Billy Churchyard Multi-Cache

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 The Cache

The cache is not situated inside the church grounds although you will have to visit the graveyard to obtain some information which will lead you to the final cache location.

The cache is located at -

N 55 10 HHJ

W 006 29 DDH

Billy is derived from the Gaelic word Bile meaning a large ancient tree. The old church of Bile is mentioned in the taxation of Pope Nicholas IV in 1290 and the wall of the graveyard, south of the present church, contains part of the north wall of that ancient church. The building of the present parish church was made possible by the gift of £800 from the Board of First Fruits and was consecrated in 1815. A bell was installed in 1821. In 1834, the sum of £9 was expended on the purchase of a Parish Hearse. Half a crown was to be paid by any person using the hearse and a second half crown lodged as security for its safe return. It was last used in 1900 and can now be found in the Transport Museum at Cultra. Modern Church The area under the present parish of Billy is thirty-nine townlands plus other land portions in the Baronies of Lower Dunluce and Carey. In the past, the parish was very extensive and used to incorporate all of the modern day parishes of Dunseverick, Ballintoy and Rathlin Island, in addition to its present holdings.

Located on a hillside near Ballylough with commanding views of the surrounding area, the modern church of Billy was constructed in 1815 on the site of an older building, by aid of a gift of £800 and a loan of £500, from the Board of First Fruits. Impressed by its exalted location, the Ordnance Survey team of the 1830s recorded that ‘the situation of this church is high and it is one of the most conspicuous in the country’. Writing during the same decade, Samuel Lewis described Billy church as a ‘plain but substantial building’. Indeed, in design and appearance, it is very much in the mould of other rural churches of this period, being constructed of rubble basalt stone. As to dimensions, it is three bays in length, with a chancel being attached to the main structure in 1890 at the cost of £1,000. The tower, rendered in basalt stone with complimentary sandstone inlays, is of three storeys in extent and crowned by pinnacles and battlements ordered in symmetrical fashion. In 1820 a bell was purchased for the church tower but this was replaced by a new instrument in September 1914. Windows are shaped in the familiar Y-traceried style and fitted with transparent glazing except for three of stained glass in the chancel area fashioned by renowned artist Michael Healey.

Interior furnishing are in graceful style with pews, pulpit, font and a fine timber hammerbeam ceiling. A lovely pipe organ constructed by Messrs Conagher of Huddersfield in 1893 is located to the right of the chancel recess. Perhaps, the best known ecclesiastical personality with connections to Billy parish church is Charles Frederick D’Arcy D.D., who served as rector during the period 1890 to 1893. He was elevated to the position of Archbishop of Armagh on St Peter’s Day 1920. Memorials and Tombstones Several distinctive tablet memorial stones are found within the walls of Billy church. One of the largest is that dedicated to Revd Anthony Traill (d. 1831) whom for 50 years served as Archdeacon of Connor Diocese. Also in remembrance of the Traill family connection is a mural tablet dedicated to the memory of Dr Anthony Traill (d.1914), Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, his wife Catherine Elizabeth (d.1909) and son James Anthony (d.1901). A number of other memorials are to individual members of the Traill family who served in the military and there are special epitaphs to the fallen of the First and Second World Wars. The parish cemetery, which includes the old graveyard and the new extension opened in 1947, has much to excite the interest of the local historian or genealogist. One of the oldest tombstones of note is that belonging to Anthony Kennedy of Balsaragh who died December 1620. Another of late seventeenth century antiquity is that laid in memory of the Stewarts of Eagry, dated 1684. For the following century, one of the largest monuments is to Revd John Porter (d.1738), Dissenting clergyman of Dunluce, who is interred alongside Revd William Douglass (d.1794) and his wife Mary Stewart (d.1797) who was aged 27 years. Perhaps the most poignant of memorials on display is that dedicated to the young Forgie family of Cavanmore, five of whom succumbed to diphtheria during April 1881. They were aged between eight months and ten years old. A gravestone of particular interest is that placed in remembrance of William Acheson Traill (d.1933) who pioneered the use of hydro-electric power and formed Giant’s Causeway electric tramway. A stone located in the old graveyard marks the spot where the bodies of two sailors of H.M.S. Racoon, W.G. Farrow and S. Smith, were interred in January 1918.

Billy graveyard is also the final resting place of Sergeant Robert Quigg (d.1955) whose exertions during the Somme campaign of the First World War were recognised in the award of the V.C.

Robert Quigg was born in the townland of Ardihannon in the Parish of Billy, near the Giants Causeway, County Antrim on February 28th, 1885. His father, Robert Quigg senior, worked as a boatman and tour guide at the famous Giants Causeway. Robert attended the Giants Causeway National School were he was taught by David McConaghy, for those who may his know his carving at the Stookans, the same David McConaghy. Like most young teenage boys from the rural areas of the time, he left school and sought work on local farms. He worked for a number of years on Forsyth’s farm at Turfnahun and also on the Macnaghten Estate at Dunderave. Robert was a prominent member of the local Orange Lodge (Aird LOL 1195) and played in the flute band, he was also a member of the Royal Black Institution and the William Johnston Memorial RBP 559. In 1912 with calls for home rule, the Ulster crisis deepened - a perceived threat was seen by Protestants to Ulster’s constitutional position coming from Irish Nationalism and the British Liberal Party which in turn led to the formation of the Ulster Volunteer Force. The UVF at that time was a legal force which had been empowered to carry out drilling and military preparations, providing it was to uphold the constitution. It was formed into nine divisions based on county, which in turn were divided into battalions, companies and platoons. Robert Quigg joined shortly after its formation in January, 1913 and became commander of the Bushmills Volunteers. The UVF membership at that time numbered over 100,000 with an estimated 40,000 bearing arms. As the European crisis and war between Britain and Germany became imminent, a halt was called to the UVF's preparations in Ulster. Sir Edward Carson in turn offered the services of the UVF to the British government against Germany. The UVF members who volunteered to join the British Army, formed the bulk of the 36th (Ulster) Division, thousands of its members volunteered for active service including Robert Quigg who enlisted in the 12th Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles (Mid-Antrim Volunteers), in September, 1914. His service number was 12/18645 with rank of Rifleman and his Platoon Officer was Harry Macnaghten, heir to the Macnaghten Estate and to whom Robert was familiar with having worked at Dunderave. Robert Quigg was awarded the Victoria Cross for his ‘ Most Conspicuous Bravery’ at the Battle of the Somme on July 1st, 1916. Prior to the major offensive their unit had been placed in the French village of Hamel on the north bank of the River Ancre. On July 1st the Mid-Antrim Volunteers were ordered to advanced through the defences towards the heavily defended German lines. In doing so they met with fierce resistance from heavy machine-gun and shell fire, Quigg's platoon made three advanced during the day only to be beaten back on each occasion by German fire. The final evening assault left many hundreds of the 12th Battalion lying dead and wounded in ‘No Man’s Land’. In the early hours of the next morning, it was reported that Lieutenant Harry Macnaughten, the platoon commander was missing and Robert Quigg volunteered to go out into ‘No-Mans Land’ to try and locate him. He went out seven times to search for the missing officer without success, on each occasion he came under machine-gun fire but managed to return with a wounded colleague. On one of his forays it was reported that he crawled to within yards of the German position to rescue a wounded soldier whom he dragged back on a waterproof groundsheet. After seven hours of trying, exhaustion got the better of him and he had to rest from his efforts - the body of Lieutenant Harry Macnaughten was never recovered. Robert received his Victoria Cross from King George V on January 8th, 1917 at York Cottage, Sandringham – Queen Mary was also in attendance. On his return to Bushmills the people of the town and district turned out in force to welcome him home including the Macnaghten household. Lady Macnaghten presented him with a gold watch in recognition of his bravery in attempting to find and rescue her son Leiutenant Harry Macnaghten. Robert reached the rank of Sergeant before retiring from the army in 1926 after he was badly injured in an accident. Later in 1953, two years before he died, he met the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II. He passed away on 14th May, 1955 at Ballycastle, County Antrim and was buried in Billy Parish Churchyard with full military honours. The Russians also presented Robert Quigg with the Medal of Order of St. George (fourth class), the highest award of the Russian Empire. First class and Second class were only given on the personal decree of the Emperor. Third and Fourth were only awarded by the approval of the Georgevsky Council, a group of St George Knights. The third class was for senior officers and the fourth was the highest award of the Russian Empire to non-senior officers. His Victoria Cross and Order of St. George (fourth class) are on display at the Royal Irish Rifles Museum in Waring Street, Belfast.