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Ballygowan ()Experience ArcGIS
/ref> is a village in
County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
. It is within the Ards and North Down Borough. The town of Comber is a short distance to the north-east, the town of
Saintfield Saintfield () is a village and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is about halfway between Belfast and Downpatrick on the A7 road (Northern Ireland), A7 road. It had a population of 3,588 in the 2021 Unite ...
to the south, and the city of
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
further to the north-west. It is within the
civil parishes In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishe ...
of Killinchy and Comber and is split between the historic baronies of Castlereagh Lower and
Castlereagh Upper Castlereagh Upper (named after the former barony of Castlereagh) is a historic barony in County Down, Northern Ireland. It was created by 1841 with the division of Castlereagh into two. It is bordered by eight other baronies: Castlereagh Lower an ...
. It had a population of 3,138 people in the 2021 Census.


History

Before the early 17th century
Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ) was the organised Settler colonialism, colonisation (''Plantation (settlement or colony), plantation'') of Ulstera Provinces of Ireland, province of Irelandby people from Great ...
, when many
Lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of a ...
Scots moved across the Irish Sea to settle in northern Ireland on lands granted by King James I to
James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...
and Hugh Montgomery, the area of Ballygowan was sparsely inhabited by Irish Gaels. It was within the territory of Clannaboy, and in 1744 the
McGowan McGowan is an Irish and Scottish surname. It is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Mac Gabhann'' and Scottish ''Mac Gobhann'', both of which mean 'son of (the) smith'. Belonging to the Uí Echach Cobo, located in modern-day western County Down ...
s of the Ards were associated with the Clannaboy O'Neills. In the late 18th century the village comprised a bridge (over the River Blackwater at the intersection of the Comber/Saintfield and Killyleagh/Belfast roads), a dozen or so small houses and an inn. The surrounding townlands were populated by a great number of small tenant farmers and weavers. The main landlords were Lord Dufferin and Lord Londonderry. From the mid-19th century through the early 20th century the population of the rural area surrounding Ballygowan declined considerably as many people emigrated to
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
or found work in Comber, Saintfield and particularly in Belfast. However, it was during this period, and subsequent to the introduction of the Belfast & County Down Railway in 1850, that the village began to grow. Ballygowan railway station opened on 10 September 1858, but finally closed on 15 January 1950. After the railway closed in 1950 the village became an attractive "dormitory" town and the ensuing 50 years have seen rapid growth.http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/public/AreaProfileReportViewer.aspx?FromAPAddressMulipleRecords=Ballygowan@Exact match of location name: @Exact Match Of Location Name: Ballygowan@4? On Monday, 15 September 2014, the remains of The Baron Bannside (better known as The Rev.
Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and ...
) were buried in the graveyard attached to Ballygowan Free Presbyterian Church. Lord Bannside was a former First Minister of Northern Ireland and a former Leader of the DUP.


Demography


2001 Census

In the 2001 Census Ballygowan had a population of 2671 people.


2011 Census

On Census Day (27 March 2011) the usually resident population of Ballygowan Ward was 2,957 (1,077 households). *21.39% were aged under 16 years and 12.27% were aged 65 and over; *49.40% of the usually resident population were male and 50.60% were female, and 40 years was the average (median) age of the population. *99.09% were from the white (including Irish Traveller) ethnic group; *11.22% belong to or were brought up Catholic and *80.19% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)'denominations; *75.81% indicated that they had a British national identity, 7.12% had an Irish national identity and 33.69% had a Northern Irish national identity (Respondents could indicate more than one national identity)


Education


Primary

Ballygowan has one primary school locally, seen at the top of the table below. Other schools are nearby.


Secondary

Ballygowan does not have any secondary schools locally, but those nearby (<10 mi (16 km) away) are seen in the table below; All 3 schools offer a direct route ran by Translink, to and from each school.


Bus Services

Ballygowan has a bus depot connecting Ballygowan to
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
, Comber,
Newtownards Newtownards (; ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtow ...
and Darragh Cross. These routes are run by Translink
Ulsterbus Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside Belfast. It is part of Translink (Northern Ireland), Translink, the brand name for the subsidiary operating companies of the Northern Ireland Transpor ...
. The Belfast route uses improved Urby buses run along this route, which include leather seats, free WiFi and USB Charging Ports.


Railways

The Ballygowan railway station was opened by the Belfast and County Down Railway on 10 September 1858. The station was on the once extensive network that connected Belfast Queen's Quay railway station to
Downpatrick Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Down Cathedral, Its cathedral is sai ...
and
Newcastle, County Down Newcastle is a small seaside resort town in County Down, Northern Ireland, which had a population of 8,298 at the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 Census. It lies by the Irish Sea at the foot of Slieve Donard, the highest of the Mourne Mountain ...
. The station closed on 15 January 1950 along with the rest of the Belfast and County Down Railway line, by which time it had been taken over by the Ulster Transport Authority.


See also

*
List of villages in Northern Ireland This is an alphabetical list of towns and villages in Northern Ireland. For a list sorted by population, see the list of settlements in Northern Ireland by population. The towns of Armagh, Lisburn and Newry are also classed as cities (see city st ...
*
List of towns in Northern Ireland This is an alphabetical list of towns and villages in Northern Ireland. For a list sorted by population, see the list of settlements in Northern Ireland by population. The towns of Armagh, Lisburn and Newry are also classed as cities (see city sta ...


References


Culture Northern Ireland
{{authority control Villages in County Down Townlands of County Down Civil parish of Killinchy Civil parish of Comber