A place steeped in history with a vision for future living
Readers Park, Westlands, Ballyclare
Northern Ireland has produced many world renowned writers and poets through the centuries, and Ballyclare has played its part in these rich cultural and literary traditions.
Writer and poet Jonathan Swift often preached in the countryside around Ballyclare and American author Mark Twain, originally christened Samuel Langhorne Clemens, is said to have his ancestral home here. The back walk, a stretch of pathway between the Green Road and Ballynure Road crosses an area known as Clements Hill, the one time residence of the Clemens, later to become Clements, family.
But it is not only its links to these authors that inspired the name ‘Readers Park’ for our new development at Westlands, Ballyclare.
The North of Ireland Paper Mills Co. Ltd. was established in 1875 and became synonymous with high quality paper production. The mill was situated on the Six-Mile Water, anciently known as the Uller, within half a mile of the Ballymena and Larne railway station, at Ballyclare.
The mills were among the largest in the United Kingdom and produced an average of 120 tons of paper per week. In the manufacture of paper by the North of Ireland Company a great deal of esparto (a type of grass with considerable fibrous material) was used, as well as rags, procured locally and from English and Scottish centres.
They had strong partnerships with Irish newspapers and a large number were produced on their outputs. At the Dublin Artisans' Exhibition, held in 1885, the workers were awarded a first prize certificate for newspapers.
holm recognises this heritage and through Readers Park celebrates the town’s place in the province’s literary history.
Visit us now at Readers Park and find your perfect place with us in Ballyclare.