| It
was included in the area granted to Sir Arthur
Chichester by the Queen in 1604 and was occupied
by George Martin, Sovereign of Belfast, in 1649.
It is said that William III met General Schomberg
at the White House as a prelude to his Williamite
wars in Ireland, which included the defeat of
James II at the Boyne on 1st July 1690. The remains
of an ancient quay at Whitehouse point are described
in the Ordnance Survey Memoirs, 1839.William landed
a portion of his army here, or nearby on an artificial
island known as 'Donald's Island', in June 1690*.
This quay was destroyed in the late 1970s when
the M5 motorway was built. During the 19th century
the White House was used for stabling and, in
more recent times, as a Gospel Hall before becoming
the home of the Abbey Historical Society.
Ordnance
Survey Memoirs, 1838-39, Parishes of County Antrim
1, Vol. 2, pp71-72.
DIRECTIONS
Take the M2 motorway leaving at Junction 2 (Greencastle).
Turn right onto the A2 (Greencastle/Rathcoole)
and continue along the Shore Road. Just after
the Abbey Centre turning and Merville Garden Village
on the left, turn right into Whitehouse Park.
|