Cockle Row Cottages are the oldest buildings in the village. Probably dating from the 18th century, they are a pair of fishermen’s cottages that were built to be sheltered from the prevailing wind and weather. All of the other cottages in the village were demolished as part of the redevelopment of Groomsport in the 1960s. Cockle Row was saved from demolition when the Rev Dr David Irwin, the Presbyterian Minister, and his wife, Maureen, stood in front of the bulldozer that was about to knock them down. For some years, the cottages were used by Bangor Art Club. Today, one is used as a Visitor Information Centre and the other is a small heritage centre, reflecting the history of the cottages and the village.
Cockle Row Cottages, 2023
Photograph: Peter Gibson
Cockle Row Cottages and Groomsport School, 1956
Photograph by Raphael Tuck Postcards. Downloaded, with permission, from: https://www.tuckdbpostcards.org/items/20625-groomsport-from-the-harbour
The Walter Nelson Hall and Cockle Row Cottages, 2023
Photograph: Amanda McWhinneyThese cottages, which probably date from the 18th century, are the only cottages still standing in the village. They were last occupied in the 1960s. John and Peg Barrons were the last occupants of the thatched cottage. Miss Orr lived in the other cottage. Cockle Island can be seen to the right of the cottages and the Watch House to the left.
This detail from a Tuck postcard shows Cockle Row Cottages and, behind them, Groomsport School (the second National School) which operated from 1895 until 1962. When a new Primary School opened on Springwell Drive, the old school became the Presbyterian Church’s Walter Nelson Hall.
The Walter Nelson Hall, on the left of the image, has been the church hall of Groomsport Presbyterian Church since 1962. At the heart of the present building can be seen the rectangular form of Groomsport’s second National School which operated from 1895 to 1962.
THE PAST AND THE PRESENT
DISCOVER COCKLE ROW
SAVING COCKLE ROW
Maureen and David Irwin remember the day in the late 1960s when bulldozers turned up at Cockle Row. Find out how the cottages were saved.