By Ellen O'Hara (P6 St Mary's Primary School, Ballymena)

I am going to tell you about Pennybridge, which is near to Ballymena. I will take you back in time and tell you what it was like thirty-five years ago.

Before all the industrial units were built, there was a bridge called Pennybridge. If you were walking across it you would have to pay a penny toll. It was also a road bridge that means that cars could drive over it. The bridge separated Ballykeel and Ballycraigy. In Ballykeel there were no houses or shops at that time. The Pennybridge used to be where Beggs the plumbers now is.

It was on the main road between Ballymena and Kells. My dad lived quite near to the Pennybridge and he used to cross it to get to school every morning. There was a river that ran underneath the bridge called the Deerfin Burn. This river is now piped under the road.

Up the hill from the Pennybridge the Lindsays used to live. One of the people who lived there was John Lindsay, who's the uncle of Kelly Orr. My Uncle Barney has a picture of the Pennybridge and hangs it on the wall in his good room.

There used to be some cottages near the bridge that had thatched roofs. They were very small and had no electricity. When my dad was a little boy the cottages had tin roofs. In the cottages there was a crane beside the fire to hang pots on to cook with. Instead of paint the cottages were whitewashed. In those days paint was dear so people made whitewash out of lime. It was white washed on the inside as well as the outside. The people who lived in one of the cottages were call Soutars. There were four sisters and two brothers in their seventies and had never been married. One of the brothers Harry Soutars was the last cooper in Ballymena. A cooper is a person who makes wooden barrels. He worked at the Fairhill market.

Nowadays none of things I have told you about are still here. Now in Pennybridge Industrial estate there are shops and companies. In fact my dad has his office in the Pennybridge Industrial Estate.

What do you know about Pennybridge's history? Have you any old photographs of the cottages or what the area used to look like? Do you remember the Soutars? Have you seen a cooper at work?

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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