The territory which afterwards became the county Louth was included in the principality of Uriel, Orgial or Argial, which comprehended also the greater part of Meath, Monaghan and Armagh. The chieftain of the district was conquered by John de Courcy in 1183, and Louth or Uriel was among the shires generally considered to have been created by King John, and peopled by English settlers. Until the time of Elizabeth it was included in the province of Ulster. County Louth is rich in antiquarian remains. There are ancient buildings of all dates, and spears, swords, axes of bronze, ornaments of gold, and other relics have been discovered in quantities. Among Druidical remains is the fine cromlech of Ballymascanlan, between Dundalk and Greenore. Danish raths and other forts are numerous. It is said that there were originally twenty religious houses in the county. Of the remains of these the most interesting are at Monasterboice and Mellifont, both near Drogheda. At the former site are two churches, the larger dating probably from the 9th century, the smaller from the 13th; a fine round tower, 110 ft. in height, but not quite perfect; and three crosses, two of which, 27 and 15 ft. in height respectively, are adorned with moulding, sculptured figures and tracery, and are among the finest in Ireland. At Mellifont are the remains of the first Cistercian monastery founded in Ireland, in 1142, with a massive gatehouse, an octagonal baptistery and chapter-house. Carlingford and Drogheda have monastic remains, and at Dromiskin is a round tower, in part rebuilt. Ardee, an ancient town, incorporated in 1376, has a castle of the 13th century. At Dunbar a charter of Charles II. (1679) gave the inhabitants the right to elect a sovereign. Louth, 5½ m. S.W. from Dundalk, is a decayed town which gave its name to the county, and contains ruins of an abbey to which was attached one of the most noted early schools in Ireland. LOUTH, a market-town and municipal borough in the E. Lindsey or Louth parliamentary division of Lincolnshire, England, on the river Lud, 141½ m. N. of London by the Grimsby branch of the Great Northern railway. Pop. (1901) 9518. By a canal, completed in 1763, there is water communication with the Humber. The Perpendicular church of St James, completed about 1515, with a spire 300 ft. in height, is one of the finest ecclesiastical buildings in the county. Traces of a building of the 13th century are perceptible. There are a town hall, a corn exchange and a market-hall, an Edward VI. grammar school, which is richly endowed, a commercial school founded in 1676, a hospital and several almshouses. Thorpe Hall is a picturesque building dated 1584. In the vicinity are the ruins of a Cistercian abbey (Louth Park). The industries include the manufacture of agricultural implements, iron-founding, brewing, malting, and rope and brick-making. The town is governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen and 18 councillors. Area, 2749 acres.