Gosford River is a tributary of the Cusher River. It is also referred to as Drumlack River, possibly because the millponds in Gosford Demesne are in the Townaland of Drumlack. The River may have been know by that townland name because the mills there were an important feature. The river rises in Ballymacawley. It flows down Dougan's Mountain North East through Ballindarragh and Drumatee, winding East through Gosford and Dunesmullen to the Cusher river
In the late-seventeenth century, the Acheson family of Gosford Estate built a new manor house in which to entertain their society friends. This house burned down and subsequently replaced by the present Castle. The ruins of the manor are still apparent in the undergrowth beside the old laundry house, on the path to the ponds. The now stationary waterwheel near the ruins of the manor house was constructed at the same time as the manor and was in use until World War One.
One of the more formal aspects of the Forest Park are the ornamental ponds to either side of a stone arch. During the seventeenth century, this archway was the entrance to the Estate and the main road passed close by this entrance.
At this time the ponds were known as the basins and their use was more practical than ornamental. They were used to power the waterwheel in the farmyard, which provided power for the agricultural needs of the Estate. The ponds are supplied by means of an underground mill race running from the river through the ponds and back into the river by means of an ornamental bridge.
DEAN SWIFT'S WELL AND CHAIR
Below the waterfall there is a path leading to a small well. Originally this well was known as Patrick's Well after the Saint of Armagh and it was said this well held a cure for all ills. Swift it would seem often walked here in the afternoon and watched the Estate workers going about their business. For this connection the well was renamed after the poet.
Bell, J, Markethill and Gosford History Trail (Markethill, 1993)
HMSO, Gosford Forest Park (Belfast, 1969) <
Images of the stream flowing to into the South of Markethill and on to join Gosford River and the Cusher. The stream flows from Brackley, through Glasdrummond, between Ballindarragh and Carricklane, Coolmillish, and Edenekennedy, and meets the Gosford River at the juncture of Crunaght, Edenekennedy and Bryandrum townlands.