Template:Northern Irish town Bangor (in Irish Beannchor) is a large town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 58,388 people in the 2001 Census. The seaside resort, situated on the southern side of Belfast Lough, grew alongside an abbey founded in 586 by Saint Comgall, where the Antiphonarium Benchorense was written. A copy of the manuscript can be seen in the town's heritage centre.
The town (the third largest in Northern Ireland) is the site of Bangor Marina (one of the biggest in Ireland). It is primarily residential and can be viewed as a commuter town for the Greater Belfast area, from which it is linked by the A2 road. Bangor is situated only 12 miles from the heart of Belfast and only 30 minutes by train or bus with Belfast City Airport even closer. A direct rail link from Belfast ensures direct travel from Bangor to many places in Northern Ireland and further afield. A notable building in the town is Bangor Old Custom House.
Bangor is part of the Borough of North Down and is twinned with the Austrian city of Bregenz. It is also host to the Royal Ulster Yacht Club. Tourism is important, particularly in the summer months, and plans are being made for the redevelopment of the seafront. The largest remaining individual land owner in the area is the Clandeboye Estate, located a few miles from the town centre.
History
The Annals of Ulster tell us that the monastery of Bangor was founded by Saint Comgall in 555 or 559. It was situated roughly where Bangor Abbey Church of Ireland currently stands at the head of the town. The monastery became a centre of great learning among the most eminent of Ireland’s missionary institutions, although it also suffered greatly at the hands of Viking raiders in the eighth and ninth centuries.
The name ’Bangor’ is derived from the Irish "Beannchar". The meaning of this word is uncertain but may be related to beann, which means a horn, rocks, or a peaked hill, and could refer to Bangor’s rocky coastline.
The modern town has its roots in the early seventeenth century when the Scot, Sir James Hamilton, arrived in Bangor, having been granted lands in north Down by King James VI and I in 1605. Tower House, which is now home to the Tourist Information Centre, dates from this time and is a visible reminder of the new order introduced by Hamilton and his Scots settlers.
The town was also an important source of customs revenue for the crown. In the 1780s Colonel Robert Ward improved the harbour and promoted the cotton industries, which led to increased prosperity in the town. The coming of the railways in 1865 brought further growth and Bangor soon became a fashionable resort for Victorian era holidaymakers, as well as a desirable home to the wealthy. Many of the beautiful houses
overlooking Bangor Bay (now being slowly demolished to make way for flats) date from this period.
Sea bathing and marine sports became popular and visitors from other parts of the United Kingdom increased throughout the Edwardian period. The inter-war period of the early twentieth century saw the development of the fondly remembered Tonic Cinema, Pickie Pool and Caproni’s – all three probably the foremost of their type in Ireland.
With the advent of foreign holidays and cheap travel from the 1960s, Bangor declined as a tourist resort and was forced to rethink its future. The second half of the twentieth century saw its role as a dormitory town for Belfast become more important. Its population increased dramatically: from around 14,000 in 1930 it had reached 40,000 by 1971 and 58,000 by the end of the century (some council publicity material counting it as high as 70,000), making it one of the ten largest settlements in all of Ireland. The town expanded most rapidly in the 1980s to accommodate its new residents, absorbing much surrounding countryside. This period also saw the construction of the Ring Road, the Marina and major light industrial and retail developments.
Places of interest
People
Public figures originally from Bangor include David Trimble, the former Ulster Unionist Party leader and former First Minister of Northern Ireland; the former Formula One racing driver Eddie Irvine (actually from Conlig - a small village just outside Bangor); Blue Peter presenter and former Miss Northern Ireland, Zöe Salmon; and also such local-born authors as Colin Bateman and Zane Radcliffe.
2001 Census
Bangor is classified by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) as a Large Town (ie with population between 18,000 and 75,000) within the Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area (BMUA). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 58,388 people living in Bangor. Of these:
- 20.2% were aged under 16 years and 20.3% were aged 60 and over
- 47.7% of the population were male and 52.3% were female
- 10.6% were from a Catholic background and 82.7% were from a Protestant background
- 3.3% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed.
For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service
Areas of Bangor
Bangor East
- Ballyholme
- Gransha (Hanover, Sunningdale, Nevar, Cranley)
- Bloomfield
- Towerview
- Ashbury (Bexley, Ashbury, Silverbirch, Kilmaine, Ballycrochan, Albany)
- Whitehill
- Rathgill
Bangor West
- Clandeboye
- Silverstream
- Bryansburn
- Springhill
- Kilcooley
Bangor South
- Breezemount
- Conlig (home of Eddie Irvine)
- Carnalea
Bangor North
Electoral Wards in the town
External links
See also
- Other places called Bangor
- List of towns in Northern Ireland
- List of villages in Northern Ireland