David’s Chosen Few Royal Black Encampment No. 21 have moved their place of encampment from Drumraw Independent Orange Hall to the newly renovated and reopened McNeillstown Hall a few miles away. Still sitting in the Portglenone area, and remaining the primary Encampment in the Mid and East Antrim Council area it will provide space for growth and the facilities needed to host the events and activities the Encampment plan.
No. 21 first met in Gortfad Orange Hall in the early part of the last century before moving in turn to the larger and newly renovated and opened Drumraw Independent Orange Hall. Here under the leadership of Sir Knight Ernest Nichol it grew and was soon a feature of community and religious life in the area with its annual Church Service.
Drumraw was once the centre of an Orange District and sat on the estate of Drumraw House which in the 1700s had been the Headquarters of the local Volunteers.
About the year 1771, an organised system of outrage pervaded the whole of this parish, in common with other parts of the county: the persons who thus combined, called themselves “Steel Men,” or “Hearts of Steel,” and executed their revenge by houghing cattle and perpetrating other outrages; they attacked the house of Paul McLarnon, Esq., who, in defending himself, was shot. In 1778, a corps was raised by John Dickey, Esq., of Cullybackey, and called the Cullybackey Volunteers; a similar corps was embodied the following year by T. Hill, Esq., of Drumra, called the Portglenone Volunteers, to which was afterwards added a second corps by – Simpson, Esq.; and a corps, called the Ahoghill Volunteers, was raised by Alexander McManus, of Mount Davies.
The building itself was once a school house before being converted into and Orange Hall.
Drumraw will however remain the home of The Great Cross Priory of Drumraw maintaining almost a century of connection with the hall.
McNeillstown has been connected with Protestant fraternal orders since 1823 and the lodge which sits there celebrated its Bicentenary in 2023. Many members of the McNeillstown True Blues have become members of the Ancient & Illustrious order of Knights of Malta and it was due to this connection that an invitation was issued by the lodge to use their hall.
The hall has a main multi-use hall or lodge room which accommodate meetings as well as events and entertainment. A community museum which will be open to the public will also house a permanent exhibition on the Knights of Malta and showcase many of our artefacts and history.
The hall also has a kitchen, committee room and full disabled access with male and female toilets. The office space available will be of great use to the Order in terms of its administration. As a modern state of the art facility with CCTV and other security as well as burglar and fire alarms systems it will provide a safe, secure location for the Encampment.
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