Newbuildings

Newbuildings Irish: Baile Nua Scots: Newbilldins
Population	4,496 (2001)
Irish grid reference	C412124
• Belfast	74 miles
District	Derry
County	County Londonderry
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDONDERRY
Postcode district	BT47
Dialling code	028, +44 28
UK Parliament	Foyle
NI Assembly	Foyle

Newbuildings or New Buildings is a large village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies about 1 km (0.6 mi) from the banks of the River Foyle and 5 km (3 mi) south of the city of Derry. It had a population of 4,496 people in the 2001 Census.

History

The village was founded in the early 17th century as part of the Plantation of Ulster on land allocated to the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths of London.

It remained a small settlement until the 1960s, until large amounts of social housing was built on adjoining townland. Today, the village has four churches (Methodist, Independent Methodist, Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic). It also has two primary schools – one Protestant, one Catholic. Newbuildings also consists of a post office, community association, retail units and a wide range of housing.

Geography

Newbuildings sits on an area of flat land between Clondermot Hill to the east and the River Foyle to the west.

It is within the parish of Clondermot. Like the rest of Ireland, this parish is split into a number of townlands, whose names are derived from the Irish language. Over time, the urban area of Newbuildings has spread into the following townlands:

• Ballyore (from Irish Baile Odhar)
• Dunhugh (from Dún Aodha meaning "Hugh's stronghold")
• Gortin (from an Goirtín meaning "the small enclosed field")
• Kittybane (from Céide Bán meaning "white flat-topped hill")
• Magheracanon (from Machaire Canánach meaning "plain of the canon")
• Primity
• Rossnagalliagh (from Ros na gCailleach meaning "wood of the nuns")

Transport

Between 1900 and 1955 the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee had a station in Newbuildings, the line running along the east bank of the River Foyle. Newbuildings railway station opened on 6 August 1900 and finally closed on 1 January 1955.

2001 Census

Unionist flags decorate Newbuildings in the summer months around The Twelfth parades.

Newbuildings is classified by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) as being within Derry Urban Area (DUA). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 4,496 people living in Newbuildings. Of these:

• 26.4% were aged under 16 years and 13.0% were aged 60 and over
• 48.8% of the population were male and 51.2% were female
• 62.7% were from a Protestant background and 35.5% were from a Catholic background
• 3.5% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

NIMDM Deprivation 2005

Of 582 wards in Northern Ireland, 'New Buildings' was ranked as the 259th most deprived.

Controversy

In 2005, Irish nationalist newspaper The Irish News printed a story about Newbuildings, with the headline "the most sectarian place in the north?". This was due to the many attacks on the Catholic Church, the cars of mass-goers. This prompted an angry response from the community, some of whom made the journey to Belfast to meet the newspaper's editor.

See also

• List of villages in Northern Ireland
• List of towns in Northern Ireland