Ardglass
Encyclopedia
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in County Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and still a relatively important fishing harbour
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
. It is situated on the B1 Ardglass to Downpatrick
Downpatrick
Downpatrick is a medium-sized town about 33 km south of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the county town of Down with a rich history and strong connection to Saint Patrick. It had a population of 10,316 at the 2001 Census...
road, about 11 kilometres to the south east of Downpatrick, in the Lecale peninsula
Lecale peninsula
The Lecale peninsula lies in the east of Ulster, on the southeastern side of County Down, covering an area of some between Downpatrick and Dundrum. It is an area of historical and geographic significance, bounded by the Quoile Marshes , the Blackstaff River, the Irish Sea and Strangford Lough...
on the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
. It had a population of 1,668 people in the 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
. It is located within the Down District Council
Down District Council
Down District Council is a Local Council in County Down in Northern Ireland. The Council is headquartered in Downpatrick. Other towns in the Council area are Ardglass, Ballynahinch, Castlewellan, Clough, Crossgar, Dundrum, Killough, Killyleagh, Newcastle, Saintfield, Seaforde and Strangford...
area.
The village is a commuter
Commuting
Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...
centre for workers in Downpatrick and Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, a seaside resort and a local service centre providing housing and a variety of shops and services largely concentrated in Castle Place, Quay Street, Kildare Street and Bath Street. A Conservation area
Conservation area
A conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...
was designated in Ardglass in 1996, focused on its early 19th century street pattern. The village has eight archaeological sites within the area and another two nearby. There are a number of listed properties located on Castle Place, Kildare Street and The Crescent. St Nicholas’s Church, King’s Castle, Ardglass Castle, Isabella Tower, the disused railway station, the North Pier and the inner Dock are also listed.
History
Ardglass grew from a place of little note in the 13th century to a modestly prosperous port in the 15th century. It was an important town and portPort
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, but no harbour works seem to have been constructed until after 1812. Then William Ogilvie, who had acquired the Ardglass estate, had a harbour built. Further extensions to the pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
and a lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
were made, but in 1838 a great storm undermined the lighthouse which fell into the sea along with the end of the pier. Work on the piers was completed by 1885 and they remain in use to this day.
Ardglass contains more medieval tower-houses than any other town in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, a total of four, reflecting its importance as Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
's busiest port in the 15th century. It also has probably the most extensive network of warehouses from the period surviving in Ireland. These were important in the substantial grain export trade of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Fortifications survive in the town from the fifteenth century, including Jordan's Castle
Jordan's Castle
Jordan's Castle is a castle situated in Ardglass, County Down, Northern Ireland. The tower house known as Jordan's Castle is a State Care Historic Monument sited in the townland of Ardglass, in Down District Council area, at grid ref: J5601 3713...
, the most imposing of a ring of towers built around the harbour to secure the then important Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman
The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...
trading port, King's Castle
King's Castle
King's Castle is a castle in Ardglass, County Down, Northern Ireland. It was originally built in the 12th century and additions were made at various times over the centuries...
and Cowd Castle
Cowd Castle
Cowd Castle is a castle situated in Ardglass, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the other side of the road from Margaret's Castle, at the entrance to Ardglass Golf Club. It is a small two-storey tower which may date from the late 15th century or early 16th century. The doorway is in the west...
. Nearby are the ruins of 15th century Ardtole Church
Ardtole Church
Ardtole Church is a 15th century ruined church standing on a hilltop overlooking the Irish Sea and the Isle of Man, 0.75 miles north-east of the town of Ardglass in County Down, Northern Ireland, at grid ref: J564382....
.
Account of Ardglass in 1833
The Dublin Penny Journal of 30 March 1833 describes Ardglass as follows:Economy
Ardglass has been a fishing portPort
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
for more than two thousand years and developed as such due to its location on the east coast of Lecale and its siting by a natural inlet
Inlet
An inlet is a narrow body of water between islands or leading inland from a larger body of water, often leading to an enclosed body of water, such as a sound, bay, lagoon or marsh. In sea coasts an inlet usually refers to the actual connection between a bay and the ocean and is often called an...
. It has one of the few harbours which is accessible at all states of the tide
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
and today has two fishing pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
s, the North Pier and South Pier, a number of fish processing factories and a marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
. While the port is not as busy now as in its heyday, 150 years ago, up to £5 million passes through the fish trade here every year. The port specialises in herring
Herring
Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
s, prawn
Prawn
Prawns are decapod crustaceans of the sub-order Dendrobranchiata. There are 540 extant species, in seven families, and a fossil record extending back to the Devonian...
s, and whitefish
Freshwater whitefish
The freshwater whitefish are fish of the subfamily Coregoninae in the salmon family Salmonidae. Along with the freshwater whitefish, the Salmonidae includes the freshwater and anadromous trout and salmon species as well as graylings...
.
Places of interest
- Ardglass MarinaArdglass MarinaArdglass Marina, also known as Phennick Cove Marina, is situated in Ardglass, County Down, one of three major fishing ports in Northern Ireland. Ardglass is now one of the safest small harbours on the east coast of Ireland, following improvements made in recent years.-Features:The marina has...
, sometimes also known as Phennick Cove, has a capacity for about 80 craft and a deep water basin open 24 hours daily all year. Strangford LoughStrangford LoughStrangford Lough, sometimes Strangford Loch, is a large sea loch or inlet in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is separated from the Irish Sea by the Ards Peninsula. The name Strangford is derived ; describing the fast-flowing narrows at its mouth...
lies six miles to the north. - Ardglass Golf Club is an excellent local course. The Clubhouse was formerly known as Ardglass CastleArdglass CastleArdglass Castle is situated in Ardglass, County Down, Northern Ireland. 15th century Ardglass Castle was probably a row of warehouses. Large sections of the original building can still be seen within the modern club house of Ardglass Golf Club...
and the building is steeped in history and tradition dating back to the 14th century. - Jordan's Castle is a ruined 15th century tower house and one of several in Ardglass, underlining the town's historic importance to the life of the district. It can be found between Kildare and Quay Streets.
- Isabella’s Tower, a folly built on top of a hill by Aubrey de Vere Beauclerc in the 19th century as a gazeboGazeboA gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal, that may be built, in parks, gardens, and spacious public areas. Gazebos are freestanding or attached to a garden wall, roofed, and open on all sides; they provide shade, shelter, ornamental features in a landscape, and a place to rest...
for his invalid daughter. - Ardtole ChurchArdtole ChurchArdtole Church is a 15th century ruined church standing on a hilltop overlooking the Irish Sea and the Isle of Man, 0.75 miles north-east of the town of Ardglass in County Down, Northern Ireland, at grid ref: J564382....
is a 15th century ruined church standing on a hilltop overlooking the Irish SeaIrish SeaThe Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
and the Isle of ManIsle of ManThe Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, 0.75 miles (1.2 km) north-east of Ardglass, at grid ref: J564382.
Transport
Ardglass railway station on the Belfast and County Down RailwayBelfast and County Down Railway
The Belfast and County Down Railway was an Irish gauge railway in Ireland linking Belfast with County Down. It was built in the 19th century and absorbed into the Ulster Transport Authority in 1948...
, opened on 8 July 1892, but finally closed on 16 January 1950.
People
- Gareth McMullan from Ardglass won the first ever episode of the Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
quiz show Fifteen to OneFifteen to OneFifteen to One was a popular general knowledge quiz show broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. It ran from 4 January 1988 to 19 December 2003, and had a reputation for being one of the toughest quizzes on TV. Throughout the show's run it was presented and produced by William G. Stewart...
. He also won in the programme’s second series and went on to become one of their question-setters. - Thomas HunterThomas Hunter (school founder)Thomas Hunter was an immigrant from Ireland to the United States. He is most famous for founding the Female Normal and High School in New York City, now known as Hunter College. The school is today considered one of the most valuable assets of the City University of New York, one of the world's...
, founder and president of Hunter CollegeHunter CollegeHunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
was born in Ardglass. - Gerry KellyGerry Kelly (broadcaster)Gerry Kelly is a broadcaster from Northern Ireland. He is best known for his presenting career at UTV.-Broadcasting career:...
lives in Ardglass. - Uaneen Fitzsimons (1971-2000), TV presenter (No DiscoNo DiscoNo Disco was RTÉ's flagship music television programme, broadcast on Irish television channel, Network 2, from 1993 - 2003. It was presented by Donal Dineen, Uaneen Fitzsimons and, following the death of Fitzsimons, Lawrence "Leagues" O'Toole...
) - Paulo Ross, radio presenter on Belfast's Citybeat 96.7FM (2011-present)
Demographics
Ardglass is classified as a village by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with a population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,668 people living in Ardglass. Of these:- 27.3% were aged under 16 and 18.8% were aged 60 and over
- 48.1% of the population were male and 51.9% were female
- 87.9% were from a CatholicCatholicThe word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
background and 10.2% were from a ProtestantProtestantismProtestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
background - 5.3% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.
For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Statistics
See also
- List of villages in Northern Ireland
- List of towns in Northern Ireland
External links
- From Ireland - Ardglass, description from Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1837
- Photograph of Ardglass Railway Station
- Have a Look at Ardglass
- Royal Irish Academy - Three Medieval Buildings in the Port of Ardglass, Co. Down by T.E. McNeill, published 15 April 2005
- A short history of Dunsford and Ardglass