From the Cuningham Church
our glance takes us up the Shelling Hill
Road where we see the edifice of the Cuningham
Memorial Church Hall, erected by Miss Cuningham
in 1908. This site was previously occupied
by the "New Schoolroom" built
in 1870 by Mrs Cuningham and Mr. Robert
Young. Today the building is used as a Sunday
School by the church and also for numerous
community related activities, concerts,
etc.
Courtesy of Jack
Adams Collection).
Cullybackey Tennis
Courts and Bowling Green. To the right
of the photograph is the spire of the
Cuningham Memorial Presbyterian Church
and in the centre upper part of the photograph
one can see the Cuningham Memorial Church
Hall.
A little
further along the Shelling Hill Road Cullybackey
had its own Tennis Courts and a Bowling
Green prior to World War 2. This site
is now the Methodist Church car park.
(Courtesy of Jack
Adams Collection)
The Masonic Hall
and next door to it (left of photograph)
is the forge of Mr. Samuel Coleman. The
passing parade is thought to have been
the procession for the opening of the
Orange Hall on Easter Monday 1901.
A little
further along the Main Street we come
to the Orange Hall, opened in 1901. Next
door is the Masonic Hall, built in 1882.
(Courtesy of Jack
Adams Collection).
Prior to the building
of the Orange Hall part of the site was
occupied by a row of small, thatched,
whitewashed dwelling houses that used
to be known as "The Cabins",
later to be called "Millars Row".
It took the latter name from the old corn
mill which used to occupy the site on
the opposite side of the street. In this
picture the old mill has been replaced
by a large corn store.
On the
opposite side of the road stood the "Maine
Finishing Works" built by a Mr. Davison
as a dyeing and finishing factory for
the textile trade. He also built "Hillhead
House" as his residence on a hill
behind the factory. The factory buildings
have been used for a variety of trades
during the past century and now most of
the factory has been demolished. However,
the portion fronting the Main Street has
been retained and sympathetically renovated
and now operates as a "Spar"
supermarket.
(Courtesy of Jack
Adams Collection).
The " Maine
Finishing Works" seen from the Cuningham
Memorial Church. At the top of the photograph
is "Hillhead House". Most of
the site has now been demolished and is
being redeveloped. Hillhead House still
stands proudly on the hillside.
(Courtesy of Jack Adams
Collection).
Another view of
the " Maine Finishing Works"
(Circa 1906) from the other side of the
River Maine. The water to drive the machinery
in the early days was brought by means
of a stream known as the "LAYDE"
from the weir below Harperstown; a hamlet
near Cullybackey.
(Courtesy of Jack
Adams Collection).
The view of the
Main Street in 1901 just past the Masonic
Hall. The thatched cottage to the right
of the picture stands at the entrance
to the Maine Finishing Works.
(Courtesy of Jack
Adams Collection)
A view of Main Street
circa 1905, viewed from the Cuningham
Church end of the street and looking towards
the Buick Memorial Primary School.
(Courtesy of Jack
Adams Collection)
Approximately the
same area of Main Street on a very different
sort of day. The ruts in the muddy street
show the type of road surface that was
common in the early part of the 20th century.
(Courtesy of Jack
Adams Collection)
Looking back on
the same area from further along the Main
Street, circa 1912
(Courtesy of Ballymena
Reference Library Historic Photographic
Collection)
Main Street circa
1900 seen from the old police station
site, looking towards the Cuningham Memorial
Presbyterian Church in the distance.
(Courtesy of National
Library of Ireland Photographic Collection
– Lawrence Collection # 5823)
Main Street circa
1900 seen from just beyond the old police
station site, looking towards the Cuningham
Memorial Presbyterian Church in the distance.
