Whitehead is a small 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 to ...

on the east coast of

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 ...

, lying almost midway between the towns of

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest ...

and

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight Roll-on/ro ...

. It lies within 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

of Templecorran, the 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 ...

Belfast Lower Belfast Lower is a barony in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. To its east lies the east-Antrim coast and Belfast Lough, and it is bordered by four other baronies: Belfast Upper to the south, Carrickfergus to the east, Antrim Upper to the west; G ...

, and is part of

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is a local authority that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Ballymena Borough Council, Carrickfergus Borough Council and Larne Borough Council. History On 2 December 2021, the councils chief ex ...

. Before the Plantation of Ulster its name was recorded as both Whitehead and Kinbaine (). Located at the base of Muldersleigh Hill, Whitehead lies in a small bay between the limestone cliffs of Whitehead and the black volcanic cliff of Blackhead, with the

Blackhead Lighthouse Blackhead Lighthouse is a listed lighthouse built at the turn of the 20th century, near Whitehead in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It marks the very northern end of Belfast Lough where it opens out into the North Channel that separates North ...

on top, marking the entrance to the

Belfast Lough Belfast Lough is a large, intertidal sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to ...

. Whitehead is about from

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 ...

. On the opposite coast of

, the

Copeland Islands The Copeland Islands is a group of three islands in the north Irish Sea, north of Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland, consisting of Lighthouse Island (also known as Old Island), Copeland Island (also known as Big Island), and Mew Island. ...

, Bangor and part of the County Down coastline, are clearly visible. It had a population of 3,802 in the 2011 Census. Whitehead sometimes known as 'The Town With No Streets', as there are no roadways with the suffix "Street" in their name.

History

In late Victorian and Edwardian times, Whitehead was a seaside holiday destination developed by and travelled from Belfast and the surrounding area each year. Whitehead is a Victorian railway village with a preserved conservation area, including the railway station. It is home to the

Railway Preservation Society of Ireland The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) is an Irish railway preservation group operating throughout Ireland, founded in 1964. Mainline steam train railtours are operated from Dublin and Belfast, but occasionally from other locatio ...

, County Antrim Yacht Club and the Council owned Bentra Golf Course, as well as being the starting point for the

Gobbins Path The Gobbins is a cliff-face path at Islandmagee, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on the Causeway Coastal Route. It runs across bridges, past caves and through a tunnel, along The Gobbins cliffs (Irish: ''Gobán meaning "tip/point of land" or ...

. The town also was home to an aerodrome during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

which housed two airships. An Irish railway engineer called

Berkeley Deane Wise Berkeley Deane Wise (2 October 1855, New Ross – 5 May 1909, Portrush) was an Irish civil engineer who made a significant impact on the development of railways and tourism, particularly in Northern Ireland. Early years Berkeley Deane Wise w ...

took this tourism endeavour to the next level, creating innovative new paid-for attractions that would encourage visitors to use the railway company's services. Just south of

, Wise helped transform the small hamlet of Whitehead into a busy holiday resort. He designed and built a bandstand, ladies and gents bathing boxes, a 'children’s corner', a slipway and a pavilion with 500 seats. Whitehead received a silver at the

Britain in Bloom Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

awards in 2005 and 2006, and a bronze in 2007 with the local Brighter Whitehead group planting many of the flowers. In 2012, Northern Ireland's only Jubilee Wood was planted at Whitehead to celebrate the

Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th an ...

Blackhead Coastal Path

The

Blackhead Path A comedo is a clogged hair follicle (pore) in the skin. Keratin (skin debris) combines with oil to block the follicle. A comedo can be open (blackhead) or closed by skin (whitehead) and occur with or without acne. The word "comedo" comes from the ...

was built by the Victorians in 1892, partly funded by the railway company, to attract day trippers and holiday makers to Whitehead which was at the time a growing tourist destination and resort. Wise also built a new path

along the coast from Whitehead to the lighthouse at Blackhead, overlooking the town, in 1892. To reach the lighthouse he added several bridges and a tunnel. Wise soon had plans for a much more elaborate path built on sheer cliffs a few miles to the north: The

was about to be born. This free accessible path is a seaside walk past Sunshine House, around

and along the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

cliffs of

Islandmagee Islandmagee () is a peninsula and civil parish on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, located between the towns of Larne and Whitehead. It is part of the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council area and is a sparsely populated rural ...

. In 2018, the pathway was closed due to health and safety issues and a possibility of severe landslip. The

Mid and East Antrim Ulster Scots: ''Mid an East Anthrim'' , settlement_type = District , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_type1 = Constituent country , subdivision_type2 = , subdivision_type3 = , subdivision ...

Council started a full renovation of the whole path in 2019. The path was reopened in July 2020. It was partly closed again 2021 after a landslip.

Education

One primary school exists within the town - Whitehead Primary School. Another school, Lourdes Primary School, operated until June 2011. Whitehead High School, an all-girls secondary school, was present until its closure in 1986. It is now the site of a nursing home.

Churches

Churches in the area include Whitehead Baptist Church, Whitehead Presbyterian Church, St Patrick's Church of Ireland, Whitehead Methodist Church, Our Lady of Lourdes (Roman Catholic), and Whitehead Congregational Church.

Sport

Sports clubs in Whitehead include a golf club, running club and bowling club. The latter, a

lawn bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

club, were 6-time winners of NIBA Division 1, including in 2015. The local

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club, Whitehead Eagles FC, play in the

Northern Amateur Football League The Northern Amateur Football League, also known as the Northern Amateur League and often simply as the Amateur League, is an association football league in Northern Ireland. It contains 13 divisions. These comprise four intermediate sections: ...

. County Antrim Yacht Club, based near Whitehead, offers dinghy sailing and RYA courses.

People

*''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

'' actress

Jackie Woodburne Jacqueline Anne Woodburne (born 5 February 1956) is a Northern Irish-born Australian actress, who is notable for her roles in TV soap operas. Since 1994, Woodburne has played teacher Susan Kennedy in ''Neighbours''. She first became notable for ...

lived in Whitehead before her family emigrated to Australia. * Sting (Gordon Sumner) lived & holidayed with ex-wife

Frances Tomelty Frances Tomelty (born 6 October 1948) is a Northern Irish actress whose numerous television credits include ''Strangers'' (1978–1979), '' Testament of Youth'' (1979), ''Inspector Morse'' (1988), ''Cracker'' (1993), '' The Amazing Mrs Pritchard ...

in Whitehead during the mid-1970s. The wooden house on the coastal path that they holidayed in was originally a temperance hotel and has recently been replaced with a new building. He was also known to have stayed on the top road to the lighthouse and Chester Ave. *

Keith Gillespie Keith Robert Gillespie (born 18 February 1975) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who plays as a winger for FC Mindwell in the Mid-Ulster Football League. He began his career at Manchester United after winning the FA Youth ...

(Northern Ireland footballer) went to Whitehead Primary School.

Railways

Whitehead railway station Whitehead railway station serves Whitehead in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The station has two platforms with a waiting room on each and the station is signalled in both directions and remains staffed during commuter hours by a Senior Por ...

is on the Larne Harbour to Belfast Central and Belfast Great Victoria Street line. Located on the

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 ...

network being part of the Belfast Suburban Rail as well as the home of the

Demography

Whitehead had a population of 3,802 people at the 2011 Census, an increase of 2.7% on the 2001 Census figure of 3,702. Of these: *17.8% were aged under 16 years and 22.2% were aged 65 and over *17.5% 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 69.2% 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 ...

or other Christian background *4.2% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

References

Other Sources

Whitehead Community Association

Culture Northern Ireland
{{authority control Towns in County Antrim Civil parish of Templecorran Railway towns in Northern Ireland