Named after Andrew Crawford of Kilbirnie in Ayrshire, where the ruins of the family castle still stand, Crawfordsburn has a distinctively Scottish name.
Crawford arrived in County Down as a tenant of Sir James Hamilton and is named on the Thomas Raven maps of the Hamilton estate which were drawn c. 1625. The family bought their lands from the Hamiltons in the 1670s.
The historic main street retains wonderful architecturalcharacter including the
famous Old Inn which dates from 1614. The Inn was a regular location for Belfast born author C.S.Lewis, whose writings contain numerous Ulster-Scots references and characters.
Crawfordsburn House was built in 1906, designed by Vincent Craig, who also designed Royal Ulster Yacht Club in Bangor. He was a brother of the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Sir James The Craigs were an Ulster-Scots
family, and Sir James often used the term. Crawfordsburn House was turned into private apartmentsin the 1990s.
Crawfordsburn Country Park and Glen are very popular destinations. Once the
estate of Crawfordsburn House, the park includes a numberof walks and two
sandy beaches.
Nearby is Clandeboye Estate (private property) originally founded by the
Blackwood family from Scotland. Within the estate, close to Conlig, is the impressive
Helen’s Tower, designed in Scottish baronial stylein 1848 by William Burn, who designed Bangor Castle in 1852. A replica of Helen’s Tower was built at Thiepval in France as a memorial to the 36th Ulster Division.
