Issue 8 of Saintfield Development Association’s Saintfield News is available for download HERE. This issue also contains a Saintfield In Bloom supplement.

The Green Saintfield Committee has been in action again, this time on Listooder Road.  Thirty bags of rubbish (mainly road dirt) were collected in early August.

The Saintfield in Bloom committee regrets that Property One (The Mill on Lisburn Rd) was omitted from the ‘Thank You’ flyer inserted into the current issue of Saintfield News.
Property One is a staunch supporter of the Saintfield in Bloom initiative and we therefore take this opportunity to thank them most sincerely for their past support and look forward to it continuing in the future.

This is a selection of photographs of the beautiful floral displays on view in Saintfield.

Prof. Brian Williams has been leading an archaeological excavation of an abandoned settlement at Creevyloughgare to the SW of Saintfield. The settlement was on very poor land but had to support 50 families. The landowner has restored a couple of the buildings, but most can only be imagined from what little of the walls still remain visible. Digging inside one of the houses has unearthed a bag of copper sulphate which was introduced about 1800 to spray potato plants to protect them from blight. The remains of a horse mill have been found beside one building which would have housed the grinding stones.

Members of Saintfield Development Association’s Green Saintfield Committee have removed weeds and generally tidied up the Memorial Garden in preparation for the arrival of visitors for Francis Hutcheson Day on 8th August.

The judging took place today for the Saintfield Development Association’s Saintfield in Bloom competition. The judges were Averil Milligan, Head Gardener at the National Trust’s Rowallane Garden, and D J Morgan, Parks Officer at Newry, Mourne and Down Council.  The judges spent the afternoon visiting and closely inspecting the floral displays in the Large Premises and Small Premises categories. Afterwards they retired to the comfortable surroundings of Norr & Brown to decide the winners.

The winner in the Small Premises category was Massey’s of Saintfield. Pictured are SDA Saintfield in Bloom representative Denis Conn, judge Averil Milligan, Owen Lowry (Massey’s of Saintfield), and judge DJ Morgan.

The winner in the Large Premises category was Rowallane Community Hub. Pictured are judge Averil Milligan, judge DJ Morgan, Rowallane Community Hub Director Ian Mack, and SDA Saintfield in Bloom representative Vivien Lovell.

Saintfield Development Association’s Green Saintfield Committee has been busy again clearing the weeds from the link footpath between Belfast Road and Comber Road.

Karen Doodson from Melbourne is visiting here for a week and is looking for information about a William Smyth, who worshipped at the reformed Presbyterian church of Knockbracken. He was a farmer from Lisdoonan.
If you have any information please let her know at Kdoodson@hotmail.com

Venue: Saintfield 1st Presbyterian Church Hall
Time: 11.30 am to 4.00 pm
Tickets: £10 (including light lunch)

Details of the plans for Francis Hutcheson Day and how to purchase tickets can be found HERE.