Ballyhalbert (formerly known as Talbotston and Halbertston) 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 ...

and

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 ...

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 on the east (

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

) coast of the

Ards Peninsula The Ards Peninsula () is a peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the north-east coast of Ireland. It separates Strangford Lough from the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel of the Irish Sea. Towns and villages on t ...

between Ballywalter and Portavogie. It is largely

residential A residential area is a land used in which houses, housing predominates, as opposed to industrial district, industrial and Commercial Area, commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include ...

and has a small

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

and large caravan site which was formerly a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) airfield, RAF Ballyhalbert, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It is within the Ards and North Down Borough. It had a population of 1,026 people (407 households) in the 2011 census, up from 447 people in the 2001 census. The easternmost settlement of Ireland, Burr Point, is within Ballyhalbert's environs.

Name

Ballyhalbert was originally known as ''Talbotyston'' as far back as 1333; however by 1605 it had been

Gaelicised Gaelicisation, or Gaelicization, is the act or process of making something Gaels, Gaelic or gaining characteristics of the ''Gaels'', a sub-branch of Celticisation. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group, traditionally viewed as having spread fro ...

as ''Ballitalbot'', and as ''Ballihalbert'' by 1617. The modern Irish name is ''Baile Thalbóid''. The Talbot family settled in the area following the

Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land in Ireland over which the monarchs of England then claimed sovereignty. The Anglo-Normans ...

. The Talbots came from

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and also settled in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

and

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

History

In May 1917 four vessels, the ''Saint Mungo'', ''Derrymore'', ''Amber'' and the ''Morion'', were captured and sunk in Ballyhalbert Bay, by

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

UC 65 under the command of Otto Steinbrinck, one of the most famous U-boat commanders of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The village played a major role during

when an RAF airfield, RAF Ballyhalbert, was built. It had the important role of protecting

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

and the eastern half of Northern Ireland. During its lifetime, Ballyhalbert was home to RAF, Army, Navy and

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF) personnel. The airfield was sold to developers in March 1960, and is in use for a caravan park and gated community known as Ballyhalbert Park Homes. In stormy weather, although sea defences have been implemented, waves crashing against the coast leave debris on main roads. In the 21st century, a car park opposite the gospel hall has had numerous repairs to protect it from the sea.

Education

Victoria Primary School serves the village. Glastry College is one mile from Ballyhalbert.

References

External links

Community of Ballyhalbert
{{authority control Villages in County Down Townlands of County Down Civil parish of St. Andrews (alias Ballyhalbert)

Name

History

Education

See also

References

External links