Hi there,

I have been researching my tree for some years and I have turned my attention to my Snowdon/Shaw family from the Carricknacessna and Oughley area. My GGGG grand parents William John Snowden (father John) and Mary Shaw ( father James) were both school teachers who I suspect taught at Lessans school outside Saintfield. They moved eventually to Londonderry where William John Snowden became Headmaster of Gwyn’s academic Institution. One of his sons, James Snowdon, went on to become A Presbyterian Minister at Blackrock in Dublin. His other children all became teachers or married teachers in Londonderry.

I was wondering if you had any records relating to Lessans school and anything on the Shaw and Snowdon families?

Best regards
Paul Donnelly

Hi there,

My mum talked about being evacuated to Saintfield during the war and she said she used to live there at some point during 1940s/1950s.  Her name was Montgomery.  She also mentioned going to the school in Saintfield.  Could anyone point me in the right direction for researching this info?

Many thanks,
S. Hull

Saintfield Community Association’s Saintfield News Issue 26 has been distributed by members to homes in Saintfield, but in case you didn’t receive a copy it can be downloaded here by clicking on the image below.

CLICK ON THE BUNNY TO DOWNLOAD THE SAINTFIELD EASTER BUNNY TRAIL CLUE SHEET!

Over the coming weeks you may notice some work being carried out to the buildings in the Saintfield Community Park site.  The former windmill, flour mill, and miller’s cottage are of great historical importance, and are in fact on a Scheduled Monument site.  This means that the utmost care must be taken to protect and stabilise the buildings and any work undertaken to do so must be approved by the Historic Environment Division. We have obtained Scheduled Monument Consent from HED to remove trees and their roots that are threatening the stability of the buildings. Without this intervention the buildings might eventually collapse.

12th January 2023:

IN THE STEPS OF THE STONE MEN – ERNIE WILSON has already given us two delightful and beautifully illustrated talks on aspects of the Mournes. On this occasion he will turn his attention to the story of the brave and hardy men who quarried granite from these spectacular mountains.

9th February 2023:

BELFAST HARBOUR ESTATE– Since 1847 the Belfast Harbour Commissioners have been responsible for developing this increasingly vital facility and JENNI BARKLEY, Communications and Corporate Responsibility Manager for the Commissioners, will enlighten us about the challenges of running a port which now handles over 20 million tons of trade every year.

9th March 2023:

BELFAST AND THE SLAVE TRADE – Clifton House is engaged in major research into this somewhat neglected but important aspect of our history and CHRISTINE DONNELLY, a retired business executive who is now a volunteer at the House and a tutor in Belfast Metropolitan College, will provide us with a detailed account of their findings.

13th April 2023:

POWDERED DANDY TO OLD BEAR: THE LIFE OF DAVID KER OF PORTAVO AND MONTALTO – Author and local historian PETER CARR will tell us all about the life and times of this highly colourful character who was a member of one of the richest families in 18th and early 19th century Ulster.

IMPORTANT NOTE: All the talks will take place on THURSDAY evenings in the STUDIO in the SAINTFIELD COMMUNITY CENTRE at 8.00 p.m.

Members are cordially invited to bring family or friends to any of the talks.  Non-members are also very welcome to attend.

Saintfield Development Association’s Saintfield News Issue 25 has been distributed by members to homes in Saintfield, but in case you didn’t receive a copy it can be downloaded here by clicking on the image below.

On 24th October Saintfield Development Association merged with Saintfield Community Trust to form Saintfield Community Association.  Therefore future editions of Saintfield News will be published by Saintfield Community Association.  It will continue to be produced by the same editorial team.

Club @ The Hub, 35 Main Street, Saintfield, BT24 7AB, has officially opened its doors after a 2-year closure.

It offers a wide range of activities from board games to crocheting, knitting, needlework, stone painting, sketching, felting, wooden nail art, plus a complementary reflexology hand massage by our in-house fully qualified reflexologist Liz Borne.

Join us for a chat over a coffee and cake.  Everyone welcome!  If you have a project that you’re working on bring it along!

It is open every Tuesday from 11am to 2pm.

The building is wheelchair friendly.  There is a £3.00 cover charge.

We will be looking to expand our opening hours with the help of other volunteers.

For further information on the Club @ The Hub you can contact:
Liz Borne 07890 185317 or email us at info@rowallanehub.co.uk

What do the members of Saintfield Development Association’s Green Committee actually do?

Read this article to find out!