Whiteabbey
| Whiteabbey | |
| County Antrim | |
|---|---|
 Terraced houses in Whiteabbey | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | J350820 |
| Location: | 54°40’27"N, 5°53’58"W |
| Data | |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Antrim and Newtownabbey |
Whiteabbey is a village on the coast of County Antrim, north of Belfast, within the townland with which it shares a name, White Abbey. It forms part of the new town of Newtownabbey, and supplies the latter part of the town's name. The townland and subsequently the village, are named after a Premonstratensian abbey which stood hereabouts in the Middle Ages, the monks of which are said to have worn white robes.
The village was established within the townland of White Abbey and in the Parish of Carnmoney in the late 1800s.
History
All traces of the mediæval abbey are now gone although the site, in a field beside the grounds of Whiteabbey Hospital at Doagh Road, remains undeveloped. It can be viewed from the adjacent Abbots Cross Garden Village. The site of the abbey is designated as a Scheduled Historic Monument.[1]
In the first half of the 19th century, the village of Whiteabbey was home to a large bleach works and was an important landing site for coal shipments bound for Belfast. Remnants of the old pier can still be seen in the sea. The importance of Whiteabbey declined after the channel into Belfast harbour was widened and straightened allowing larger ships to reach the city directly.
Abbeylands, a two storey Victorian house in Whiteabbey, owned by Sir Hugh McCalmont,[2] was set on fire by Suffragettes in 1914 [3] causing £20,000 of damage.[4] Unionist leader, Edward Carson, had declared against votes for women, meanwhile his Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) had been drilling troops at Abbeylands House. In protest the Suffragettes burnt the building to the ground on 27 March 1914, complaining that they were being imprisoned while the UVF were gun running and preparing for civil war.[5][6][7]
In 1952, one of Northern Ireland's most shocking murders took place in Whiteabbey when Patricia Curran, the 19-year-old daughter of prominent Judge Ulster Unionist politician Sir Lancelot Curran, was found stabbed near her home, Glen House.[8]
Whiteabbey, together with Whitewell, Whitehouse, Jordanstown, Monkstown, Carnmoney and Glengormley, were the seven villages that formed Newtownabbey when it was designated a 'new town' on 1 April 1958.
Churches
- Whiteabbey Congregational Church
- Whiteabbey Presbyterian Church
- Whiteabbey Methodist Church
- Saint James Roman Catholic Church
Local facilities
- Near Whiteabbey one can find a popular dog-walking route known as 'the Glen', which is a small forest area extending up to and beyond the Bleach Green railway viaduct.
- The Newtownabbey/Ulster Way passes through this area, as does the Threemilewater river.
- Whiteabbey is close to the main shopping area of Newtownabbey, containing the Abbeycentre,[9] Abbey Business Park, Abbey Retail Park, Longwood Retail Park and Valley Retail Park.
The Bureau Bar in Whiteabbey is a popular place for music at week ends and has a restaurant.
- Whiteabbey also has its own railway station allowing ease of access to Belfast.
Transport
The area is served by Whiteabbey railway station on the Belfast to Larne line. The station opened in April 1848.[10] Although it lies outside Belfast the area is also served by the Translink Metro service.[11]
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Whiteabbey) |
References
- ↑ Whiteabbey - Scheduled Historic Monuments (Northern Ireland Environment Agency)
- ↑ "Ulster Suffragettes". http://www.belfastsuffragettes.com/suffragettes.html. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- ↑ Bence-Jones, Mark (1988). A Guide to Irish County Houses. London: Constable. p. 1. ISBN 0 09 469990 9.
- ↑ "The Women's Suffrage Movement". http://education.niassembly.gov.uk/sites/userfiles/files/suffragette_timeline.pdf. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- ↑ "The suffragette struggle in Ulster". http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/features/the-suffragette-struggle-in-ulster-1-3565093. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- ↑ "Prison, Protests and Hunger Strikes". http://belfastmediagroup.com/prison-protests-and-hunger-strikes/. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- ↑ "A role in Home Rule". http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/century/century-women-and-the-vote/a-role-in-home-rule-1.553496. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- ↑ "Patricia Curran murder case.". http://www.innocent.org.uk/cases/iaingordon/index.html.
- ↑ Abbey Centre
- ↑ "Whiteabbey station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
- ↑ Translink Metro 2
