On the west shore of Lough Neagh, in County Londonderry, the remains of Salterstown bear witness to a unique feature of the Plantation of Ulster: the colonisation led directly by the great merchant guilds of London. Here, it was the Salters' Company that built its 'company town'.
The Plantation of the London guilds
The colonisation of the county of Londonderry was not entrusted to individual planters, but to the great livery companies (guilds) of the City of London, grouped in 'The Honourable The Irish Society'. Each guild received a 'proportion' (a lot of land) to colonise. To The Worshipful Company of Salters (the salt merchants' guild) fell these lands, granted between 1609 and 1618. In 1613, the company built Salterstown there: a two-storey house and a bawn (fortified court) with two round flankers. It is the very example of the 'company town' model proper to the county of Londonderry — a colonisation organised by urban corporations.
A model of corporate colonisation
Salterstown illustrates the singularity of the Plantation in the county of Londonderry: instead of private colonists, it was merchant corporations that organised the settlement of the colonists, built the towns and forts, and administered the estates. The Salters' Company built jointly Magherafelt (its plantation town) and Salterstown (its fortified outpost on Lough Neagh). The company's residences backed onto one of the bawn walls. This corporate model, where London guilds became landowners in Ulster, is unique in the history of British colonisation. To see: the remains of the bawn and round flankers, the position on Lough Neagh, the link with Magherafelt (the Salters' plantation town).
Did you know?
The Plantation of the county of Londonderry was, in a sense, a shareholders' enterprise: the twelve great London guilds (Salters, Grocers, Drapers, Fishmongers, Goldsmiths…) divided the county among themselves like an investment, each receiving its 'proportion' to colonise and make profitable. Their trace is still found in the toponymy: Salterstown, Draperstown, Magherafelt (Salters)… These names tell a surprising reality — corporations of London merchants become, overnight, landed lords of an Irish county.
Notes
Salterstown Castle lies near Ballyronan, west shore of Lough Neagh, County Londonderry; remains (archaeological site). GPS and access to confirm. A discreet site. Hours to check.
Quiz
- Who built Salterstown in 1613?
- The Worshipful Company of Salters (London guild)
- An O'Neill chief
- The king of Spain
- What is particular about the Plantation of County Londonderry?
- It was led by the London guilds
- It was led by the pope
- It failed totally
- Which plantation town did the Salters' Company also build?
- Magherafelt
- Belfast
- Dublin