Rostrevor, formerly the seat of the Trevors, Viscount Dungannon in 1613, was called Rose-Trevor which name it received from the circumstance of Rose, daughter of Rev. Henry Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, being married to Edward Trevor, Lord Viscount Dungannon. The property having afterwards come into the possession of the Ross family by purchase in 1690 , the name was changed to Rosstrevor The ancient name of this place was Carrickavraghad.

In 1744 it was described as being a small village having a new church then lately built. a small quay for ships which ride at anchor within a few yards of the shore, also a slat works and a pottery for white earthenware made of fine clay found near Carrickfergus and frequently exported to foreign parts. In 1836 the area was wooded and the proprietor was David Ross Esq. Lodge & Mrs. Ross, of Bladensberg. There was a Total Abstinence Society in Church Street & Police Barracks in Old Post Office Street in 1863. The population in 1910 was 806.

Click here for information on schools here in 19th century.

Newspaper articles from Down Recorder;
Ribbonmen 23 Mar 1850: report by R. Gault 6 Aug 1851: Royal South Down Militia, trip to Rostrevor 2 Jun 1855; E. Greer's flour mill burned down 11 May 1872; another hotel, The Mourne opened 5 Jun 1875 ; old burial ground 24 Nov 1877; storng Gaelic Athletics Association club here from 1903 (9/4/28R*)

Newspaper article from Newtownards Chronicle;
opening of a skating rink- Rostrevor and its attractions 26 May 1877

Church of Ireland, Rostrevor in Church Street This photo of the parish church of Kilbroney was taken around 1900 and shows the church at the forefront of the photo with the Catholic church to the right in the background. It replaced an ancient church whose ruins are in the town but closer to Carlingford Lough. See above for a more modern photo.

The old church was dedicated to Saint Bruno, the patron of the Ascetics. The original named of this place was Kilbruno. An ancient clog-ban or white bell was found around 1800 in the ivy which covered the gable of the ruins. It was of very good workmanship and was being used as an altar bell in the Catholic chapel in Newry. It is a mixture of brass and some very white metal; well-cast and although broken, is still remarkably sonorous. It had remained unobserved in the ruins for two centuries and was discovered during a violent storm when the wind shook the bell and produced a sound which attracted the attention of people passing by. This bell is of the same kind as the other ancient bells which have been found in Ireland and which were rung on funeral occasions. In 1815 a man named Duffy found in the ruins of the church, three antique brazen candlesticks connected together at the sides and bottom. On the centre is an inscription not yet deciphered. A carved hand is visible on the left and on the right, a cross is distinctly marked. In each candlestick there was placed a piece of wood wrapped round with wool, which had been oiled. The wood was perfectly sound. The windows of the church were 5 feet high and arched, the doorway in the southern wall was 8 feet to the top of the arch and the doorway looking east was 14 feet high and arched.

In the grounds of the ruined church, is an ancient inscribed cross, thought to date from the 6th century. Richard Hayward, writing in 1936, expresses the view that this cross marks the grave of St. Bronach who founded the convent and the face at the top of the cross is a representation of the foundress. There is another more ornate and skillfully executed cross in the graveyard with beautiful interlacing, which is reckoned to date from the 9th century.

It is mentioned in the 'Ancient and modern state of Down' in 1744 that a the new church was built to replace it. This new church was described in 1836 as a plain, rectangular building measuring 60 feet by 25 feet and in bad repair and disused by 1821.

The church in the photo was built in 1821 at a cost of £1,837 of which, £1,100 was a loan by the Board of First Fruits, £200 a gift by the same board and the remaining £537 by subscription of the congregation. A gallery was added in 1827 at an additional expense of £150, a vestry added in 1864 and a new roof in 1880. In 1836 it was described as a good building of stone with a square tower , situated in the upper part of the main street of Rostrevor. It could hold 350 people with an average attendance of 310 in summer. There is a monument in the church to Major- General Ross, the commanding officer of the 20th regiment of foot who fell 12th September 1814 in the attack on Baltimore. Another marble tablet was placed by Richard Jebb in memory of his nephew John Heyland McCormick who died in 1829, aged 23, when a gun exploded in Rostrevor Bay. The vicar in 1836 & 1846 was Rev. Edward John Evans and the curate was Rev. Benjamin Jacob. There was a Church Education Society School & teacher's house here in 1863. The rector in 1910 was Rev. T.W.E. Drury.

The Ven. Edward Dupre Atkinson was rector of the parish for 35 years until his death in 1937 and although he was happy during his 12 year ministry, he found it somewhat different to his previous parish of Waringstown because , as he explains, "instead of a large population mainly consisting of weavers artisans and farmers, my flock here consisted of three or four substantial farmers and a certain number of small ones, some boarding-house keepers, tradespeople and servants, with almost all the residential gentry and villa folk of whom there was a very considerably number in the parish."

Records from 1814 available