6 8 7 church atWhitechurch,justoutside English invasion,includingtheNorman army shelteringthereduringthe1572 buildings topreventSirThomasSmith’s the O’Neillclanhadburneddownmany churches inthearea.Inlate1500s however therewerenoPresbyterian Presbyterians fromlowlandScotland the “planters”.Mostofthesewere and buildasustainablelifestylefor in 1606wasthattheypopulatethem given toHamiltonandMontgomery of titletothemanylandsinArds has aturbulenthistory. Acondition Church. PresbyterianismintheArds Garden isthepresentdayPresbyterian Just beyondthePeaceandReconciliation a stainlesssteelandwoodensculpture Sea. Herestands“EchoesofAwareness,” and recreationareaoverlookingtheIrish you reachtheharbourisalargecarpark Situated onthelefthandsidebefore it to when it was finished. The it toBallywalterwhenwasfinished.The create thememorialinEnglandandsend a MrP.C. Bantham,RBAfromLondonto The peopleofBallywaltercommissioned a Riflemanandismadeofcastbronze. Doctor Warnock.Themonumentdepicts Mr Evans,thelocalschoolteacherand village, suchastheReverendHeron, consisted ofinfluentialfiguresinthe in NorthernIreland.Thecommittee the firstofitskindtobecommissioned on 25October1922andwasoneof alongside localcommitteemembers Memorial wasunveiledbyLadyDunleath see theWarMemorial.Ballywalter Back outontheMainStreet,youwill The Presbyterian ChurchThe Presbyterian The War Memorial andTheSquare Echoes ofAwareness Sculpture depict stagesofhistoryinthevillage. artists andschoolchildrenthepanels overseas. Workwascompletedbylocal their livesthroughconflictathomeand particular thosefromBallywalter, wholost of remembranceforallthose,butin and itsaimwastocreateagarden Main Street.Itwascompletedin2008 Garden issituatedattheSquareon Ballywalter PeaceandReconciliation appreciated bythepeopleofBallywalter. by LordDunleathwhichwasmuch the landonwhichitstandswasdonated offered thedesignsfreeofchargeand architects, MessrsMunceandKennedy voyages of these children as they get older. steel vessel.Italsorepresentsthefuture to decoratethebillowingsailsofthis Ned usedhandprintsoflocalchildren created in2001byNedJacksonSmyth. church replacedthisin1889. the presentvillagepub.Theday 700 worshipperswasbuiltonthesite of Later, around1715,achurchhousing known asKirkKnowesneartheharbour. floor, wasbuiltcirca1670atasite building withsodwallsandanearthen house inBallywalter, alowthatched The firstdedicatedPresbyterianmeeting of Irelandbuildingwascontroversial. Episcopalian church,thisuseofaChurch under theauthorityofestablished Presbyterians there.AsHamiltonwas called JamesHamilton,ministeringto 1626 itre-openedwithhisnephew, also Sir JamesHamiltonrestoredthisandin Ballywalter, whichwasChurchofIreland. 10 9 enlarged in 1891 with the addition of a enlarged in1891withtheadditionofa seating 145people.Thechurchwas consisted ofanave,chancelandsanctuary 1.5kilometers northwest.Thisnewsite Church ‘Whitchurch’whichislocated and replacestheoriginalParish Holy Trinity Churchwasbuiltin1849 when youarebackatthevillage.Travel the endofDunoverRoad,takingleft To traveltothenextstop,driveback The Church,completewiththatchedroof, with atranseptaddedinthe15thcentury. stones. Itmeasured90feetby18feet, also presentsevidenceofNormangrave Ecclesia” inpapersdatingto1306and Whitechurch wasreferredtoas“Alba right towardsthevillagecentre.Take left From theSpringvaleRoadcarpark,take to yourcaranddriveWhitechurch. At thispointyouareadvisedtoreturn Holy Trinity, theChurch ofIreland Whitechurch andits Graveyard churchyard atWhitechurch. continued atthesiteofold church site,howevermostburials Some peoplewereburiedatthenew to giveusthechurchasitstandstoday. side aisle,organ,choir, porchandvestry purely asagraveyard. since whenthesitehasbeenused to thenewbuildatnearbyBalligan, parishioners movedfromtheoldchurch was inusethe1600’s.In1704 see HolyTrinity, theChurchofIreland. along theWhitechurchRoadandyouwill and issignposted. is onthisroadtherighthandside at theDunoverRoad,andgraveyard contained herein.Thecontent ofthisguideiscopyrightArdsandNorthDownBorough Councilandshouldnotbereusedwithoutpermission. accuracy, theCouncilcannotacceptresponsibilityand assumesnoliabilityforanyactionundertakenby any personusingtheinformation Ards andNorthDownBorough Councilpresentstheinformationasapublicservice, andwhileeveryefforthasbeenmadetoensureits available inalternativeformatsonrequest. Please Note:Thisdocumentmaybe S BT19 6JR The Harbour, MainStreet Cockle RowVisitorInformationCentre (Seasonal officeEaster–endAugust) S BT22 1NZ The Stables,CastleStreet Portaferry VisitorInformationCentre (Seasonal officeEaster–endAugust) k S B20 5ED Bangor Tower House,34QuayStreet Bangor VisitorInformationCentre k S BT23 4AD 31 RegentStreet Ards VisitorInformationCentre following VisitorInformationCentres: For moreinformationcontactanyofthe

028 91272269 028 42729882 [email protected] 028 91270069 [email protected] 028 91826846 /VisitStrangfordLough @VisitStrangford Bangor Newtownards Ballywalter

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Ballywalter Beach Walking Guide Walking Ballywalter visitstrangfordlough.co.uk 1 Ballywalter Park 6 “Echoes of Awareness” sculpture North Channel 2 The Lime Kilns 7 War Memorial Ballywalter 3 The Old Anderson Shelter 8 The Presbyterian Church 4 Perch and Shipwreck 9 Whitechurch and its graveyard Map 5 The Harbour, the Lifeboat 10 Holy Trinity – the Church and Skulmartin Lightship of Ireland

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2 3 Please note that this map 6 is not to scale and is for reference only 7

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9 Ballywalter Harbour Ballywalter, Co Co Ballywalter, of Trail Walking Historical please contactusviathewebsite. We appreciateyourcommentsand suggestionsso along withideasonwhattoseeanddointhearea. be downloadedfromwww.visitstrangfordlough.co.uk look outfortheotherwalkingguidesinseries.Thesecan We hopeyouenjoylearningmore aboutthearea.Besureto Whitechurch Road,(roughly½mile)from located tothenorthofvillageon Holy Trinity andWhitechurch,bothare exit theMainStreet.Ifyoudecidetovisit Parochial Hallontheshoresideasyou is clearlysignpostedjustbesidethe direction ofBallyhalbert.Thecarpark situated ontheSpringvaleRoad,in it maybebesttoparkatthecar For thepurposeofthiswalkingtour and refreshmentstopsinBallywalter. convenience, therearealsopublictoilets can thenenjoyaleisurelystroll.Foryour available atbothlocationsandvisitors sites canbeaccessedbycar. Parkingis is nofootpath.However, bothofthese reasons asthisisamainroadandthere you walktotheselocationsforsafety the seafront.Itisnotrecommendedthat Ballywalter about history little let’s start with a Just to set the scene, pushed furthernorth toCo.Antrim.The Times. TheDeArquilla familyeventually settlement ontheArdsduringNorman de Arquilla,whocreatedadefensive because itwasthestrongholdofWalter Ballywalter wasknownasWalter’stown Sea toScotland. beaches. ItboastsviewsacrosstheIrish coastal sceneryanduncrowdedsandy to the mid 1800’s complete with beautiful fishing villagewithaharbourdatingback andBallyhalbert.Itisanold coast oftheArdsPeninsula,between Ballywalter villageislocatedontheeast

Let’s begin the walking trail Nationalist newspaper in Ireland, which Nationalist newspaperinIreland,which The Freeman’sJournal,theoldest Sunday 10thJune. Newtownards onthemorningofPike attempted tooccupythetownof Donaghadee andGreyabbey. They alongside peoplefromBangor, involved inthe1798Rebellion Some peoplefromBallywalterwere Whitechurch inUlsterScots. Walter’s Town, also‘’meaning the Irish,‘BaileBhaltair’meaning The name‘Ballywalter’istakenfrom in theearly1600s. lands duringtheUlsterScotssettlement town wasalsopartofJamesHamilton’s 2 1 The LimeKilns Ballywalter Park up arches.Thefireswereusedtoheat remains ofwhicharevisiblebybricked kilns comprisedoftwoopenfires,the ceased operatinginthe1930’s.The harbour, datefromthemid1800’sand The LimeKilns,situatednearthe of anearlyVictorianCountryHouse Road.Itisaclassicexample just offthemainBallywalterto located ontheoutskirtsofBallywalter, Ballywalter Parkisaprivateestate, homes wasturf. potatoes, andthemainsourceofheatingfor this timethestapledietmainlyconsistedof many weresmallandinbadcondition.At of thesehousesweresinglestorey, and coast, withapproximately150houses.Most consisted ofonelongstreet,paralleltothe average familysizeof5people.Thevillage village comprisedof702residents,withan for boats.Recordsshowthatin1836the cottages, aslatequarryandsmallcreek village wasdescribedashaving24thatched with afurther13wounded.In1661the from theparishofBallywalterwerekilled, rebellion metwithmusketfireand9people August 1798thatthoseinvolvedinthe was foundedin1763,reportedonthe11th to fertilizethefields. their cottages.Farmersalsousedthelime bucketful, whichtheyusedtowhitewash houses. Villagerswerecharged4pence per walls oftheDunleathestateandlocal being usedtobuildthe3mileboundary building tradeinthearea,withmuch lime wasusedtoproducemortarforthe sized pieces,andmadeintopowder. The was thenmelteddownintosugar-cube lime, creatingavolcanoeffect.Thelime 15 hours.Waterwasthenaddedtothe the fireandburnedforapproximately and thelimewasremoved,loweredonto were anchoredbetweentwosetsofrocks lime broughtashoreonboats.Theboats plants androses. collections ofRhododendrons,trees, in 1870.Thegardencontainsimportant conservatory wasaddedtothegarden in thePalazzostyle.Ahandsome 4 5 3 The Harbour, Lightship Lifeboat andSkulmartin The Perch andShipwrecks The Old AirRaidShelter andAirfield an airfielddefencepositionbuiltduring dunes, grassandbrackenwhichhouses ‘as ‘theBent’.‘TheBent’isanareaof In thisareathereisaplaceknownas stretch ofbeach,popularwithwalkers. you canseethe‘LongSands’abeautiful Situated totherightofLimeKilns, built inthe1850s. what usedtobetheCoastguardstation its disbandmentin1906.Closebyis 154 livesbetweenthelate1800’sand built tohousethelifeboatwhichsaved at theendofharbourwasoriginally was consideredtoosoft.Theoldbuilding in Walesbecausethestonethisarea was shippedacrossfromtwoquarries The harbourisbuiltfromstonethat the sumof£4000tohelpwithcost. villagers securedagovernmentgrantto was expensivetobuildandluckilythe built byagroupoflocalvillagers.It ahead. Itdatesbackto1851andwas shoreline, youcanseetheharbourjust Continuing alongthepathat ship wrecksoffthecoastofBallywalter. time, tohelpthosewhowereinvolvedin of theCoastguardinBallywalterat designed byAdmiralBlessingtonHead This isknownasthePerch,anditwas Sea, atallmastisvisibleinthedistance. Standing lookingoutacrosstheIrish onboard wererescuedbythelifeboat. here andall25membersofthecrew waters. TheCastlemainegotintotrouble many shipsmeetingtheirfateinthese The seaistreacherousinthisareawith buoy. 1960’s andreplacedbyanunmanned lightship wasdecommissionedinthe in thearea.UnfortunatelySkulmartin cannon, whichwasusedtowarnoffog 20 daysoffrota.Thelightshiphada employees workedona40daysand It wasmannedonafulltimebasisand to seawarnofthetreacherousrocks. Rock Lightship,wassituated3milesout fishing netscanbeseenhere.Skulmartin their catchandmanyfishingboats harbour iswherelocalfishermendiscuss champ, saladsandevencookies.The delicacy, usedindishessuchassoup, is edibleseaweedandatraditional seen layingout“dulse”todry. Dulse lobsters, andinsummertheycanbe Ballywalter fishermencatchcrabsand lost togetherwith29men. 1875 and1900,when75vesselswere dramatic lossoflifetakingplacebetween many livesovertheyears,withmost of theArdsPeninsulahaveclaimed offshore reef.Therocksalongthewhole from “Skermartin”,SkerbeingNorsefor Skullmartin Rock,isderived awaiting rescue.ThePerchstandson 20 mencouldbeaccommodatedwhilst could climbupandawaitrescue.Upto It hadaladderattachedsothatpeople Ballyhalbert airfield. airfield oriftherewascongestionat in WW2whichwasusedasatraining airfield –therewasagrassstriphere path acrossTheBent.Alsoinsightisthe if youcrossthestream,andfollow World War2.Youcanseetheshelter