BALLYMENA
– CITY OF THE SEVEN TOWERS
PAVEMENT CAFE RELAXATION
IN BALLYMENA.
King
James I granted the Ballymena Estate in 1607 and it passed through several
hands until it reached William Adair, a Scottish Laird, who temporarily
re-named the town Kinhiltstown for a short time. Many Scottish settlers
followed the Adairs to mid-Antrim and this left an enduring mark on
the cultural, financial and religious life of the district.
As the Adairs prospered, so did the growing town of Ballymena. The first
Ballymena Castle was built by the Adairs, but it burned down in 1720
and it was not until 1865 that work began on the second. In 1955, after
being unoccupied for some time, the castle was badly damaged by fire
again and it was declared unsafe and demolished.
For a look into Ballymena’s past inhabitants, the conservation
area of Gracehill - a small village with a Moravian Settlement
that was founded in 1765 – allows you to take a step back to the
18th century, as the buildings and the unique Georgian style of architecture
remain very much the same. Tours can be arranged on (028) 2565 1554.
From the same period is Arthur Cottage, the Ancestral Home of
Chester Alan Arthur, the 21st President of the U.S.A. When his father
left the country life of Dreen to set sail for America in 1816, he would
have taken many warm memories of its open-hearth fire – the same
one that visitors can see today. Situated near the village of Cullybackey
on the B62 from Ballymena it is open from Easter to the end of September.
Fittingly enough it was an Adair – Sir Alexander Shafto –
who gave the name "The City of the Seven Towers" to Ballymena.
Out walking, he came to a point where he could see across the whole
town and he noticed seven towers - the Old Parish Church, St. Patrick's
Church of Ireland, First Ballymena Presbyterian Church, All Saints Roman
Catholic Church, the Old Town Hall, Braidwater Spinning Mill and the
tower of Ballymena Castle – and supposedly said: "There's
the City of the Seven Towers." Today, only three of the Towers
now remain - the Old Parish Church, St. Patrick's Church of Ireland
and All Saints Roman Catholic Church.
During the 1798 uprising, Ballymena was occupied for three days (7 -
9 June) by a force of around 10,000 United Irishmen who stormed the
Market House and killed three of its defenders. There was much support
for the United Irishmen among the largely Presbyterian population of
Mid-Antrim, but when the rebellion failed Harryville Motte came back
into service again – though this time it was as a place of execution.
