Greyabbey
Encyclopedia
Greyabbey or Grey Abbey is a small village
and townland
located on the eastern shores of Strangford Lough
, on the Ards Peninsula
in County Down
, Northern Ireland
. It lies 7 miles (11.3 km) south of Newtownards
. In the 2001 Census
it had a population of 1,011 people. It is within the Borough of Ards.
Greyabbey is often associated with the antiques trade, there being several specialist antiques shops in the town, as well as some interesting Georgian
and Victorian
buildings. Of particular note is Mount Stewart
Estate (National Trust
) and also the beautiful Cuanview (privately owned) as well as a traditional coaching inn
.
, a Cistercian abbey
-monastery
located on the north side of the village, dating from 1193. Historically it was also called Monesterlee or Monesterlea, which are anglicisation
s of its Irish
name Mainistir Liath ("grey abbey/monastery"). It was founded by Affreca, daughter of Godred, the King of Mann and the Isles, and wife of John de Courcy
, Anglo-Norman
conqueror of the province of Ulster
. The site of the abbey was on the Ards Peninsula, 7 miles (11.3 km) from Newtownards, at the confluence of a small river and Strangford Lough.. Architecturally it is important as the first fully gothic
style building in Ulster
; it is the first fully stone church in which every window arch and door was pointed rather than round headed. The abbey is located in the parkland of Rosemount House, home of the Montgomery family, to the east side of the vllage.
Tradition says that Affreca founded the abbey in thanksgiving for a safe landing after a perilous journey at sea. The abbey was colonised with monks from Holmcultram
in Cumberland, with which it maintained close ties in the early years. The construction of the stone church began almost immediately. In 1222 and again in 1237 abbots of Grey Abbey went on to become abbots of Holmcultram. The Latin name of the abbey is Iugum Dei, which means 'Yoke of God'. Little is known of the abbey's history, though it appears to have been almost completely destroyed during the invasion of Edward Bruce (1315–18). No reliable sources concerning the value of the abbey foundation survive, but it is not likely to have been prosperous. The abbey was dissolved in 1541. In the same year part of the monastic property was granted to Gerald, earl of Kildare. The monastery was physically destroyed during the military operations of the Elizabethan era. In 1572, Brian O'Neill burnt Grey Abbey in order to stop it being used as a refuge for English colonists trying to settle in the Ards Peninsula. In the seventeenth century the church nave was re-roofed and served as a parish church until 1778.
In the late nineteenth century repairs were executed by the Commissioner of Public Works. Unfortunately, an excessive amount of concrete was used, the crudity of which is still obvious today. The remains of the abbey include the abbey church and some of the conventual buildings, dating from c. 1193 – c. 1250. The original plan of the monastery can be followed with ease through foundations and earthworks. The abbot’s seat has been preserved. It is fitted inside a pointed arch and flanked by detached colonettes. Corbel tables are also a rarity in Ireland, but the Cistercians can boast two of them, one at Tintern and one at Grey. At Grey the corbels were inserted when the roof was raised, probably in the early fifteenth century. There are eight of them altogether, carved with oak leaves, human figures and animal heads. An outstanding effigy of a 'sword seizing' knight survives, thought to date from c. 1300 as well as an effigy of a woman carved in high relief and attired in thickly cut robes. Tradition relates that this is Affreca, who was buried in the abbey, but the style suggests that the effigy actually originated in the fourteenth century, a hundred years after her death.
The ruins are now set in a private parkland, belonging to the eighteenth-century mansion, Rosemont House. The park is not accessible to the public.
Irish Rebellion of 1798
– On the morning of Pike Sunday, 10 June 1798 a force of United Irishmen
, mainly from Bangor
, Donaghadee
, Greyabbey and Ballywalter
attempted to occupy the town of Newtownards
. They met with musket
fire from the market house and were defeated. It is because of this association with the rebellion that the term "The Green Boys o' Greba" was given to the men of the village. GREBA is the name given to the village by the local residents, and also by those from the neighbouring areas. It is a localised "Ulster-Scots" terminology.
The Rebellion of 1798 also affected the village in another form, with the death by hanging of the Rev. James Porter, Minister of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Greyabbey, which took place on 2 July 1798. The final resting place of Rev. Porter is in the Old Graveyard, Greyabbey, which itself lies adjacent to the ancient Abbey ruins.
throughout them.
These Townlands, with the localised meaning in brackets, include :- Ballyblack (Blacks townland); Ballyboley (townland of the summer pasturage); Ballyboghilbo (the townland of the cowherd); Blackabbey (the Black Abbey); Ballybryan (Brians townland); Ballycastle (townland of the castle); Ballyewry (townland of the place of yew trees); Ballygrangee (townland of the grange);
Ballymurphy (Murphys townland); Ballynester (the townland of the doorkeeper); Ballyurnanellan (the townland of the yew of the island); Bootown (Booths townland); Cardy (the forge); Gordonall (the lands all for Gordon); Killyvolgan (central wood); Kilnatierny (the Lord's little wood); Mount Stewart (the mount of the Stewarts); Rosemount (the manor house);
and Tullycavey (Kevins hillock).
Chapel Island; Gabbock Island; Hare Island; Mid Island; Pattersons Hill; Peggys Island; Pig Island; South Island; Turley Rock; and
Whaup Rock.
wastewater treatment works
at Greyabbey, which employs sophisticated membrane technology. This facility and a similar Works at Kircubbin, were completed under the same £3.5 million contract. The original Greyabbey Wastewater Treatment Works was designed to treat wastewater for a population of 1,000. Since being upgraded, it is capable of treatment for a population of 2,500. The Works at Greyabbey helps to protect the marine environment in Strangford Lough
. Two sea defences are located at Greyabbey on the eastern side of the Lough.
For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service
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...
located on the eastern shores of Strangford Lough
Strangford Lough
Strangford 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...
, on the Ards Peninsula
Ards Peninsula
The Ards Peninsula is a peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland which separates Strangford Lough from the North Channel of the Irish Sea, on Ireland's northeast coast. A number of towns and villages are located on the peninsula, such as the seaside town of Donaghadee, with the surrounding area...
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 lies 7 miles (11.3 km) south of Newtownards
Newtownards
Newtownards is a large town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. Newtownards is the largest town in the Borough of Ards. According to the 2001 Census, it has a population of 27,821 people in...
. 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 had a population of 1,011 people. It is within the Borough of Ards.
Greyabbey is often associated with the antiques trade, there being several specialist antiques shops in the town, as well as some interesting Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
and Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
buildings. Of particular note is Mount Stewart
Mount Stewart
Mount Stewart is an 18th-century house and garden in County Down, Northern Ireland, owned by the National Trust. Situated on the east shore of Strangford Lough, a few miles outside the town of Newtownards and near Greyabbey, it was the home of the Vane-Tempest-Stewart family, Marquesses of...
Estate (National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
) and also the beautiful Cuanview (privately owned) as well as a traditional coaching inn
INN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
.
History
The village (and townland) derives its name from Grey AbbeyGrey Abbey
Grey Abbey is a ruined Cistercian priory in the village of Greyabbey, County Down, Northern Ireland, currently maintained by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency...
, a Cistercian abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
-monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
located on the north side of the village, dating from 1193. Historically it was also called Monesterlee or Monesterlea, which are anglicisation
Anglicisation
Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...
s of its Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
name Mainistir Liath ("grey abbey/monastery"). It was founded by Affreca, daughter of Godred, the King of Mann and the Isles, and wife of John de Courcy
John de Courcy
John de Courcy was a Anglo-Norman knight who arrived in Ireland in 1176. From then until his expulsion in 1204, he conquered a considerable territory, endowed religious establishments, built abbeys for both the Benedictines and the Cistercians and built strongholds at Dundrum Castle in County...
, 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...
conqueror of the province of 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...
. The site of the abbey was on the Ards Peninsula, 7 miles (11.3 km) from Newtownards, at the confluence of a small river and Strangford Lough.. Architecturally it is important as the first fully gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style building in 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...
; it is the first fully stone church in which every window arch and door was pointed rather than round headed. The abbey is located in the parkland of Rosemount House, home of the Montgomery family, to the east side of the vllage.
Tradition says that Affreca founded the abbey in thanksgiving for a safe landing after a perilous journey at sea. The abbey was colonised with monks from Holmcultram
Holmcultram Abbey
Holmcultram Abbey was a Cistercian monastery founded in 1150 in what is now the village of Abbeytown in Cumbria in England but at the time of foundation was in territory in the possession of David I of Scotland, who together with his son, Henry, founded it in 1150...
in Cumberland, with which it maintained close ties in the early years. The construction of the stone church began almost immediately. In 1222 and again in 1237 abbots of Grey Abbey went on to become abbots of Holmcultram. The Latin name of the abbey is Iugum Dei, which means 'Yoke of God'. Little is known of the abbey's history, though it appears to have been almost completely destroyed during the invasion of Edward Bruce (1315–18). No reliable sources concerning the value of the abbey foundation survive, but it is not likely to have been prosperous. The abbey was dissolved in 1541. In the same year part of the monastic property was granted to Gerald, earl of Kildare. The monastery was physically destroyed during the military operations of the Elizabethan era. In 1572, Brian O'Neill burnt Grey Abbey in order to stop it being used as a refuge for English colonists trying to settle in the Ards Peninsula. In the seventeenth century the church nave was re-roofed and served as a parish church until 1778.
In the late nineteenth century repairs were executed by the Commissioner of Public Works. Unfortunately, an excessive amount of concrete was used, the crudity of which is still obvious today. The remains of the abbey include the abbey church and some of the conventual buildings, dating from c. 1193 – c. 1250. The original plan of the monastery can be followed with ease through foundations and earthworks. The abbot’s seat has been preserved. It is fitted inside a pointed arch and flanked by detached colonettes. Corbel tables are also a rarity in Ireland, but the Cistercians can boast two of them, one at Tintern and one at Grey. At Grey the corbels were inserted when the roof was raised, probably in the early fifteenth century. There are eight of them altogether, carved with oak leaves, human figures and animal heads. An outstanding effigy of a 'sword seizing' knight survives, thought to date from c. 1300 as well as an effigy of a woman carved in high relief and attired in thickly cut robes. Tradition relates that this is Affreca, who was buried in the abbey, but the style suggests that the effigy actually originated in the fourteenth century, a hundred years after her death.
The ruins are now set in a private parkland, belonging to the eighteenth-century mansion, Rosemont House. The park is not accessible to the public.
Irish Rebellion of 1798
Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...
– On the morning of Pike Sunday, 10 June 1798 a force of United Irishmen
Society of the United Irishmen
The Society of United Irishmen was founded as a liberal political organisation in eighteenth century Ireland that sought Parliamentary reform. However, it evolved into a revolutionary republican organisation, inspired by the American Revolution and allied with Revolutionary France...
, mainly from Bangor
Bangor, County Down
Bangor is a large town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a seaside resort on the southern side of Belfast Lough and within the Belfast Metropolitan Area. Bangor Marina is one of the largest in Ireland, and holds Blue Flag status...
, Donaghadee
Donaghadee
Donaghadee is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about east of Belfast and about six miles south east of Bangor. It had a population of 6,470 people in the 2001 Census...
, Greyabbey and Ballywalter
Ballywalter
Ballywalter is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the east coast of the Ards Peninsula between Donaghadee and Ballyhalbert...
attempted to occupy the town of Newtownards
Newtownards
Newtownards is a large town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. Newtownards is the largest town in the Borough of Ards. According to the 2001 Census, it has a population of 27,821 people in...
. They met with musket
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
fire from the market house and were defeated. It is because of this association with the rebellion that the term "The Green Boys o' Greba" was given to the men of the village. GREBA is the name given to the village by the local residents, and also by those from the neighbouring areas. It is a localised "Ulster-Scots" terminology.
The Rebellion of 1798 also affected the village in another form, with the death by hanging of the Rev. James Porter, Minister of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Greyabbey, which took place on 2 July 1798. The final resting place of Rev. Porter is in the Old Graveyard, Greyabbey, which itself lies adjacent to the ancient Abbey ruins.
- On the Tullykevin Road in Greyabbey there is a brass plate on a field post in remembrance of a pilot who crashed and died there during the Second World War.
Churches
In the village are three places of worship, St. Saviours, Church of Ireland; Trinity Presbyterian Church; and First (Non-Subscribing) Presbyterian Church. Services in all three take place each Sunday, with various other associated meetings throughout the week. The local Roman Catholic place of worship is at St. Marys' Star of the Sea, Nunsquarter, Inishargy, with services each Saturday evening and Sunday morning, and also meetings throughout the week.Loyal Orange Lodge
A Loyal Orange Lodge, working under the authority of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland sits in the Orange Hall, Main Street, Greyabbey. It takes the title of Greyabbey Loyal Orange Lodge, number 1592. It was first formed in the village in 1863 and has had continued membership to the present day. A Junior Lodge also meets in the village and takes the title of Greyabbey Junior Loyal Orange Lodge, number 253, and works under the authority of the Junior Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland. The Junior Lodge was formed in 1977.Bands
Greyabbey has had many musicians who have learned their skills through membership of the local bands. These bands, also known as 'marching bands' have ranged from Part-music Flute, Accordian, and the present-day First-Flute. They provide entertainment for those who have membership of the band as well as those resident in the village as they take part in street parades, such as Remembrance Day, village Festivals, Somme Anniversary, and Orange Lodge Sunday Service parades and Boyne Anniversary parades. The village also has had the traditional Ulster Lambeg Drums as part of the music scene of the area. The history of these large percussion instruments goes back to the Williamite Wars in Ireland, circa 1690.People
The nickname of the local residents of the village is the 'Greba Cras', deriving from the name of the village, 'Greyabbey', and from the abundance of 'Crows' who make their homes in the trees that grow on the outskirts of the village. A mythical story regarding this nickname tells the reader that in times gone by, when the Abbey was inhabited by the monks and they wanted to share the company of a female they would wrap their habit (cloak) around themselves, turn themselves into a crow, fly over the Abbey wall, lift an unsuspecting female, bring her back into the Abbey, and turning back into human form have some fun with her, before turning back into a crow and fly her back over the wall. A story, or yarn, to be surely taken with a large pinch of salt.- Actress Flora MontgomeryFlora MontgomeryFlora Anne Selina Montgomery is a Northern Irish actress.-Early life and family:She was born at her family's ancestral home in Greyabbey, Newtownards, Ards, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, and educated at Rockport School, daughter of William Howard Clive Montgomery of Rosemount House and of...
, who featured in film and theatre, is the daughter of William Montgomery of Rosemount House and was born and raised in Greyabbey, their ancestral house - Botanist Rev. Coslett Herbert Waddell lived in the village
Townlands
Like most villages in Northern Ireland Greyabbey is surrounded by an array of TOWNLANDS, mostly farmland with some dwelling houses dottedthroughout them.
These Townlands, with the localised meaning in brackets, include :- Ballyblack (Blacks townland); Ballyboley (townland of the summer pasturage); Ballyboghilbo (the townland of the cowherd); Blackabbey (the Black Abbey); Ballybryan (Brians townland); Ballycastle (townland of the castle); Ballyewry (townland of the place of yew trees); Ballygrangee (townland of the grange);
Ballymurphy (Murphys townland); Ballynester (the townland of the doorkeeper); Ballyurnanellan (the townland of the yew of the island); Bootown (Booths townland); Cardy (the forge); Gordonall (the lands all for Gordon); Killyvolgan (central wood); Kilnatierny (the Lord's little wood); Mount Stewart (the mount of the Stewarts); Rosemount (the manor house);
and Tullycavey (Kevins hillock).
Islands
Islands dotted around Strangford Lough and set within the Greyabbey Parish area include :- Boretree Island; Boretree Rock; Chanderies;Chapel Island; Gabbock Island; Hare Island; Mid Island; Pattersons Hill; Peggys Island; Pig Island; South Island; Turley Rock; and
Whaup Rock.
Sport
The village has boasted many good football teams, through the local Rosemount Football Club. Organised football in Greyabbey celebrates 100 years in 2012. The present youth football tournament falls under the management of the ABBEY STAR JUNIORS, itself founded in 1984.Environment
There is a DRD Water ServiceDRD Water Service
Northern Ireland Water Limited is a water company in Northern Ireland. Formerly an executive agency within Northern Ireland's Department for Regional Development, it became a government-owned company on 1 April 2007...
wastewater treatment works
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
at Greyabbey, which employs sophisticated membrane technology. This facility and a similar Works at Kircubbin, were completed under the same £3.5 million contract. The original Greyabbey Wastewater Treatment Works was designed to treat wastewater for a population of 1,000. Since being upgraded, it is capable of treatment for a population of 2,500. The Works at Greyabbey helps to protect the marine environment in Strangford Lough
Strangford Lough
Strangford 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...
. Two sea defences are located at Greyabbey on the eastern side of the Lough.
2001 Census
Greyabbey is classified as a village by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with a population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,011 people living in Greyabbey. Of these:- 18.9% were aged under 16 years and 22.9% were aged 60 and over
- 50.5% were female and 49.5% of the population were male
- 86.4% 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 and 6.6% were from a Catholic background - 1.9% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed
For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service
See also
- List of towns and villages in Northern Ireland
- Exploring Ireland. 1992. Automatical Association. p.130. ISBN 07495 0523 0.
External links
- Landscapes Unlocked – Aerial footage from the BBC Sky High series explaining the physical, social and economic geography of Northern Ireland.
- Grey Abbey Photos