Ulster-Scots in Little or Upper Ards

An ancient boundary, with Scottish settlers on both sides.

The Saltwater Brig over the Blackstaff River, by the historic St Patrick’s Church, marks an age-old division separating the southern end of the Ards (the‘Little Ards’or ‘Upper Ards’) from the rest of the peninsula (the‘Great Ards’ or ‘Lower Ards).The river used to run right across the Peninsula, reaching the North Channel between Ballyhalbert and
Portavogie. In the 1570s, it was proposed to build a fortification along the river.

In the early 1600s the‘Little Ards’ remained in the possession of the old Anglo-Norman family of Savage, with the ‘Great Ards’ to the north being granted to Hamilton and Montgomery.

There are many sites in the‘Little Ards’ that are associated with the Savages and these early Scottish families. Well worth a visit is Kearney on the outer coast which was restored by the National Trust as a 19th-century fishing village.