Whiteabbey

Whiteabbey took its name from the medieval abbey of Druim La Croix, which stood near present-day Whiteabbey Hospital. The abbey was a daughter house of Dryburgh Abbey in Scotland and belonged to the Premonstratensian Order, who were popularly known as the White Canons. Parts of the ruined chapter house remained visible until the 20th century, but the last traces of the building were removed in 1926. In the first half of the 19th century, the village of Whiteabbey was home to a large bleach works, and was an important landing site for coal shipments bound for Belfast. Remnants of the old pier can still be seen in Belfast Lough. The importance of Whiteabbey declined after the channel into…