- Gracehill
Gracehill is a
village inCounty Antrim ,Northern Ireland , about 3 km fromBallymena in thetownland of Ballykennedy.cite web | title=Gracehill | work= Culture Northern Ireland| url=http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/town_Home.aspx?co=16&to=333&ca=0&sca=0&navID=1 | accessdate=2007-07-18] Administratively, it is in theBallymena Borough Council .The village was founded as a Moravian Settlement in 1765. The Moravians were a religious group of German origin who had settled here in 1746. The name of the village reflects the religious convictions of its founders. The Moravian church was founded in 1759. A plaque on the church wall commemorates
John Cennick (1718-1755) the first Moravian evangelist in mid Antrim who arrived in Ballymena on9 August 1746 .Life in the village nowadays is, of course, very different to what it was in the 18th century, but the layout of the buildings and the unique Georgian style of
architecture remain very much the samecite web | title= Welcome to Gracehill Village| work= Gracehill Village (website) | url=http://www.gracehillvillage.org/ | accessdate=2007-07-18] .The Moravian Church remains a central focal point. It faces the square and is flanked by the Manse and the Warden's House. The Brothers and Sisters Walks, on either side of the Church, meet at the burial ground or "God's Acre ", which remains in use. The Moravians were renowned for high standards of education and there were day and boarding schools for both boys and girls for some time.The village was designated a
Conservation area in 1975. It is the winner of many Best Kept Village Awards including theEuropa Nostra Award and the 'Tidy Town' tin cup award funded by Lord Colin Patton who currently resides above the local book shopFact|date=March 2008.References
See also
*
List of villages in Northern Ireland
*List of towns in Northern Ireland
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