P6 PUPILS TELL US ABOUT THEIR PLACE.......

'An Introduction to Ballymena'

by Ryan Wray

Ballymena is a large market town in Mid-Antrim. It's known as the City of the Seven Towers and these towers appear on the Borough arms and on shops everywhere.

The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles 1st in 1626, on the terms that the town holds two annual fairs and a free Saturday market for eternity.

My story is about the Fairhill Market and where it used to be and this is where my story starts.

The Fairhill is now a Shopping Centre but used to be an open-air market on rough ground covered in loose stones. The entrance is where the entrance to the shopping centre is now and it would stretch back covering the whole car parking area. Farmers would bring their cattle, sheep and pigs to trade. There were also hardware, clothing, fish and meat stalls, everything you could think of. The market would start about 7.00 am in the morning and end about 3.00 pm. It was very busy. Even my Mum and Dad went to it with their parents.

Part of the market is still working every Saturday beside the swimming pool but only a fraction of the size it used to be.

The Seven Towers

by Stephanie Law

Ballymena is situated right in the middle of Co Antrim, almost midway between Belfast and Portrush, and is known as 'the city of the seven towers'. It got its name from a gentleman called Sir Alexander Shafto Adair, otherwise known as Lord Waveny, who was the owner of the Ballymena Estate and lived at Ballymena Castle. The story goes that one day while he was out walking he stopped noticing a good view on a hill outside Ballymena he said, "There's the city of the Seven Towers" and pointed to the towers on view.

I will now tell you about the "Seven Towers".

They are THE OLD TOWN HALL , which was built in 1684 on the site of the present Town Hall but was demolished in the early 1920's.
THE BRAID WATER MILL , which was situated where B &Q are now building their new store. It didn't have a tower but instead had a very high chimney. The mill was built in 1866 and demolition started in 1984 and since then has gradually disappeared.
ST PATRICKS CHURCH is known as "the Church of Ireland" up Castle Street across the road from Ballymena Technical College and this building was built in March 1853. At Christmas and weddings in the church you can hear the bells ringing.
BALLYMENA CASTLE stood high above the Braid River near where the Leisure Centre is today. It was built in the last third of the nineteenth century but stood vacant for a long time and because of vandalism and decay had to be demolished in the 1950's.
FIRST BALLYMENA PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH stands beside Meeting House Lane. It was built before the 1830's. The first tower of Ballymena was taken down many years ago because of its unsafe condition.
THE OLD PARISH CHURCH used to be up Church Street beside Dunlop and Carson's shop and you can still go into the Old churchyard where you can see the Tower of the Old Parish Church. The Church was built in 1721 and the last service there was in 1855 because the congregation had swelled and a new church was built up Castle Street.
The last tower is at ALL SAINTS' CATHOLIC CHURCH at the top of the town at the corner of Cushendall Road and Broughshane Road. It was built in 1860 and the tower was completed around the 1900's.

St Mary's P6 pupils are obviously proud of where they live. Pick a tower and click on it to read more of their contributions....

Slemish

Motte and Bailey

Pennybridge

Michelin

Headless Horseman

Gallahers

Ballymena today

YOUR Ballymena connections

Gary Gribben, Melbourne Australia : "I lived in Ballykeel too until 1990 ....."

Joyce & Robin Foote, Tauranga area, Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand.

We thoroughly enjoyed "your place and mine". Congratulations to the children of P6 at St Mary's Primary School, Ballymena. We were surfing looking for information on Ballykeel. Some of our relatives came from that area mid 1800's. We will have to keep checking into "your place and mine."
Best wishes.

Would anyone have stories or information they could share with Joyce and Robin about the Ballykeel area. I'm sure they'd be delighted to find out more. - NI Editor

Let us know why Ballymena is special to you. Is there somewhere in the area you're particularly fond of or local characters and stories you could tell us about?

Those of you who live elsewhere, what about your town, village or townland ... what features are particular to it. Do you miss it when you're far away? Include your area in Northern Ireland's "Your Place & mine" by sending your information or comments to ypam-online@bbc.co.uk or by inputting your material directly onto the site.