Helen's Bay

Infobox Irish Place
name = Helen's Bay
irish =
crest

motto =
map

pin coords = left: 173px; top: 75px
north coord = | west coord =
area = | elevation =
province = Ulster
county = County Down
NI district = North Down Borough
UK constituency = North Down
EU constituency = Northern Ireland
stdcode = 028, +44 28
posttown = Bangor
postcode = BT19
population = 1,362
census yr = 2001
web =
|

Helen's Bay is a village on the North Down coastline at Grey Point between Crawfordsburn and Seahill, four miles west of Bangor. It is named after Helen, Lady Dufferin ("née Sheridan"), mother of Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava and owners of the Clandeboye Estate. It is served by a railway station on the Bangor to Belfast line. It had a population of 1,362 in the 2001 Census. It is within the North Down Borough Council area and is a commuter settlement with a small beach.

History

Helen’s Bay is a planned village which derived from the building of the Belfast and County Down Railway (BCDR) in the mid 19th century, and the aspirations of the local landlord, the Marquess of Dufferin and Ava who wanted to develop the area as a luxury holiday resort to rival Portstewart and Portrush. The granting of ‘villa’ or ‘house-free’ tickets by the BCDR Company, which entitled the holders to free travel for a period of time if they constructed houses within one mile of the station, encouraged further development of the settlement.

Places of interest

Crawfordsburn Country Park, on the southern shores of Belfast Lough, features 3.5 km (2.1 mi) of coastline and a small beach. The Park also includes Grey Point Fort, a coastal battery and gun emplacement dating from 1904 and updated during World War II. It now houses a military museum. Chef Michael Deane previously owned a restaurant in the village. [ [http://www.northdown.gov.uk/template1.asp?pid=144&parent=130&area=4 North Down Borough Council] ] [ [http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/town_Home.aspx?co=7&to=148&ca=0&sca=0&navID=1 Culture Northern Ireland] ]

2001 Census

Helen's Bay is classified by the [http://www.nisra.gov.uk/ NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)] as being within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area (BMUA). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,362 people living in Helen's Bay. Of these:
*17.9% were aged under 16 years and 28.3% were aged 60 and over
*48.6% of the population were male and 51.4% were female
*10.7% were from a Catholic background and 84.3% were from a Protestant background
*1.0% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed.

For more details see: [http://www.ninis.nisra.gov.uk/ NI Neighbourhood Information Service]

People

Swimmer Andrew Bree is from Helen's Bay. He became the first Irish person to win a medal at the European SC Championships at the National Aquatic Centre, Dublin in December 2003. He did this by coming in second in the 200m breastsroke, his premier event. His home club is Ards and he currently trains in Tennessee, USA.

Bree failed to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. However, he qualified for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia. There he equalled the 200m LC Breaststroke record and was placed fifth. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/commonwealth_games/results/4783206.stm BBC News] ]

Transport

*Helen's Bay railway station opened on 1 May 1865 and was closed for goods traffic on 24 April 1950. [cite web | title=Helen's Bay | work=Railscot - Irish Railways | url=http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf | accessdate=2007-08-28]

Telephone Exchange

Although small, Helen's Bay still has its own BT Telephone exchange. Local numbers exist in the following formats:

* (028) 9185 2XXX
* (028) 9185 3XXX
* (028) 9185 4XXX

References

See also

*List of villages in Northern Ireland
*List of towns in Northern Ireland