Templepatrick (; ) is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

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 northwest 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 ...

, and halfway between the towns of

Ballyclare Ballyclare () is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 10,850 according to the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, and is located within the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area. It is part of, and ...

and Antrim. It is also close to

Belfast International Airport Belfast International Airport is an international airport northwest of Belfast in Northern Ireland, and is the main airport for the city of Belfast. Until 1983, it was known as Aldergrove Airport, after the nearby village of Aldergrove, Cou ...

and the village has several hotels. Templepatrick is the site of historic

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

and the Old Presbyterian Church. It had a population of 1,437 people in the 2011 census.

Places of interest

One side of the main street in Templepatrick consists of the

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land subinfeudation, sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. ...

wall of

Castle Upton Castle Upton is situated in the village of Templepatrick, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is around north-west of Belfast. Originally the site of a 13th-century fortified priory of the Knights of St John, the present building was const ...

. A mock fortified gateway in the wall at the centre of the village leads to the castle itself. The core of the main house is a

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...

with walls up to five feet thick, built in 1611 by Sir Robert Norton, but later bought in 1625 by Captain Henry Upton. The family mausoleum is in the care of the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

and is open to visitors. The Templeton Hotel in the village was named after Lady

Elizabeth Templetown Elizabeth Upton, Baroness Templetown (''née'' Boughton; 1746/47 – September 1823) was an English artist whose designs were used by Josiah Wedgwood the potter. She specialised in detailed cut-paper work which adapted well to Wedgwood's jasper ...

, an aristocrat and writer who lived in Castle Upton in the 18th century. In 2020, the Templeton became The Rabbit Hotel. The

Patterson's Spade Mill Patterson's Spade Mill is a water-powered spade mill in Templepatrick, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Initially a flax and corn mill, it was later converted to a paper mill. Ownership passed to the Patterson family, who had been involved in th ...

, which is now a small industrial museum, is nearby. It is a

property.

History

The Troubles

On 9 November 1974, two

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

civilian A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...

s, Patrick Courtney (29) and William Tierney (31), were shot dead by the

Protestant Action Force The Protestant Action Force (PAF) was a cover name used by Ulster loyalist paramilitary group the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) when claiming responsibility for a number of attacks during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Sometimes these actio ...

at their workplace, a garage, Clady Corner, near Templepatrick. In June 1976, three

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

civilians, Ruby Kidd (28), Francis Walker (17) and Joseph McBride (56), were shot dead during a

Republican Action Force The South Armagh Republican Action Force (SARAF) shortened simply to the Republican Action Force (RAF) for a small number of attacks in Belfast was an Irish republican paramilitary group that was active from September 1975 to April 1977 during th ...

gun attack on The Store Bar, Lyle Hill Road, Templepatrick.

Transport

Templepatrick railway station Templepatrick railway station served the village of Templepatrick in County Antrim on the Belfast-Derry railway line. History The station was opened in 1848 as part of the Belfast & Ballymena Railway, which would ultimately become part of th ...

opened on 11 April 1848 and shut for passenger traffic on 21 February 1981.

Demographics

2011 census

In the 2011 census, Templepatrick had a population of 1,437 people (605 households).

2001 census

As of the 2001 census, Templepatrick was 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 in 2001 (29 April 2001), there were 1,556 people living in Templepatrick. Of these: *19.4% were aged under 16 years and 20.6% were aged 60 and over *50.1% of the population were male and 49.9% were female *12.3% were from a

background and 82.7% were from a

background *1.2% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

Notable people

* Sir Robin Kinahan (died 1997) and his son

Danny Kinahan Daniel de Burgh Kinahan (born 14 April 1958) is a British army officer and former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician who was Veterans Commissioner for Northern Ireland between 2020 and 2024. Kinahan served as the Member of Parliament (MP ...

both politicians, of Castle Upton. Danny Kinahan is a cousin of Irish pop/rock star Chris De Burgh. *

Lavinia Loughridge Lavinia Winifred Loughridge (20 May 1930 – 22 March 2014) was a Northern Irish physician who specialised in nephrology. She was one of the pioneers of kidney transplantation, working with Sir Roy Yorke Calne on Britain's first transplantation pr ...

(1930–2014), physician, was born in Templepatrick. * James Hope (1764-1847), known as 'Jemmy Hope', United Irishman, Presbyterian and one of the first proto-Marxists in Irish history.https://www.dib.ie/biography/hope-james-jemmy-a4094

References

{{authority control Villages in County Antrim Civil parishes of County Antrim