visitstrangfordlough.co.uk

PortaferryWalking Guide

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tafe

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Shore Rd

Strangford Ferry

Terminal

Aquarium

Marina

Cooke Street Jetty

Shore Rd

Shore Rd

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Cooke Street

Castle

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The Square

Meeting House Lane

High Street Ashmount

Windmill HillWindMiLLvieWpoinT

Ballyphilip Road

Steel dickson Av

Church Stre

et Anne Street

Coach Road

BeLFAST &

neWToWnARdS

CLougHey

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Please note that this map is not to scale and is for reference only

1 Portaferry Castle and Visitor Information Centre

2 The Northern Ireland Aquarium 3 Credit Union4 Market House5 St Cooey’s Oratory6 Ballyphilip Parish Church and Temple Craney Graveyard7 National School8 The Presbyterian Church and Portico9 Steel Dickson Avenue10 Joseph Tomelty Blue Plaque11 Blaney’s Shop 12 Dumigan’s Pub13 Methodist Church14 The Watcher15 RNLI Lifeboat Station16 Queens University and Belfast Marine LaboratoryAdditional Route (Follow Arrows)17 The View Point Additional Route18 Tullyboard Windmill

Portaferry Map

STRAngFoRd LougH

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Historical Walking Trail of Portaferry, Co Down

The main route consists of flat concrete footpaths with pedestrian crossing opportunities. Please be aware when crossing the road and keep an eye out for traffic at all times.

We hope you enjoy learning more about the area. Be sure to look out for the other walking guides in the series. These can be downloaded from www.visitstrangfordlough.co.uk along with ideas on what to see and do in the area. We appreciate your comments and suggestions so please contact us via the website.

The tour will last approximately one hour. For your convenience, there are also public toilets and a wide range of cafes and restaurants in Portaferry.

Let’s begin the walking trail

From your starting point at the Visitor Information Centre, stand for a moment to consider Portaferry Castle, a fine example of a tower house fortified home. Take in the view from the site as it overlooks the Narrows with a good view of Strangford, Audley’s castles and Castle Ward across the lough. It was probably built in the early 16th century, for one of the Savage family with an unusual “L” shaped plan. It is of square design with one projecting tower to the south. Here the entrance is defended by a small arch shaped machicolation. A machicolation is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones, or other objects, could be dropped on attackers at the base of a defensive wall. Similar to earlier towers, it has spiral stairs, but like later ones, lacks a stone vault ceiling, all the ceilings

portaferry Castle and visitor information Centre1

and floors being originally of wood. It formed the focus of the sizeable estate of the Savage family and remained inhabited until 1765. It is in the care of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and access is permitted during the summer season. The Visitor Information Centre building has seen many uses. It was a stable block and had a large coach house/garage area where the main information desk is currently situated. There were originally no internal stairs in the building and the first floor was reached by a perpendicular iron rung ladder from the stalls area. It appears there may also have been an external staircase which provided access by one of the loft doors. The floor timber in the coach house actually sat over an under floor fresh water tank. During the Second

Pages 2 – 3

Portaferry Walking Guide

From here turn right, walk up the steps through the gate and you will find yourself in Castle Street. Turning left, you will see to your left the entrance to the The Northern Ireland Aquarium and car park. This short walk along the road to The Northern Ireland Aquarium from Castle Street is known as Rope Walk, so named as it was here that ropes were made for the very important ship-building industry in Portaferry in the 18th century.

The northern ireland Aquarium2

Around that time there were 30 vessels carrying to the ports around Strangford Lough. Cargoes of wheat and barley were exported to places such as Liverpool and Dublin. The Northern Ireland Aquarium is Northern Ireland’s only aquarium and seal sanctuary, presents the wonders of Strangford Lough and the coastline through an enjoyable experience and is well worth a visit. The aquarium also has a café on site.

The Northern Ireland Aquarium

World War, it was used by an RAF air sea rescue unit who provided entertainment for the people of the town. Recollections of the time say that one half of the top

portaferry Castle and visitor information Centre continued...1

floor was set up as stage area with a bank of spotlights and had a small bar, complete with a thatched roof and paintings of hula girls on the wall!

Back out onto Castle Street you will notice to your right Portaferry Credit Union Building just a little further up the hill. Two hundred years ago this was the site

Credit union Building3

of the town’s fish market. In 1870 the Portaferry Orange and Protestant Hall was built on land purchased from the Nugent Estate.

In the Square you will also see St Cooey’s Oratory – a very modern building on your right hand side close to the Fire Station. Built in 1968 by the architects, McLean and Forte, the design resembles the shape of a boat, and is dedicated to St Cooey, a local saint.

As you leave the square, continue to walk up Church Street and look for wrought-iron gates on your left, including an old gate into a graveyard, known as Templecraney. A medieval church is thought to have originally stood on this site, but it is probably better known as the first site of a

St Cooey’s oratory and Templecraney graveyard5

Presbyterian Church whose Royalist minister, the Reverend John Drysdale was arrested by a Cromwellian officer. Around 1662, after the restoration of the monarchy, he was deposed for non-conformity and the church was given over to the Church of Ireland and remained in use until 1787 when the present Parish Church was built.

Brewery Yard which is located past the graveyard and close to the Police Station is of interest. In the 1840’s Portaferry boasted its own distillery, brewery and scutch mill which were all located in what is now Brewery Yard.

Shortly after this landmark, you come to The Square. Markets and fairs were held here on a regular basis. On the west side standing prominently on its own is the Market House. Built in 1752 by Andrew Savage, in a Neo –Classical style, the upstairs was used by the town’s Literary Society and later as a petty sessions court.

During the United Irish rebellion of 1798, the building was defended by a small garrison under the command of Captain Matthews and supported by fire from the

Market House4

revenue cutter “Buckingham” moored in Strangford Lough. The Market House is now used as a community centre and a country market is held every Saturday morning, selling local foods, plants and crafts.

On the opposite side of The Square, the former Northern Bank building was at a time a small hotel owned by the Savage and Nugent families. It is now the office of the Strangford Lough and Lecale Partnership.

Pages 4 – 5

Portaferry Walking Guide

The entrance to Ballyphilip Parish Church is directly opposite Templecraney on the other side of the road. The present building originally had a lofty spire but in 1810 this had become so dangerous it had to be removed. The church replaced an earlier one on the Cloughey Road, dedicated to St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors.

Ballyphilip parish Church

Leaving the grounds of the church, continue onwards up Church Street and at the roundabout, turn right into Anne Street. At the top, turn right into High Street where, opposite the chemists shop Portaferry’s former cinema was opened by the Hinds family in 1923 and operated until 1988.

As you meet the top of The Square, turn left into Meetinghouse Lane and just past the car park (where bonded warehouses once stood), you will see the old National School. Established in 1831 it provided education for all children between the ages of 6 and 12, the National School system provided a good basic education

national School

with perhaps its greatest achievement being a significant increase in literacy during the 19th century. This building is now owned by the Presbyterian Church. The Presbyterian Church can be seen on the opposite corner of Steel Dickson Avenue.

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PORTICO

Having lost their original place of worship at Templecraney, the Presbyterians erected a meeting house of their own on the site now occupied by the present church. One of the first seven Presbyterian meeting houses in Co. Down, it was rebuilt in 1751 and again in 1839 after the “Night of the Big Wind” on 6-7 January did untold damage throughout Ireland. The architect was John Miller who designed a classical building on Greek Doric lines with an Ionic interior. The building took a year to complete and cost £1999.12s.6d.

PORTICO, the Arts and Heritage Centre on Meetinghouse Street, is the product of an extensive £1.5m restoration of what was Portaferry Presybterian Church. The Grade A listed building is modelled on the Greek Temple of Nemesis and is architecturally unique. The building has been restored to its original 1841 grandeur, retaining its pews, marbled

The presbyterian Church and portico

Pages 6 – 7

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Steel Dickson Avenue is named after the Presbyterian minister, Rev William Steel Dickson (1744-1824), who was one of the leaders of the 1798 rebellion by the United Irishmen. Descendants of the hardy Lowland Scots who came to Down and Antrim in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the Presbyterians were known as Dissenters by the ruling Anglican church and were considered

Steel dickson Avenue

a grave threat to stability by the Stuart Kings of England. They were prohibited from any influence in the government and forbidden to perform marriages, baptisms and funerals in their own churches.

If you wish to extend your walk at this point please skip to point 15.

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columns and pulpit while discreetly incorporating 21st century comforts and technology. The fully refurbished organ features a beautifully designed modern console and glass panels reveal the inner workings. Owned and run by the charity Friends of Portaferry Presbyterian Church, PORTICO is open to all and hosts a range of arts and heritage events and activities, including concerts in all music genres, film screenings, heritage exhibitions, craft workshops and literary talks. Regular opening hours are 11am – 4pm Tuesday to Saturday and Sunday 2pm – 5pm from May to September. During the rest of the year, PORTICO is open by appointment only. For further information on PORTICO and its programme of events, go to www.porticoards.com

Portaferry Walking Guide

Continue down the street towards the shore, and take left. Blaney’s Shop is located on the shore front just across from the marina. The shop was opened in 1917 by Mrs AJ Blaney and it is the oldest of its type in Portaferry.

Blaney’s Shop

In the early 1920’s there were many confectionery shops on the shore front, but now it is the only one remaining. The shop is still managed by the niece and nephew of the original owner.

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Just a little further along, on this side you will note a house with a blue plaque. The blue plaque indicates the location where Joseph Tomelty was born. He was an actor, playwright, novelist and theatre manager. Born in Portaferry on 5 March 1911, he died in Belfast on 7 June 1995. He was instrumental in forming

the Group Theatre in Belfast and wrote weekly scripts for a radio production called the McCooeys. He acted in British and Hollywood films (like Odd Man Out, Bhowani Junction and Moby Dick). The blue plaque was unveiled in March 2011 and there is also a housing estate named after him on Windmill Hill.

Joseph Tomelty Blue plaque10

Pages 8 – 9

Continue on down Steel Dickson Avenuetowards the Lough shore. Turn right alongShore Road and up Ferry Street on yourright. This is a street of great interest andcharacter and where some of the oldesthouses in Portaferry are to be found.

dumigan’s

Ferry Street is home to Dumigan’s, one of the smallest licensed pubs in Ireland. In the mid 19th century, Portaferry boasted 33public houses and in 1822 it is recordedthat whisky cost 11/2d per glass and 10dfor a pint! (A “d” equals 1 old penny).

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church first came to Portaferry in 1778, and the church was established in Portaferry in 1780. In 1789, Wesley returned again to the town and had to preach in the Presbyterian Church

Methodist Church

as there wasn’t enough room to accommodate everyone. From 1830–1850 a school was held in the church and in 1904 the church interior was completely renewed in its present form.

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Portaferry Walking Guide

Just past the lifeboat station, you will see the Queen’s University, Belfast Marine Laboratory. Founded in 1972, it is part of the school of Biological Sciences. At one time this building housed the Belfast Bank which opened in 1865 and closed in 1936. The building is an example of Neo-Classical architecture,

QuB Marine Laboratory

with such features as sash windows and pilasters highlighting the main entrance (looks like a column but is used for decorational purposes). If you backtrack a few yards and turn up Castle Street to the left, you will arrive back at the Tourist Information & Visitor Centre.

Opposite the ferry quay you will see a dramatic new building finished in spring 2009 to house the new “Blue Peter”

RnLi Lifeboat Station

RNLI lifeboat. The building has a copper roof and was designed by the Hutchinson Irvine Architectural Partnership.

Turn back and you will see the Ferry Terminal and the ferry on your left hand side. A ferry has been in operation since 1180 when it was introduced by the Savage family. At the ferry quay you will notice “The Watcher” statue sculpted by local man, Raymond Watson. It represents the Viking influence on the Lough, as well as making visual reference to the history of the town, its past crafts

“The Watcher” by Raymond Watson

and industries as well as its people. Although it is known that the Vikings arrived in the region in the 9th century and named the Lough “Strangfjorthr,” (meaning strong fjord) nothing has as yet been revealed to offer clues as to where they settled in the area.

Strangford Ferry, Portaferry

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Pages 10 – 11

Tullyboard Windmill

Additional Route

If you wish to extend your walk, you can follow this additional route. Please be aware there is a slight climb involved going up to the viewpoint. Instead of coming down Steel Dickson Avenue, go straight up Windmill Hill for superb

The viewpoint – Additional Route

views across the Lough of the County Down countryside. On a clear day, you may also see the Mourne Mountains and Slieve Croob, the Isle of Man and Scotland. The viewpoint is an ideal vantage point.

You may also walk across to the Tullyboard Windmill and climb the steps inside it for an excellent view over the countryside. Built by the Savage family in 1771, it had two sets of millstones but was completely destroyed by fire on Christmas Day 1878. Only the mill stump remains and is still an important navigational aid to shipping coming up the Lough.

With over 50 windmill sites in the area, the Ards Peninsula is known as the “Little Holland of the North.” These mills were used for flax scutching and for grinding grain. Most were built by

Tullyboard Windmill

local landowners, whose tenants would then pay to use it or would hand over a percentage of their crop as payment.

When looking in a southerly direction from Windmill Hill, you can see Portaferry Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) pitches. Hurling is very popular and games can be seen played here at weekends.

Walking further on down Windmill Hill you will come to a junction. To your left is St Patrick’s Catholic Church, Ballyphilip; built in 1762 by the Rev James McTaggart to replace the old mass house.

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Portaferry Walking Guide

For more information contact any of the following Visitor Information Centres:

Ards Visitor Information Centre31 Regent StreetNEWTOWNARDSBT23 4ADS 028 9182 6846k ardsvic@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk

Bangor Visitor Information CentreTower House, 34 Quay StreetBANGOR B20 5EDS 028 9127 0069k bangorvic@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk

(Seasonal office Easter – end August)Portaferry Visitor Information Centre The Stables, Castle StreetPORTAFERRYBT22 1NZS 028 4272 9882

(Seasonal office Easter – end August)Cockle Row Visitor Information CentreThe Harbour, Main StreetGROOMSPORTBT19 6JRS 028 9127 2269

Please Note: This document may be available in alternative formats on request.

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Ards and North Down Borough Council presents the information as a public service, and while every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy, the Council cannot accept responsibility and assumes no liability for any action undertaken by any person using the information contained herein. The content of this guide is copyright of Ards and North Down Borough Council and should not be reused without permission.

Newtownards

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Bangor

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