town, Banbridge district (established 1973), formerly in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the River Lagan, just southwest of Belfast. A bishopric developed from an abbey reputedly founded there by St. Colman about 600. The town and cathedral were destroyed in an insurrection (1641). The present structure was built by the Anglican bishop Jeremy Taylor (Taylor, Jeremy) in 1661. The town's chief industries are bleaching, cloth dyeing, and hemstitching. The 8th- or 9th-century Cross of Dromore, formerly in the marketplace, was restored and reerected beside the Lagan Bridge in 1887. Pop. (2001) 4,959.