Crossgar
Encyclopedia
Crossgar is a village
and townland
in County Down
, Northern Ireland
. It is about 15 miles south of Belfast
– between Saintfield
and Downpatrick
. Crossgar had a population of 1,539 people in the 2001 Census
.
and left in the care of his disciples Glasicus and Liberius.
The name Crossgar comes from the Irish An Chrois Ghearr meaning "the short cross". There is a holy well known as St. Mary’s Well (Tobar Mhuire) which suggests that in this case crois (cross) is likely to refer to an ecclesiastical cross, no trace of which now remains. The adjective gearr (short) may suggest that the cross was damaged or in some way defective. The parish of Kilmore comes from the Irish Cill Mhór meaning "big church" or another possible meaning is An Choill Mhór meaning "the big forest", which suggests that the area was covered by a large forest. Another location of one of the seven chapels is the townland of Killinchy (Cill Duinsí) meaning "Duinseach's Church".
The manor house, known as Crossgar House, was put up for sale by its last owner, Colonel Llewwllen Palmer, in later 1949. Around this time also the Passionists had been looking for a suitable site in which to refound their Juniorate, a second-level school for boys interested in Passionist religious life and priesthood. The Juniorate up to this period was in Wheatfield, North Belfast
. Tobar Mhuire met the necessary requirements and was purchased by the Passionists in 1950. So Tobar Mhuire then returned to its ancient roots and Mass was next celebrated there on 15 September 1950. The Passionists took up residence on the last Sunday in November 1950. The Juniorate flourished for nearly thirty years. Many young people were educated at Tobar Mhuire and in its heyday over fifty young students lived here with a staff of about eight. In the final years, before the juniorate was closed in 1980, the students attended St. Patrick's High School in Downpatrick, run by the De La Salle Brothers.
In 1976 Tobar Mhuire became a noviciate, a place where people are encouraged to deepen their vocation to religious life. The Passionist vocation, to help others become more aware of the great love God has for them as shown on the cross, motivated developing the old juniorate into a retreat and Prayer Centre in 1982. The community continues its work through various faith development programmes run both at Tobar Mhuire and elsewhere on request.
The village is served by Ulsterbus route 15 and 215 Downpatrick to Belfast.
Crossgar railway station opened on 23 March 1859, but finally closed on 16 January 1950.
Parts of it from Downpatrick to Inch abbey then opened as a tourist attraction in late 2009 to celebrate the closing of the line 60 years ago.
For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service
The James Martin
Memorial Stone is located in the Square in Crossgar and is maintained by Down District Council. Sir James Martin, who hailed from the nearby townland of "Killinchy-in-the-Woods", was born on 11 September 1893, and died on 5 January 1981, was awarded for services to Engineering an OBE
in 1950 and a CBE in 1957. He is famous as the inventor of the ejector seat
for aircraft. He was also co-founder of the Martin-Baker Aircraft Company
. A 3 foot (0.9144 m) stone has been erected in his memory.
Andrew Waterworth
grandson of former Glentoran defender and captain Noel McCarthy played for Hamilton Academical Football Club in the SPL but now plays for Glentoran Football Club is from Crossgar.
Based in the Crossgar Orange Hall on Killyleagh Street holds Crossgar Young Defenders (CYD) a loyalist matching flute band.
started his career.
Crossgar hosts the badminton team and club, 'Lisara Badminton Club'. Their place of play is in Lisara Presbyterian Church Hall.
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...
and townland
Townland
A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...
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...
. It is about 15 miles south of 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...
– between Saintfield
Saintfield
Saintfield is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland, situated roughly halfway between Belfast and Downpatrick on the A7 road. It had a population of 2,959 people in the 2001 Census. The village proper is considered predominantly a middle or upper-middle class town and of both Catholic and...
and 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...
. Crossgar had a population of 1,539 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....
.
History
Crossgar has had a very interesting and varied past, from the settlement of Anglo-Norman invaders, to Scots settlers, to the St. Patrick's Day riots in the 1800s. According to a history of Down and Connor by a Fr. O'Laverty, the parish of Kilmore, in which Crossgar lies, was likely to have been established around 800 AD and was the ecclesiastical centre of this part of County Down. It was thought that the area had seven chapels and these can be reasonably evident by the remains of burial grounds. But the seventh cannot be traced to a burial ground and is referred to as the "lost chapel of Cill Glaise". O'Laverty says that by tradition this chapel was built by Saint PatrickSaint Patrick
Saint Patrick was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland, although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints....
and left in the care of his disciples Glasicus and Liberius.
The name Crossgar comes from the Irish An Chrois Ghearr meaning "the short cross". There is a holy well known as St. Mary’s Well (Tobar Mhuire) which suggests that in this case crois (cross) is likely to refer to an ecclesiastical cross, no trace of which now remains. The adjective gearr (short) may suggest that the cross was damaged or in some way defective. The parish of Kilmore comes from the Irish Cill Mhór meaning "big church" or another possible meaning is An Choill Mhór meaning "the big forest", which suggests that the area was covered by a large forest. Another location of one of the seven chapels is the townland of Killinchy (Cill Duinsí) meaning "Duinseach's Church".
Places of interest
- Situated in the village is the famous Ulster Wildlife Centre, run by the Ulster Wildlife Trust http://www.ulsterwildlifetrust.org and which is situated in a Victorian walled garden in the grounds of Tobar Mhuire Monastery (owned by the PassionistPassionistThe Passionists are a Roman Catholic religious order founded by Saint Paul of the Cross . Professed members use the initials C.P. after their names.-History:St...
missionary order). Sir David AttenboroughDavid AttenboroughSir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
opened the Wildlife Centre in 1992 and the Trust is a charity to promote conservation in its natural habitat in Northern Ireland. Also situated in the same grounds is a huge Victorian conservatory with vines that were planted as far back as the last century. - The Market House is currently unused, missing its clock and boarded up.
- Crossgar is home to Ireland's first Disc GolfDisc golfDisc golf is a disc game in which individual players throw a flying disc into a basket or at a target. According to the Professional Disc Golf Association, "The object of the game is to traverse a course from beginning to end in the fewest number of throws of the disc." Of the more than 3000...
course located on the Kilmore Road between Crossgar and Kilmore. - Crossgar Free Presbyterian ChurchFree Presbyterian Church of UlsterThe Free Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian denomination founded by the Rev. Ian Paisley in 1951. Most of its members live in Northern Ireland...
is the first congregation of the Free Presbyterian denomination worldwide. It was founded in 1951 when most of the elders and a large part of the congregation of Lissara Presbyterian Church seceded in a dispute between evangelicals and liberals and in which the Presbyterian Church in IrelandPresbyterian Church in IrelandThe Presbyterian Church in Ireland , is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in Northern Ireland...
banned local people from using their own Church hall for a gospel mission. The evangelist for the mission was Rev. Ian PaisleyIan PaisleyIan Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC is a politician and church minister in Northern Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party , he and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness were elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively on 8 May 2007.In addition to co-founding...
. - Crossgar is home of a football club called Kilmore Rec, they play at Robert Adams Park
Tobar Mhuire
According to local man Tom Hewitt's research, "one of the seven chapels of the parish of Kilmore was probably in the grounds of Tobar Mhuire (Mary's Well). Local folk memory would claim that the large stones erected along the avenue from the main entrance were originally from the ancient chapel that O'Laverty refers to in his History of Down and Connor.The manor house, known as Crossgar House, was put up for sale by its last owner, Colonel Llewwllen Palmer, in later 1949. Around this time also the Passionists had been looking for a suitable site in which to refound their Juniorate, a second-level school for boys interested in Passionist religious life and priesthood. The Juniorate up to this period was in Wheatfield, North 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...
. Tobar Mhuire met the necessary requirements and was purchased by the Passionists in 1950. So Tobar Mhuire then returned to its ancient roots and Mass was next celebrated there on 15 September 1950. The Passionists took up residence on the last Sunday in November 1950. The Juniorate flourished for nearly thirty years. Many young people were educated at Tobar Mhuire and in its heyday over fifty young students lived here with a staff of about eight. In the final years, before the juniorate was closed in 1980, the students attended St. Patrick's High School in Downpatrick, run by the De La Salle Brothers.
In 1976 Tobar Mhuire became a noviciate, a place where people are encouraged to deepen their vocation to religious life. The Passionist vocation, to help others become more aware of the great love God has for them as shown on the cross, motivated developing the old juniorate into a retreat and Prayer Centre in 1982. The community continues its work through various faith development programmes run both at Tobar Mhuire and elsewhere on request.
Transport
Crossgar is on the main A7 road, 5 miles (8 km) north of Downpatrick and 16 miles (26 km) south of Belfast, and on the B7 minor road between Ballynahinch and Killyleagh.The village is served by Ulsterbus route 15 and 215 Downpatrick to Belfast.
Crossgar railway station opened on 23 March 1859, but finally closed on 16 January 1950.
Parts of it from Downpatrick to Inch abbey then opened as a tourist attraction in late 2009 to celebrate the closing of the line 60 years ago.
Demographics
Crossgar is classified as a village by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,539 people living in Crossgar. Of these:- 23.8% were aged under 16 and 18.6% were aged 60 and over
- 49.2% of the population were male and 50.8% were female
- 74.0% 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 26.2% 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
For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service
People
James Martin (engineer)
Sir James Martin CBE DSc CEng FIMechE FRAeS was a British engineer and together with Captain Valentine Baker the founder of the Martin-Baker aircraft company which is now a leading producer of aircraft ejection seats....
Memorial Stone is located in the Square in Crossgar and is maintained by Down District Council. Sir James Martin, who hailed from the nearby townland of "Killinchy-in-the-Woods", was born on 11 September 1893, and died on 5 January 1981, was awarded for services to Engineering an OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1950 and a CBE in 1957. He is famous as the inventor of the ejector seat
Ejector seat
In aircraft, an ejection seat is a system designed to rescue the pilot or other crew of an aircraft in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an explosive charge or rocket motor, carrying the pilot with it. The concept of an eject-able escape capsule has also...
for aircraft. He was also co-founder of the Martin-Baker Aircraft Company
Martin-Baker
Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. Ltd. is a manufacturer of ejection seats and safety related equipment for aviation. The company origins were as an aircraft manufacturer before becoming a pioneer in the field of ejection seats...
. A 3 foot (0.9144 m) stone has been erected in his memory.
Andrew Waterworth
Andrew Waterworth
Andrew Waterworth is a footballer from Northern Ireland who plays for Glentoran.-Early years:Waterworth was always a keen footballer and regularly enjoyed a kickabout with his mates in Tobarmore Park in his hometown of Crossgar. He is the grandson of former Glentoran defender and captain Noel...
grandson of former Glentoran defender and captain Noel McCarthy played for Hamilton Academical Football Club in the SPL but now plays for Glentoran Football Club is from Crossgar.
Based in the Crossgar Orange Hall on Killyleagh Street holds Crossgar Young Defenders (CYD) a loyalist matching flute band.
Sport
Crossgar is home of Kilmore Rec. Football Club, which plays at Robert Adams Park. It is the club at which Andrew WaterworthAndrew Waterworth
Andrew Waterworth is a footballer from Northern Ireland who plays for Glentoran.-Early years:Waterworth was always a keen footballer and regularly enjoyed a kickabout with his mates in Tobarmore Park in his hometown of Crossgar. He is the grandson of former Glentoran defender and captain Noel...
started his career.
Crossgar hosts the badminton team and club, 'Lisara Badminton Club'. Their place of play is in Lisara Presbyterian Church Hall.