Castlerock is a seaside

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 ...

in County Londonderry,

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 five miles west of Coleraine, and part of

Causeway Coast and Glens Ulster Scots: ''Causey Coast an Glens'' , settlement_type = Borough , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_shield = , shield_size ...

district. It is very popular with summer tourists, with numerous apartment blocks and two caravan sites. Castlerock Golf Club has both 9-hole and 18-hole links courses bounded by the beach, the

River Bann The River Bann (from ga, An Bhanna, meaning "the goddess"; Ulster-Scots: ''Bann Wattèr'') is one of the longest rivers in Northern Ireland, its length, Upper and Lower Bann combined, being 129 km (80 mi). However, the total lengt ...

and the Belfast to Derry railway line. The village had a population of 1,287 people at the 2011 census, and is where near by village Articlave F.C play their home games.

History

Local historical interest is concentrated on the 18th century Bishop of Derry's ruined

Downhill House Downhill House was a mansion built in the late 18th century for Frederick, 4th Earl of Bristol and Lord Bishop of Derry (popularly known as 'the Earl-Bishop'), at Downhill, County Londonderry. Much of the building was destroyed by fire in 18 ...

, the Mussenden Temple on the clifftop, and the Black Glen set within the Downhill Estate, which is now owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. The palace and estate were created by

Frederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol Frederick Augustus Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol, (1 August 1730 – 8 July 1803), was an 18th-century Anglican prelate. Elected Bishop of Cloyne in 1767 and translated to the see of Derry in 1768, Hervey served as Lord Bishop of Derry until ...

who was the Bishop of Derry in the 1780s. The Mussenden Temple, with its precarious perch on the basalt cliff edge is one of the most photographed scenes in Ireland. The 17th century

Hezlett House Hezlett House is a 17th-century thatched cottage located in Castlerock, County Londonderry. Built around 1691, it is one of the oldest buildings still in use anywhere in Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= ...

is a thatched cottage with a

cruck A cruck or crook frame is a curved timber, one of a pair, which support the roof of a building, historically used in England and Wales. This type of timber framing consists of long, generally naturally curved, timber members that lean inwards and ...

structure and is situated at the crossroads near the village. Built around 1691, it was originally a rectory or farmhouse. Also at the adjacent crossroads is an ancient tree. The bodies of the two victims of infamous dentist Colin Howell were found in Castlerock on 19 May 1991. Castlerock was relatively untouched by

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...

, with only one fatal incident occurring in or near the village as part of the conflict. The " Castlerock killings" took place in March 1993, when four men were shot dead by a group calling itself "Ulster Freedom Fighters", a covername used by the

Ulster Defence Association The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and undertook an armed campaign of almost 24 years as one of t ...

(UDA). One of the men convicted for the murders was Coleraine loyalist Torrens Knight.

Demography

2001 Census

Castlerock is classified as a village by the

Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA, ga, Gníomhaireacht Thuaisceart Éireann um Staitisticí agus Taighde, links=no) is an executive agency within the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland. The organisation is resp ...

(NISRA) (i.e. with population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,326 people living in Castlerock. Of these: * 22.2% were aged under 16 and 22.3% were aged 60 and over * 46.6% of the population were male and 53.4% were female * 14.5% 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 82.3% were from a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

background * 3.4% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed. For more details see
NI Neighbourhood Information Service

2011 Census

On Census day in 2011, 16.5% were from a Catholic background and 77.8% were from a Protestant background.

Transport

Castlerock railway station opened on 18 July 1853.

Northern Ireland Railways NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) ( ga, Iarnród Thuaisceart Éireann); and for a brief period Ulster Transport Railways (UTR), is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose paren ...

currently run a mostly hourly service in both directions (west to Londonderry Waterside or east to Coleraine and onward to Belfast Lanyon Place and Belfast Great Victoria Street) daily, and only five trains each way on Sunday. Ulsterbus services tend to coincide roughly with the times of the railway service and proceed either west towards Limavady or east to Coleraine.

Facilities

Castlerock is home to Guysmere Summer Camp, which is owned and run by the Presbyterian Church.

Education

*Hezlett Primary School *Ballyhacket Primary School

People

The actor

James Nesbitt William James Nesbitt (born 15 January 1965) is an actor from Northern Ireland. From 1987, Nesbitt spent seven years performing in plays that varied from the musical '' Up on the Roof'' (1987, 1989) to the political drama ''Paddywack'' (1994) ...

lived in Castlerock as a teenager. The village was a holiday destination for the famous author C. S. Lewis. Born in

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 Kingdom ...

, he holidayed in Castlerock as a child and took inspiration from

for some of his books including '' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe''.

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in County Londonderry Seaside resorts in Northern Ireland Causeway Coast and Glens district