Whiteabbey is a townland

Townland

A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...

 in County Antrim

County Antrim

County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

. It is within the urban area called Newtownabbey

Newtownabbey

Newtownabbey is a large town north of Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Sometimes considered to be a suburb of Belfast, it is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course...

 and the wider Newtownabbey Borough

Newtownabbey Borough Council

Newtownabbey Borough Council is a Local Council in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. Newtownabbey has a population of over 80,000 and is on the north shore of Belfast Lough just immediately north of Belfast. The Borough was founded in 1958 as a result of an Act of Parliament passed in 1957 and...

. It also lies within the parish of Carnmoney, within the barony of Belfast Lower.

History

Whiteabbey's name is derived from a Premonstratensian

Premonstratensian

The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...

 abbey which existed in the area in the Medieval period, the monks of which are said to have worn white robes. All traces of the abbey are now gone although the site, in the grounds of Whiteabbey Hospital, remains undeveloped.

In the first half of the 19th century, Whiteabbey was home to a large bleach works and was an important landing site for coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

 shipments bound for Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

. Remnants of the old pier can still be seen in the sea. The importance of Whiteabbey declined after the channel into Belfast harbour was widened and straightened allowing larger ships to reach the city directly.

In 1952, one of Northern Ireland's most controversial murders took place in Whiteabbey when Patricia Curran, the 19-year-old daughter of prominent Judge Sir Lancelot Curran

Lancelot Curran

Major Sir Lancelot Ernest Curran was a Northern Ireland High Court judge and parliamentarian.He was elected as Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament for Carrick in the Stormont Parliament serving from 1945 till 1949, and was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance...

, was found stabbed near her home.

Local facilities

• Near Whiteabbey one can find a popular dog-walking route known as 'The Glen' which is a small forest area extending up to and beyond the Bleach Green railway viaduct. The Newtownabbey/Ulster Way passes through this area, as does the Threemilewater river.
• Whiteabbey also has its own hospital which previously had an accident and emergency.
• Whiteabbey is the main shopping area of Newtownabbey, containing the Abbey Centre, Abbey Business Park, Abbey Retail Park, Longwood Retail Park and Valley Retail Park.

Local schools and education

• Northern Regional College
• University of Ulster
• Whiteabbey Primary School
• Saint James Primary School
• Kings Park Primary School
• Whitehouse Primary School
• Rosstulla Special School

Local churches

• Whiteabbey Congregational Church
• Whiteabbey Presbyterian Church
• Whiteabbey Methodist Church
• Saint James Catholic Church
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Newtownabbey

Transport

The area is served by Whiteabbey railway station

Whiteabbey railway station

Whiteabbey railway station serves Whiteabbey in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland. The station opened on 11 April 1848. It is the first station outside Belfast on the Larne Line....

 on the Belfast to Larne line. The station opened on April 11, 1848. Although it lies outside Belfast the area is also served by the Translink

Translink (Northern Ireland)

Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company , a public corporation in Northern Ireland which provides the public transport in the region. NI Railways, Ulsterbus and Metro are all part of Translink....

 Metro

Metro (Belfast)

Metro is the trading name for bus company Citybus in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a subsidiary of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, within the common management structure of Translink, along with Ulsterbus and Northern Ireland Railways....

service, with some buses on route two passing through the area.