Whiteabbey's name is derived from a Catholic Premonstratensian abbey which existed in the area in the Medieval period, the canons of the order wear white habits. All traces of the abbey are now gone although the site, in a field beside the grounds of Whiteabbey Hospital at Doagh Road, remains undeveloped. It can be viewed from the adjacent Abbots Cross Garden Village. The site of the Premonstratensian Abbey is designated as a Scheduled Historic Monument at grid ref: J3497 8198. 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 Belfast Harbour was widened and straightened, allowing larger ships to reach the city directly. Abbeylands, a two storey Victorian house in Whiteabbey, owned by Sir Hugh McCalmont, was set on fire by Suffragettes in 1914 causing £20,000 of damage. Unionist leader, Edward Carson, had declared against votes for women, meanwhile his Ulster Volunteer Force had been drilling troops at Abbeylands House. In protest the Suffragettes burnt the building to the ground on 27 March 1914, complaining that they were being imprisoned while the UVF were gun running and preparing for civil war. In 1952, one of Northern Ireland's most controversial murders took place in Whiteabbey when Patricia Curran, the 19-year-old daughter of prominent Judge Ulster Unionist politician Sir Lancelot Curran, was found stabbed near her home, Glen House. Whiteabbey, together with Whitewell, Whitehouse, Jordanstown, Monkstown, Carnmoney and Glengormley, were the seven villages that formed Newtownabbey when it gained district council status on 1 April 1958.
Local facilities
Near Whiteabbey one can find a popular dog-walking route known as 'the Glen', which is a small forest area extending up to and beyond the Bleach Green railway viaducts. The Newtownabbey/Ulster Way passes through this area, as does the Threemilewater river.
Whiteabbey Hospital is located near the village.
Whiteabbey is close to the main shopping area of Newtownabbey, containing the Abbeycentre, Abbey Business Park, Abbey Retail Park, Longwood Retail Park and Valley Retail Park.
Whiteabbey also has its own train station allowing easy access to Belfast.
Local Schools and Education
- Jordanstown Campus
- Whiteabbey Primary School has a long tradition of child centred learning. The original school opened in the grounds of Whiteabbey Presbyterian Church in 1863, moving to its present site on the Old Manse Road in 1939. There are currently 420 children in attendance at the school.
