction by Alan Godfrey. ISBN 978-1-84151-703-2

This very detailed map covers the important harbour town of Larne, which grew after James Chaine developed the Larne-Stranraer short sea crossing in the 1870s. Most of the town is covered on this busy map and major features include the Harbour station and the two Town stations - for the Carrickfergus and Ballymena lines - as well as the railway layouts in detail, incl engine sheds; the Ballymena line was narrow gauge, and the two lines are shown running parallel to the harbour. Other features include the northern part of Inver (around the stations), Inver Mill, Market Place, Invermore, Bleach & Dye Works, Pound Street, Main Street, Union Workhouse, McGarel Buildings, Linen Weaving Factory, Aluminium Works, Curran House, Olderfleet Hotel, Chaine Monument, Drumalis (or Drumaliss) and much more. The list of inhabitants from a 1904 directory is included on the rear. The notes give the background to Larne's fasacinating history: the development of the harbour, railways and linen industry; the story of Drumalis, once site of a monastery, later home to the powerful Chaine and Smiley families, parade ground for the UVF after the famous gun-running of 1914; the celebrated local author, Anna Margaret McKittrick, sometimes acclaimed as "the World's Worst Writer". The town centre of Larne has changed greatly since 1903, making this map all the more interesting.