Gracehill

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Gracehill is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, about 3 km from Ballymena in the townland of Ballykennedy. Gracehill is situated in Ballymena Borough Council area.

The village is a Conservation area. It was founded as a Moravian Settlement in 1756. The Moravians were a religious group of German origin who had settled here in 1746. The name of the village reflects the religious convictions of its founders. The Moravian church was founded in 1759. A plaque on the church wall commemorates [[1]John Cennick] (1718-1755) the first Moravian evangelist in mid Antrim who arrived in Ballymena on 9 August 1746.

The village is the winner of many Best Kept Village Awards including the Europa Nostra Award and the 'Tidy Town' tin cup award funded by Lord Colin Patton who currently resides above the local book shop. Life in the village nowadays is, of course, very different to the 18th century, but the layout of the buildings and the unique Georgian style of architecture remain very much the same.

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