Whiterock is a small

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

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 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It is within the

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

of Killinakin, in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Killinchy and historic

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 ...

of Dufferin, on the western shore of

Strangford Lough Strangford Lough () is a large sea lough or inlet in County Down, in the east of Northern Ireland. It is the largest inlet in Ireland and the wider British Isles, covering . The lough is almost fully enclosed by the Ards Peninsula and is linke ...

, near to the village of Killinchy. It is in the Ards and North Down Borough. It had a population of 355 people (141 households) in the 2011 Census. (2001 Census: 351 people) Whiterock is home to two yacht clubs:

Yacht Club and 1.5 km to the north, Down Cruising Club. The latter is based in a moored former lightship, the ''Petrel'', acquired in 1968. The lightship had been built by the Dublin Dockyard Company in 1915 for the

Commissioners of Irish Lights The Commissioners of Irish Lights (), often shortened to Irish Lights or CIL, is the body that serves as the general lighthouse authority for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and their adjacent seas and islands. As the lighthouse a ...

and since registered as a National Historic Ship UK. Between the two yacht clubs is Sketrick Castle, a 15th-century tower house on Sketrick Island, now in ruins. To the south of Whiterock is Ballymorran Bay.

History

The origin of the name "Whiterock" is uncertain, but it may come from a white aplite seam found in the local granite. Rev. John Livingstone, chaplain to the Countess of Wigtown, was invited to Killinchy by Sir James Hamilton in 1630 and led a congregation at the earlier church on the site of the current parish church. In 1636, he attempted to sail to America on the Eagle Wing but returned and later moved to

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

, where his Killinchy congregation visited him from

Donaghadee Donaghadee ( , ) is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about east of Belfast and about six miles (10 km) south east of Bangor, County Down, Bangor. It is in the Civil paris ...

. Michael Bruce, a later minister, was arrested in Scotland for preaching illegally and chose exile in Killinchy, effectively returning home. The church cemetery contains the graves of Bruce's children and 1798 rebellion figures James McCann and Dr. James Cord. Killinchy Presbyterian Church has a cruciform layout, and nearby Sketrick Castle dates to the 1400s. The area's history is featured in James Meikle’s 1839 novel Killinchy in the Days of Livingstone and W.G. Lyttle’s 1890 book Daft Eddie and the Smugglers of Strangford Lough, which inspired a local restaurant’s name.

Lightship ''Petrel''

The lightship ''Petrel'', built in 1915, was part of the Seabird-class of lightships and was constructed using riveted iron and steel. Petrel operated primarily at the Blackwater Bank station off the coast of Wexford, where it served as a floating lighthouse. After being decommissioned in 1968, the vessel was sold to Hammond Lane Foundries in Dublin. The Down Cruising Club later purchased the ship for £2,049.50 and moved it to Ballydorn in Strangford Lough. Since then, it has been used as the club's headquarters. Modifications have been made to support its new function, including the installation of electricity, heating, and communication systems. Petrel remains afloat at this location.

Sketrick Castle

Sketrick Castle is situated on Sketrick Island, accessible by a causeway on the west coast of Strangford Lough. Built in the mid-15th century, this large tower house was originally four storeys high. It featured a boat bay, a subterranean passage and four ground-level chambers. The largest chamber had a vaulted ceiling supported by wicker centring and contained two ovens, while a small, unlit room may have served as a lock-up or treasury. The structure remained mostly intact until half of it collapsed during a storm in 1896. Remnants of the bawn wall still stand to the north and east of the castle.

Gallery

Image:Whiterock Rd - geograph.org.uk - 7252180.jpg, Whiterock Rd Image:Yachts, Strangford Lough - geograph.org.uk - 3087716.jpg, Yachts moored of Whiterock Image:The Clubhouse - geograph.org.uk - 137113.jpg, The Clubhouse of
Strangford Lough Yacht Club Image:Clipper Eagle Wing Off Hong Kong, circa 1860.jpg, Clipper Eagle Wing off Hong Kong, c1860 Image:Sketrick Castle.jpg, Sketrick Castle

References

{{authority control Villages in County Down Civil parish of Killinchy Ards Borough Council