Bangor is an ancient Christian and monastic site. Under Sir James Hamilton the town grew rapidly and by 1611 it contained 80 new houses ‘all inhabited with Scotyshmen and Englishmen’. In 1613 Bangor received a charter of incorporation from the King. In the late 1600s the Ward family of Castle Ward married into the Hamiltons. Busy streets like Hamilton Road, The Vennel (a common street name in lowland Scotland) and even Pickie (an Ulster-Scots word for a young coalfish) carry on the connections.
Scottish country dancing was a popular activity at Pickie on Saturday afternoons during the 50s and 60s.
Bangor Abbey
The church contains a fascinating collection of early 17th-century church monuments, including one to Rev. John Gibson (d. 1623), the first Protestant minister in the parish, and another to Beatrix Hamilton (d. 1633), the wife of his successor, Rev. Robert Blair. However thereis no memorial to Sir James Hamilton who was buried herein 1644.Thecemetery includes 1798 Rebellion gravestones and that of famous Ulster-Scots writer W.G.Lyttle, a blue plaqueto whom is at 85 Main Street.
bangorabbey.org
T: 028 9145 1087
North Down Museum
The Museum, attached to Bangor Castle, is near the site of Sir James Hamilton’s original home. Among the Museum's prized possessions is the beautiful set of maps of Bangor and surrounding townlands drawn for Hamilton by Thomas Raven in 1625. Another remarkable artefact is a slate sundial dating from 1630 that was once fixed to Bangor Abbey. It was the work of John Bonar, a schoolmaster in Ayr, Scotland, whose other sundials can be seen in Scottish museums.
andculture.org.uk
T: 028 9127 1200
Tower House
The Tower House in Bangor is the most important 17th-century port building surviving in Ulster. It was built as a custom-house in 1637 by Sir James Hamilton who had ambitions to develop Bangor into an important port. In more recent times the building has been used as a photographic studio, the Council-run ‘Hot Sea Water Baths’, and an antiques shop. The building now houses the Visitor Information Centre.
T: 028 9127 0069
