Whiteabbey

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Whiteabbey is a townland in Newtownabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, just north of Belfast. It covers about 371 acres and is part of the civil parish of Carnmoney in the Belfast Lower barony.

Origin of the name
Whiteabbey takes its name from the medieval abbey of Druim La Croix, near what is now Whiteabbey Hospital. The abbey belonged to the Premonstratensian Order, whose members were known as the White Canons. Ruins of the abbey’s chapter house survived until the 20th century, with the last traces removed in 1926.

History highlights
- In the 19th century, Whiteabbey had a large bleach works and was an important landing site for coal shipments to Belfast. Remnants of the old pier can still be seen in Belfast Lough.
- The area’s importance declined after Belfast Harbour’s channel was widened and straightened, allowing larger ships to reach the city directly.
- Abbeylands, a Victorian house in Whiteabbey, was used as a training ground by the Ulster Volunteers. In 1914 it was burned by suffragists in protest against votes for women.
- In 1952, a famous murder case occurred when Patricia Curran, daughter of a prominent judge, was found stabbed near her home.
- In 1958, Whiteabbey and six other villages joined to form the new district of Newtownabbey.

Amenities
- The Glen: a walking route along the Three Mile Water up to the Bleach Green railway viaducts.
- The area is close to Newtownabbey’s Abbey Centre shopping and the nearby Whiteabbey Hospital.

Education
- Northern Regional College
- Ulster University (Jordanstown Campus)
- Whiteabbey Primary School (founded 1839; moved in 1939; now a government-controlled school)
- St. James’s Primary School
- King’s Park Primary School
- Rostulla Special School
- Thornfield House School
- Belfast High School

Local churches
- Whiteabbey Congregational Church
- Whiteabbey Presbyterian Church
- Whiteabbey Methodist Church
- Saint James Catholic Church
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Newtownabbey

Transport
- Whiteabbey railway station on the Belfast–Larne line (opened in 1848)
- Also served by Translink Metro services

See also
- List of townlands in County Antrim