ANDREWS' Shorefield

In the 1920s Hugh Andrews farmed 50 acres in the townland of Balloo Lower, immediately adjacent to the townland of Groomsport.

Valuation Revision Records (which recorded the rateable values of properties) show that, by 1923, 6 “huts” had been built in the field between the coast and the Donaghadee Road – Andrews’ Shorefield. By 1929, the records show that over 30 huts had been built. Some were listed as “Hut and small garden” and one was a “Hut and Shop”.

These wooden houses were used as holiday homes. Over the years, some of the original wooden buildings were replaced with more substantial dwellings. On occasions, in the summer, a circus used the green in the centre of the field.

Since about 2000, a number of the old buildings have been replaced by conventional modern houses. For example, the four wooden bungalows that backed on to the Donaghadee Road were replaced by seven modern houses.

In 2010 the four pumps, manufactured by Glenfield and Kennedy, which are sited around the edge of the central green, were added to the Historic Buildings List, with a rating of B2.

In the same year, number 26, a “timber chalet”, was similarly listed with the same rating – B2. Our photographs show that number 26 has deteriorated markedly in recent years.