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Knockloughrim or Knockcloghrim () Placenames Database of Ireland is a small village near Maghera in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 186 people. Knockloughrim lies within the civil parish of Termoneeny and is part of the former barony of Loughinsholin. It is situated within the Mid Ulster District Council area.
Bates is alleged to have embezzled money from the Corporation of Belfast to fund the building of the village, and absconded to France when this was discovered. He would later be extradited, but died in 1855 before he could stand trial. There is a monument to his memory in Termoneeny parish church. His descendant, Sir Richard Dawson Bates, would later serve as Northern Ireland's first Minister of Home Affairs.
Bates is also responsible for the fine 'Knock House', originally intended as a hotel. It served until 1921 as the Anglican rectory, and has since been a private dwelling. The last incumbent to dwell in the rectory was the Reverend Thomas Fisher, who was rector for 34 years until 1921. Knock House was also utilised during the First World War and Second World War to provide shelter for children evacuated from Belfast and other urban areas.
In 1830–1831, Knockloughrim was the scene of a severe riot, when local Orangemen were apparently involved in a scuffle with Roman Catholics.
Until the early 1950s, Knockloughrim was little more than a collection of houses and a church on the old Belfast-Derry route. The Northern Ireland Housing Trust (forerunner of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive) constructed a new estate which was completed in 1952, followed by several more over the following decades. This coupled with private developments has seen Knockloughrim expand.
The railway station was a stop on the railway line between Magherafelt and Maghera. The old railway bridge at Derganagh Road, under which locomotives passed on their way to and from Maghera, remains in excellent condition, although it is now substantially overgrown and difficult to access. After the Second World War, daffodils were planted on the embankment in a 'V for Victory' formation, and this is still evident today.
The A6 Glenshane Road (Belfast-Derry route) passes less than half a mile from the centre of the village. Until 1970, the main route between the two cities actually passed through the village.
Termoneeny parish church, which has occupied its current site in the centre of the village since 1801, is an attractive listed building surrounded by mature woodland, and is dedicated to the honour of St Conlus, who is reputed to have been a 5th Century brass worker from the nearby parish of Tamlaght O'Crilly. However, despite extensive research, no firm record of him has been produced. It has been suggested, although it is obviously far from certain, that St Conlus may be a variation on the name of the much more famous St Columba. The oldest gravestone in the churchyard dates from 1859. At least three former rectors of the parish are buried in the churchyard:
The parish existed as a 'stand-alone' entity (having been united with Ballyscullion parish for over a century beforehand) between 1795 and 1921, with a rector residing in the attendant Rectory for much of this period. After the death of Rev. Thomas Fisher in 1921, the parish was ultimately amalgamated with the neighbouring parishes of Maghera and Killelagh; this union was terminated in 1980, when the current union with Desertmartin parish commenced.
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