Castlerock

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Castlerock is a seaside village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is situated between Coleraine and the city of Derry and is very popular with summer tourists, having numerous apartment blocks and three caravan sites. It had a population of 1,336 people in the 2001 Census. The village also has what locals believe to be one of the finest links golf courses in the world.

1 History
- 1.1 The Troubles
2 Education
3 People
4 2001 Census
5 References
6 See also

[edit] History

Local historical interest is concentrated on the 18th century Bishop of Derry's ruined palace, cliff-top Mussenden Temple and Black Glen set within the Downhill Estate, now owned by the National Trust. The palace and estate were created by Harvey Bruce Earl of Bristol and the Bishop of Derry in the 1780s. The Mussenden Temple, with its precarious perch on the basalt cliff edge is one of the most photographed scenes in Ireland.

The 17th century Hezlett House is a thatched cottage with a cruck structure and is situated at the crossroads near the village. Built in around 1691 (Eccles 1996, p 184) it was originally a rectory or farmhouse.^[1]

Also at the crossroads is an ancient tree reputed to be where the infamous highway man Cushy Glen was hung.

[edit] The Troubles

On the March 24, 1993 the Troubles in Northern Ireland came to Castlerock when four men where shot and killed. For more information see The Troubles in Castlerock, which includes a list of incidents in Castlerock during the Troubles resulting in two or more fatalities.

[edit] Education

Hezlett Primary School

[edit] People

The actor James Nesbitt lived in Castlerock when a teenager.

The village was also the holiday destination for the famous author C. S. Lewis. Born in Belfast, he holidayed in Castlerock as a child and took inspiration from Downhill House for some of his books including The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

[edit] 2001 Census

Castlerock is classified as a village by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,336 people living in Castlerock. Of these:

22.2% were aged under 16 and 22.3% were aged 60 and over
46.6% of the population were male and 53.4% were female
14.5% were from a Catholic background and 82.3% were from a Protestant background
3.4% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service