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Holywood Town
Places to See | Co. Down, Northern Ireland.
The Jewel in North Down
Holywood was named Sanctus Boscus (“Holy Wood”) by the Normans after the woodland surrounding a monastery founded by St Laiseran before 640. It was on the site of the present ruins of the medieval Old Priory. In the present day, the name is pronounced identically to “Hollywood.”
The town’s rich ecclesiastical heritage is represented today by its most distinctive building, the Old Priory. The oldest remains date from the early 13th Century. These days, Holywood is a particularly popular place to see in Co Down for its speciality shops including fashion boutiques, delis, and galleries.
Holywood also boasts Ireland’s only surviving Maypole dating back to 1700 when a Dutch ship ran aground off shore and as a show of gratitude they erected their broken mast. Today it is still the focus of the annual May Day Celebrations, one of the big events in the Ards and North Down calendar, when local school children dance around the maypole alongside market stalls and family attractions.
Address: Holywood, BT18 9AB
6 Responses to Holywood Town
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Contact North Down Tourism
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| +44 28 9127 0069 |
Editors Picks
Downpatrick Town
We flew our drone over Downpatrick town and captured a couple of aerial 360° photographs. Look out for the marker points in the aerial virtual tours, some of which will allow you to jump from the sky down into some of the various visitor attractions found in the town.
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Born and bred there, lived there until recently. Lived in Abbotts Wood. Happy days!
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Hi all,
Fantastic news regarding Holywood’s achievement. Apologies a little behind the curve from Poland. I was wondering if anyone would confirm the name of the hotel that stood at the entrance to Holywood Town (now a car park on the left-hand side of the main road coming off the dual carriageway from Belfast. ) and close to Holywood High School. My recollection is date around 1970′ possibly destroyed by fire? Name of the hotel may have been The Lough view but not sure? Any info would be most helpful.
Regards. Les Ingham. Contact via my email; buryite15@gmain.com
Yes, the name of the hotel was LOUGHVIEW HOTEL
We are a senior couple residing on Vancouver Island and are anxious to rent an Apartment (or house) for a couple of months next Spring/Summer in the downtown Holywood area. Can anyone direct us to the best source?? Thank you. Howard and Rosemary BURNS.