Helen's Bay

Helen's Bay
Irish: Cuan Héilin

Helen's Bay railway station
Helen's Bay
 Helen's Bay shown within Northern Ireland
Population 1,362 (2001 Census)
DistrictNorth Down
CountyCounty Down
CountryNorthern Ireland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town BANGOR
Postcode district BT19
Dialling code 028
EU Parliament Northern Ireland
UK ParliamentNorth Down
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland
Down

Coordinates: 54°40′12″N 5°44′06″W / 54.670°N 5.735°W / 54.670; -5.735

Helen's Bay is on the northern coast of County Down, Northern Ireland. It is within the townland of Ballygrot (from Irish Baile gCrot, meaning "settlement of hillocks"),[1] between Holywood, Crawfordsburn and Bangor. It is served by a railway station and had a population of 1,362 in the 2001 Census. It is part of the North Down Borough Council area.

History

The village is named after Helen, Lady Dufferin (née Sheridan), mother of Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, and owners of the Clandeboye Estate. Helen’s Bay is a planned village which derived from the building of the Belfast and County Down Railway (BCDR) in the mid 19th century, and the aspirations of the local landlord, the Marquess of Dufferin and Ava who wanted to develop the area as a luxury holiday resort to rival Portstewart and Portrush. The granting of ‘villa’ or ‘house-free’ tickets by the BCDR Company, which entitled the holders to free travel for a period of time if they constructed houses within one mile of the station, encouraged further development of the settlement.

Places of interest

Crawfordsburn Country Park, on the southern shores of Belfast Lough, features 3.5 km (2 mi) of coastline and a small beach. The Park also includes Grey Point Fort, a coastal battery and gun emplacement dating from 1904 and updated during World War II. It now houses a military museum. Helen's Bay Golf Club is located within the village and has a 9-hole course. Chef Michael Deane previously owned a restaurant in the village.[2][3]

2001 Census

Grey Point Fort.

Helen's Bay is classified by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) as being within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area (BMUA). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,362 people living in Helen's Bay. Of these:

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

People

Swimmer Andrew Bree is from Helen's Bay. Local celebrity chef Michael Deane won his 1st Michelin star at Deane's on the Square restaurant. This was only the second Michelin star to be awarded in Northern Ireland.

Transport

Telephone Exchange

Although small, Helen's Bay still has its own BT Telephone exchange. Local numbers exist in the following formats:

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, January 24, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.