Broomhedge is a small

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, near

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

, approximately 12 miles (19 km) southwest of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. It lies within the

Lisburn City Council Lisburn City Council was the local authority for an area partly in County Antrim and partly in County Down in Northern Ireland. As of May 2015 it was merged with Castlereagh Borough Council as part of the reform of local government in Northern ...

area, and the

Maghaberry Maghaberry or Magaberry (pronounced , ) is a village and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is west of Lisburn and north of Moira. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 4,716 people. It is one of the biggest villages within ...

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

Demographics

In the 2001 Census, the

output area ONS codes are geocodes maintained by the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics to represent a wide range of geographical areas of the UK, for use in tabulating census and other statistical data. These codes are also known as GSS codes, wh ...

which contained Broomhedge (se
here
had a population of 403. Of these: *52.9% were male, 47.1% were female *25.6% were under 18 and 20.6% were aged 60 and over *All were ethnically '

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

' *97% were born in

*4.5% were from a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

background and 92.6% from a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

background *92% of households were

detached A stand-alone house (also called a single-detached dwelling, detached residence or detached house) is a free-standing residential building. It is sometimes referred to as a single-family home, as opposed to a multi-family residential dwelli ...

*10.9% of persons aged 16–74 were employed in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

For more information, see th
NI Statistical Research Agency (NISRA)
page for this output area.

Geography

The boundaries of the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Broomhedge do not exactly correspond with those of the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of the same name. Indeed, Broomhedge ''per se'' straddles the boundary between the postal districts of

and Moira (

Craigavon Craigavon may refer to: * Craigavon, County Armagh, a planned town in Northern Ireland ** Craigavon Borough Council, 1972–2015 local government area centred on the planned town * Viscount Craigavon, title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom ** ...

), and encompasses several

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

s. The exact boundaries depend on whether Upper Broomhedge and Lurganure are considered separately, and the issue is further complicated by the close proximity of

Mazetown Mazetown or Maze (possibly , otherwise known as ''an Mhaigh'' meaning "the plain") is a small village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It was named after the townland of Maze. The village and townland sit on the southern bank of the River Laga ...

and the

River Lagan The River Lagan (; Ulster Scots: ''Lagan Wattèr'') is a major river in Northern Ireland which runs 53.5 miles (86 km) from the Slieve Croob mountain in County Down to Belfast where it enters Belfast Lough, an inlet of the Irish Sea. The ...

which separates counties Antrim and Down. Broomhedge is situated within the Upper Massereene

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

Townland names

Education

The only school situated within Broomhedge itself is the ne
Brookfield Special School
the construction of which was recently completed on the site of the former Broomhedge P.S. Therefore, most children travel to school elsewhere in the

area, Moira or further afield.

Primary Education

Meadow Bridge Primary School
(formerly St James' PS, Maze PS and St John's PS). The Maze Primary School was situated on the Kesh Road. It recently amalgamated to become part of Meadow Bridge PS.
Moira Primary SchoolMaghaberry Primary SchoolSt Aloysius' Primary School

Post-Primary Education

''Secondary'' *

Lurgan Junior High School Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh. Lurgan is about south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin railway line. It had a population ...

, which follows the '

Dickson Plan The Dickson Plan is a school transfer system implemented in North County Armagh in Northern Ireland. It is a two tier system in which the majority of pupils in the Craigavon Borough Council Area and parts of Armagh City and District Council Area at ...

' system implemented in the

area. After attending the Junior High, some pupils go on to study at

Lurgan College Lurgan College is a selective, non-denominational, co-educational 14-19 Grammar School, situated in the town of Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. History In lieu of the establishment of Lurgan Model primary school in 1863, the town of Lur ...

, while others study at the Lurgan campus of th
Southern Regional College
(formerly Lurgan 'Tech').
Lisnagarvey High SchoolForthill Integrated College
''Grammar'' *The two main grammar schools for the area are

Wallace Wallace may refer to: People * Clan Wallace in Scotland * Wallace (given name) * Wallace (surname) * Wallace (footballer, born 1986), full name Wallace Fernando Pereira, Brazilian football left-back * Wallace (footballer, born 1987), full name ...

and Friends'. Some children also travel further, for example to

Lurgan Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh. Lurgan is about south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin railway line. It had a population ...

Banbridge Banbridge ( , ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road (Northern Ireland), A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the River Bann in 1712. It is situated in the Civil parishes in Ireland, c ...

Sport

Broomhedge F.C. plays in the

Mid-Ulster Football League The Daily Mirror Mid-Ulster Football League, or simply referred to as the Mid-Ulster League, is an association football league in Northern Ireland. It contains 9 divisions. These comprise two intermediate sections: the Intermediate A and Intermed ...

at Anvil Park. The world famous Irish band, the Shamrock Tenors are said to be fans of the Anvils and, when not touring, can often be seen on the sideline cheering them on.

Transport

Broomhedge is accessible by turning off the M1 at

Sprucefield Sprucefield is a major out-of-town retail park in the townland of Magherageery, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the southern edge of Lisburn; about one mile from Lisburn city centre, and from central Belfast. Sprucefield is located bes ...

and reaching the Lurganure Road (later becoming the

Halfpenny Gate Halfpenny Gate is a small village in southern County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the townland of Creenagh (),Moira and

; Broomhedge Halt railway station opened on 29 April 1935, but eventually closed on 3 July 1973.

Churches

There are two main churches in the area: St Matthew's Parish Church (

, Connor diocese), and Broomhedge

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

. There is also a

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and non-conformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where they originated from Anglicanism. The group emphasizes ...

gospel hall Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

St Matthew's Broomhedge

Originally part of Blaris

, the church of

St Matthew Matthew the Apostle,, shortened to ''Matti'' (whence ar, مَتَّى, Mattā), meaning "Gift of YHWH"; arc, , Mattai; grc-koi, Μαθθαῖος, ''Maththaîos'' or , ''Matthaîos''; cop, ⲙⲁⲧⲑⲉⲟⲥ, Mattheos; la, Matthaeus a ...

was erected as a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

to cover the Broomhedge area. The foundation stone was laid in 1839, the church was in use by 1841 and was officially consecrated in September 1848. It was served by

curates A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

from Lisburn Cathedral until 1867 when Maurice Knox McKay was appointed as a ''perpetual curate''. The

itself was set up in 1880 with the Rev. John Leslie as the first

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

, who served until his death in 1927. The current

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

, Rev Peter Galbraith, has ministered in Broomhedge since 1991. In 2001 a new church hall was built, replacing the Bradbury Memorial Hall (built in 1951). List of rectors: *1880-1927 - Rev J Leslie *1928-1952 - Rev W R N Ruddock *1953-1958 - Rev G Mitchell *1959-1965 - Rev F Rusk *1966-1983 - Rev W J F Moore *1983-1990 - Rev G Graham *1991-now - Rev P Galbraith

Broomhedge Methodist

The church was founded in 1751, though the current building was built in 1897. The present minister, the Rev Ed McDade, previously minister of

Cullybackey Cullybackey or Cullybacky () is a large village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies 3 miles north-west of Ballymena, on the banks of the River Main, and is part of Mid and East Antrim district. It had a population of 2,569 people in the 2 ...

Methodist Church, was installed at Broomhedge, Magheragall and Trinity on Sunday 13 July 2008. He succeeded the Rev Clive Webster, who preached his final sermon on Sunday 29 June 2008. The building is shared with Magheragall Methodist for evening services every second Sunday of the month.

Broomhedge Gospel Hall

The assembly was formed in about 1890 and met in two different locations before the current hall was built in 1935.Lisburn Gospel Halls
/ref>

Other denominations

No other Christian or Christian-related denominations have meeting places in Broomhedge itself, so members of other churches generally travel elsewhere. For more information, se

References

External links

Broomhedge F.C. Official Club websiteNI Neighbourhood Information ServiceUlster StarLisburn.com
{{authority control Villages in County Antrim