• News
• Maps
• Weather
• Photos
• Advertise
• Testimonials
• Community

More about Bangor

The name Bangor is derived from the Irish word Beannchor meaning a staked enclosure. It may also be linked to Beanna, the Irish for cliffs. The area was also known as The Vale of Angels, after Saint Patrick once rested there and had a vision filled with angels.

Bangor has a long and varied history, from the Bronze Age people whose swords were discovered in 1949 or the Viking burial found on Ballyholme beach, to the Victorian pleasure seekers who travelled on the new railway from Belfast to take in the sea air. The town has been the site of a monastery renowned throughout Europe for its learning and scholarship, the victim of violent Viking raids in the 8th and 9th centuries, and the new home of Scottish and English planters during the Plantation of Ulster. The town has prospered as an important port, a centre of cotton production, and a Victorian and Edwardian holiday resort.

Today it is a large retail centre and a commuter town for Belfast, though the remnants of the town's varied past still shape its modern form. During World War II, Dwight D. Eisenhower addressed Allied troops in Bangor, who were departing to take part in the D-Day landings. In 2005, his granddaughter Mary-Jean Eisenhower came to the town to oversee the renaming of the marina's North Pier to the Eisenhower Pier.

With the growing popularity of inexpensive foreign holidays from the 1960s onwards, Bangor declined as a tourist resort and was forced to rethink its future. The second half of the 20th 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 late 1960s also saw work begin on the construction of the Ring Road around the town.

The 1970s saw the building of the Springhill Shopping Centre, an out–of–town development near the A2 road to Belfast and Northern Ireland's first purpose-built shopping centre. It has been demolished to facilitate a modern 24-hour Tesco supermarket. The town expanded rapidly in the 1980s to accommodate many new residents, absorbing much surrounding countryside. This period also saw the construction of the Marina and major light industrial and retail developments. In the early 1990s, Bloomfield Shopping Centre, another out–of–town development, opened beside Bloomfield Estate. In 2007, a major renovation of the centre began, including the construction of a multistorey car park. The trend towards out–of–town shopping centres was somewhat reversed with the construction of the Flagship Centre around 1990 and a large Safeway store in the town centre, which has now become ASDA.

Currently the seafront of the town is awaiting redevelopment and has been for over a decade, with a large part of the frontage already demolished, leaving a patch of derelict ground facing onto the marina. Because of this, a great deal of local controversy surrounds this process and the many plans put forward by the council and developers for the land (see External Links). A state of the art recycling centre is being built in Balloo Industrial Estate, due to be one of the most advanced in Europe. It opened in the summer of 2008.

The first section of Belfast and County Down Railway line from Belfast to Holywood opened in 1848 and was extended to Bangor by the Belfast, Holywood and Bangor Railway (BHBR), opening on 1 May 1865, along with Bangor railway station. It was acquired by the BCDR in 1884.[11] and closed to goods traffic on 24 April 1950.[12] Bangor West railway station was opened on 1 June 1928[12] by the Belfast and County Down Railway to serve the rapidly expanding suburbs of Bangor.

The east of Bangor includes areas such as Ballyholme, Bloomfield, Towerview and Whitehill. The west of Bangor includes Clandeboye, Silverstream, Bryansburn, Springhill, Kilcooley, Carnalea. The south of Bangor covers areas including Breezemount, Conlig, Gransha, Ashbury, Rathgael, Rathgill, Ballycrochan. The north of Bangor covers the town centre, Ward Park, Harbour and Marina area and Pickie Fun Park.

Bangor Marina is the second largest marina in Ireland and is located in the centre of the town of Bangor, Northern Ireland. The Marina is one of 35 marinas internationally that has been awarded Five Anchors by the Yachting Harbour Association. The Marina has also been awarded the "Blue Flag" for attention to environmental issues in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. Since opening in 1989, it has grown steadily and now has berths for nearly 600 craft. Sailors are attracted by its unrestricted 24 hour access, proximity in the centre of a quality resort and its facilities and events.

It is in an area that has been known for it yachting opportunities for more than a century. Four long-established yacht clubs are located in the Borough: the Royal Ulster, the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club, Ballyholme Yacht Club and Holywood Yacht Club. All hold regattas, sailing series and championship events throughout the season.

Bangor Castle in Bangor, Northern Ireland, was completed in 1852 for The Hon Robert Edward Ward. This imposing building is not so much a castle as an elegant mansion in the Elizabethan-Jacobean revival style. It has no fewer than 35 bedrooms and incorporates a huge saloon for musical recitals. When the then municipal authority, Bangor Borough Council, acquired the Castle and grounds, the music saloon became the Council Chamber. The first Council meeting was held there almost exactly 100 years after the building-now known as the Town Hall was first completed. The successor to Bangor Borough Council, North Down Borough Council now sits at the Castle. Situated in Castle Park the gardens have won many awards for their outstanding blooms.

< Back to Bangor home page