Carryduff

Coordinates: 54°30′32″N 5°52′19″W / 54.509°N 5.872°W / 54.509; -5.872

Carryduff (from Irish: Ceathrú Aodha Dhuibh, meaning "Black Hugh's quarter") is a small town and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of Belfast city centre. It had a population of 6,947 people in the 2011 Census.

Most of the settlement lies within the townland of Carryduff, although part of it extends into the neighbouring townlands of Killynure and Mealough. Carryduff has twice been awarded the Best Kept Small Town by the Northern Ireland Amenity Council.

History

One of the earliest references to the settlement dates from 1622, where its anglicised name is written as Carrow-Hugh-Duffe. There is no written record of it ever having been known by the Irish name "Ceathrú Aodha Dhuibh" however this form has been inferred by back-translation from the anglicised form. The original village formed where six roads and a river crossed, and is the site of the ancient Queen's Fort Rath. The road south from Belfast (the A24) climbs out of a gap in the Castlereagh Hills, and splits at Carryduff, one fork (the A7) continuing to Downpatrick (via Saintfield and Crossgar), the other fork (A24) continuing via Ballynahinch to Newcastle towards Kilkeel. In addition, the road from the Ards Peninsula, Newtownards and Comber (the B178) crosses here en route to Hillsborough in the west. All six roads cross the small Carryduff River here (which flows northwards to eventually join the River Lagan at Minnowburn).