Crossgar () is a

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 ...

and

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 ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

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 ...

. It is about south 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 ...

– between

Saintfield Saintfield () is a village and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is about halfway between Belfast and Downpatrick on the A7 road. It had a population of 3,381 in the 2011 Census, made up mostly of commuters working in both south a ...

and

Downpatrick Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Its cathedral is said to be the bu ...

. Crossgar had a population 1,892 people in the

2011 UK Census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

History

Crossgar has had an interesting and varied past, from the settlement of Anglo-Norman invaders, to Scots settlers, to the St. Patrick's Day riots in the 1800s. According to a history of Down and Connor by a Fr. O'Laverty, the parish of Kilmore, in which Crossgar lies, was likely to have been established around 800 AD and was the ecclesiastical centre of this part of County Down. It was thought that the area had seven chapels and these can be reasonably evident by the remains of burial grounds. But the seventh cannot be traced to a burial ground and is referred to as the "lost chapel of Cill Glaise". O'Laverty says that by tradition this chapel was built by

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

and left in the care of his disciples Glasicus and Liberius. The name Crossgar comes from the Irish ''An Chrois Ghearr'' meaning "the short cross". There is a holy well known as St. Mary's Well (''Tobar Mhuire'') which suggests that in this case ''crois'' (cross) is likely to refer to an ecclesiastical cross, no trace of which now remains. The adjective ''gearr'' (short) may suggest that the cross was damaged or in some way defective. The parish of Kilmore comes from the Irish ''Cill Mhór'' meaning "big church" or another possible meaning is ''An Choill Mhór'' meaning "the big forest", which suggests that the area was covered by a large forest. Another location of one of the seven chapels is the townland of Killinchy (''Cill Duinsí'') meaning "Duinseach's Church". In June 1920, during the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief tha ...

volunteers attacked the

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...

barracks in Crossgar. They opened fire on the building, wounding two officers, and attempted to breach the walls with explosives before withdrawing.

Places of interest

* Ulster Wildlife Centre, opened by

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...

the Wildlife Centre in 1992. * The Market House was derelict but has been restored and turned into a children's nursery. * Crossgar is home to Ireland's first

Disc Golf Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...

course located on the Kilmore Road between Crossgar and Kilmore. * Across from the Free Presbyterian Church is an Orange Hall which is home to the local

Orange Lodge The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots people, Ulster Sco ...

that is still active today with a flute band called Crossgar Young Defenders (CYD) started in 1987.

*Crossgar is home of a football club called Kilmore Rec, they play at Robert Adams Park *Tobar Mhuire Retreat and Conference Centre is run by the resident

Passionist The Passionists, officially named Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ (), abbreviated CP, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men, founded by Paul of the Cross in 1720 with a special emphasis on and d ...

community. The centre is in a former manor house, known as Crossgar House, bought from Colonel Llewellyn Palmer by the Passionists in 1950 to house their Juniorate until 1980. In 1976 Tobar Mhuire became a noviciate, before turning into a retreat and Prayer Centre in 1982.

Gallery

Image:Crossgar Market House.jpg, The Market House (1829) Image:Lissara Presbyterian Church Crossgar.jpg, Lissara Presbyterian Church (1867) Image:Masonic Hall Crossgar 1910.jpg,

Masonic Hall A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history In ...

(1910)

Transport

Crossgar is on the main A7 road, 5 miles (8 km) north of Downpatrick and 16 miles (26 km) south of Belfast, and on the B7 minor road between Ballynahinch and Killyleagh. The village is served by Ulsterbus route 15 and 215 Downpatrick to Belfast.

Crossgar railway station Crossgar railway station was on the Belfast and County Down Railway which ran from Belfast to Newcastle, County Down in Northern Ireland. History The station was opened by the Belfast and County Down Railway The Belfast and County Down Ra ...

opened on 23 March 1859, but finally closed on 16 January 1950. Parts of it from Downpatrick to Inch abbey then opened as a tourist attraction in late 2009 to celebrate the closing of the line 60 years ago.

Demography

Crossgar is classified as a village by th
NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)
(i.e. with population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (25 March 2011) there were 1,872 people living in Crossgar, making it the 2643rd UK largest town. Of these: *22.3% were aged under 16 and 13.74% were aged 65 and over *49.26% of the population were male and 50.74% were female *59.45% 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 34.95% were 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 *39.65% indicated that they had a British national identity, 35.46% had a Northern Irish national identity and 30.20% had an Irish national identity. In 2001 there were 1,539 people living in Crossgar. Of these: *23.8% were aged under 16 and 18.6% were aged 60 and over *49.2% of the population were male and 50.8% were female *60% were from a

background and 38.2% were from a

or other Christian background

Population change of ''Crossgar Town''

*1831 Census = 474 *1841 Census = 695 *1851 Census = 860 *1861 Census = 817 *1871 Census = 688 *1881 Census = 743 *1891 Census = 583 *1901 Census = 582 *1911 Census = 553 *1926 Census = 555 *1937 Census = 577 *1951 Census = 640 *1961 Census = 842 *1966 Census = 845 *1971 Census = 1098 *1981 Census- 1225 *1991 Census= 1246 *2001 Census= 1542 *2008 Estimate = 1860 *2011 Census = 1892

People

Jim Allister James Hugh Allister (born 2 April 1953) is a British Unionist politician and barrister in Northern Ireland. He founded the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) political party in 2007, leading the party since its formation. Allister has served as ...

, leader of the

Traditional Unionist Voice The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. In common with all other Northern Irish unionist parties, the TUV's political programme has as its sine qua non the preservation of Northern Ireland's place ...

(TUV) party and former senior barrister, was born in Crossgar in 1953. * Sir James Martin OBE, inventor of the

ejector seat In aircraft, an ejection seat or ejector seat is a system designed to rescue the pilot or other crew of an aircraft (usually military) in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an explosive charge or rocket ...

, was born in the nearby townland of Killinchy-in-the-Woods in 1893. He is also co-founder of the Martin-Baker Aircraft Company. A stone has been erected in his memory in Crossgar Square. *

Dermot Nesbitt Dermot Nesbitt (born 14 August 1947) is a former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician from Northern Ireland who was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for South Down from 1998 to 2007. Nesbitt was educated at Down High School and l ...

, the former NI Environment Minister and a UUP MLA was born in Crossgar and still lives in Crossgar. *Footballer

Andrew Waterworth Andrew Waterworth (born 11 April 1986) is a former footballer from Northern Ireland who is the interim manager of the Northern Ireland women's national team. Club career Hamilton Academical Waterworth joined Hamilton from Lisburn Distillery in ...

is from Crossgar, as is his grandfather; former Glentoran defender and captain Noel McCarthy. Andrew played for Hamilton Academical Football Club in the SPL and Linfield Football Club but now plays for Glenavon.

Sport

Crossgar is home of Kilmore Rec. Football Club, which plays at Robert Adams Park. It is the club at which

started his career. Crossgar hosts the badminton team and club, 'Lisara Badminton Club'. Their place of play is in Lisara Presbyterian Church Hall. Crossgar is also home to East Down Amateur Boxing Club Established in 2010. Crossgar also has its own 9 hole Par 64 Golf Course, Crossgar Golf Club, located on the Derryboy Road and founded in 1993. Crossgar is home to a seasonal Icehockey team called the Crossgar Stags, founded in 2021. They play on a nearby lake in winter and as a roller hockey team during the summer.

Surrounding areas

* Kilmore * Listooder * Annacloy * Bells Hill * Derryboy

References

Bibliography

* ''The Whitewashed City: the story of Crossgar, County Down'' by Tom Hewitt. Vol. l (Crossgar, Tom Hewitt, 2004)

External links

{{authority control Villages in County Down Townlands of County Down Civil parish of Kilmore, County Down