Greyabbey
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| Greyabbey Mainistir Liath Greba |
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| Province: | Ulster | |
| County: | County Down | |
| District: | Ards Borough | |
| Population (2001) | 1,011 | |
Greyabbey (in Irish: Mainistir Liath, ie Grey Abbey) is a small village located on the eastern shores of Strangford Lough, on the Ards Peninsula, County Down, Northern Ireland, 7 miles south of Newtownards. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,011 people. It is within the Ards Borough Council area.
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, and a traditional coaching inn.
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[edit] History
- The town derives its name from the Cistercian Abbey located on the north side of the town, founded there in 1193. It was founded by Affreca, daughter of Godfred, the king of the Isle of Man, and wife of John de Courcy, Anglo-Norman conqueror of the province of Ulster. 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.
- 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.
- 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.
[edit] People
Actress, Flora Montgomery, who featured in film and theatre, was the daughter of William Montgomery of Rosemount House and was born and raised in Greyabbey. Botanist Coslett Herbert Waddell lived in the village.
[edit] Environment
There is a DRD Water Service 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.
[edit] 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
- 49.5% of the population were male and 50.5% were female
- 6.6% were from a Catholic background and 86.4% were from a Protestant background
- 1.9% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed
For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service
