History
The townland of Killough appears in the Down Survey as ''Kiltaghlins.'' The owner in 1641 was given as Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Ardglass, Thomas Cromwell Viscount of Lecale, a direct descendent of Thomas Cromwell chief minister to Henry VIII. The harbour was built in the 18th century by the Wards of Castle Ward house, just outside Strangford. Michael Ward had the straight road from Castle Ward to Killough built in 1740. Ward called the village Port St Anne but that name did not stick. The name ''St Anne's Port'' was also used. After the outbreak of war between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and French First Republic, France in Campaigns of 1793 in the French Revolutionary Wars, 1793 the growing of cereals increased in Lecale and Killough, as one of the ports of export, expanded to deal with it, until its population was almost double what it is today. A report in 1822 comments on the considerable corn and coal trade and the 22 yawls which "afford the chief supply of white fish to the county of Down." The existing harbour facilities were soon inadequate and between 1821 and 1824, Michael Ward's son, the first Lord Bangor, employed the engineer Alexander Nimmo, to build new quays at a cost of £17,000. The piers, a long one of nearly on the Killough side and a short one of on the Coney Island, County Down, Coney Island side, enclosed a fine harbour. The village prospered and the grain merchants built their imposing houses in Castle Street, and their stores on the narrow lane leading to the quays. The distinctive Sycamore avenue along Castle Street was planted in 1850.Demography
Killough is classified as a small village or hamlet by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).NISRA – Northern Ireland Statistics and Research AgencyHistorical Populations
Pender's Census of Ireland in the 1650s recorded only 21 people in Killough. The Parliamentary Gazetteer of 1846 gave it as 1148 people.Places of interest
Saint John's Point, County Down, St John's Point lighthouse and ancient church are close to Killough. Alms houses on the Rossglass Road were endowed by local philanthropist Charles Sheils, designed by Charles LanyonEducation
St. Joseph's Primary School is located on Main Street. Killough Playgroup is located on Main Street.Cultural references
Killough was used as one of 133 filming locations for the 2008 Kari Skogland film ''Fifty Dead Men Walking''. Killough was used as the main Irish filming location for ''The Shore (2011 film), The Shore'', an ''Academy Award'' winning short film about a man who emigrated to America to escape the The Troubles, Troubles bringing his daughter back to Northern Ireland to meet his childhood friends. The 30-minute film was shot entirely on location in Killough. Scenes from Terry George's 2011 film ''Whole Lotta Sole''https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1545328/ ''Whole Lotta Sole'' (2011) starring Brendan Fraser and Martin McCann (actor), Martin McCann were shot on location in the village, using Killough's harbour and beaches for many of the exterior shots.http://steveinbelfast.posterous.com/the-shore Stephen Conlon's Posterous The village is the inspiration for the memoir ''Sweet Killough, Let Go Your Anchor'' by Irish politician Maurice Hayes, taken from the publication of the same name.Notable people
*Paul George (footballer), Paul George, footballer *Jim Manley (artist), Jim Manley, artist *Charles William Russell (1812–1880), priest and scholar. *Henry Russell (explorer), Henry Russell (1834–1909), explorer.Gallery
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