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Banbridge was named
after the first bridge built over the Upper Bann river in
1712. The main street
is very unusual, and rises to a steep hill. Banbridge used
to be an important stop on the Belfast to Dublin stagecoach
route and the town's best known feature is the underpass
constructed in 1834 known as The Cut. It is thought
that this was the first underpass ever built, and was done
to allow horses to pass through the centre of the town
without fainting before they reached the top of the hill.
Patrick Bronte, father of
the famous literary sisters, was born here. It was his
tales of the Mourne Mountains that appears to have inspired
the bleak setting for Emily's Wuthering Heights. |