The offices of Robert Neill and Sons Ltd. in Main Street, Bangor, house two portraits from mid-Victorian times, Robert Neill founder of the coal business synonymous with his name, and his wife Agnes being depicted. Both are clad in black, both sombre in expression; Agnes Neill clasps a Bible. Life, they seem to say, is a serious affair. To sit for one's portrait was a mark of eminence in the community, however, a sign of triumph over the insecurities of the nineteenth century, and today's visitor can see in an adjacent painting another emblem of triumph. The Neill houseflag streams from the mainmast of the barque River Lagan as she sweeps into Hong Kong harbour in 1878. In partnership, Robert's three sons Charles, John and James owned her and sent her quite literally round the world - Japan, Chile, around Cape Horn. Her short career was the zenith of the Neill's shipping ventures, but for over 150 years now, no family has been more deeply involved in the industrial, commercial and maritime life of North Down.