The Kinks...Roy Orbison...Dusty Springfield...legendary names in popular music history. But here you will read of those heady days in the sixties when acts of this stature regularly appeared at the ballrooms of Bangor and North Down! Music Writer, biographer and frivolous librarian Colin Harper revives memories, too, of local 'beat groups': The 'A' Side...The Carpetbaggers...The High Wall and many more. Brimming with whimsical arcanery, 'Seaside Rock' is an affectionate and informative glimpse of an age when, as that venerable organ of sobriety, the 'County Down Spectator', put it, 'girls are apt to become hysterical at beat shows', but when to be young and 'switched on' was very heaven.

A book of old and wonderful pictures depicting life in Bangor during the Victorian and Edwardian eras in the town. Many people will remember some of the features that are shown in this book especially around Pickie Rock and the Bangor Seafront. Definitely a book to wander down memory lane with.

This book contains one hundred photographs chosen by North Down Heritage Centre to represent one hundred years of the twentieth century. Very few of the selection have ever been published before. They include scenes from the towns of Bangor and Holywood, and the villages of Helen's Bay, Crawfordsburn, Conlig and Groomsport, the emphasis being on people's daily lives in a century of colossal change. Part of the Millennium commemorations of North Down Borough Council, the book's introduction by Heritage Centre manager Ian Wilson also includes reflections on what life was like in the area a thousand years ago-in 999!

Today Bangor is best known as a dormitory town for Belfast, but as this book reveals, it has a distinguished and fascinating history of its own. During the Dark Ages its monastery was one of the most celebrated in the world; during the Plantation of Ulster, James Hamilton built here "a goodly house…one of the fairest in the kingdom"; during the Industrial Revolution, two large cotton mills employed three hundred workers in the town.; by the end of the 19th century, "chastely designed, elegant villas" were rising round the shores of its bays; and sir Thomas Lipton issued his famous challenges for the America's Cup from the town's Royal Ulster Yacht Club. Many of the town's former glories are neglected or lost altogether but this gazetteer highlights the fine buildings that do survive and the very many good ones that deserve to be better appreciated.

Bangor, on the southern shore of Belfast Lough, has a maritime tradition extending back to the seafaring early Christians and their seventh-century missionary voyages. With the development of the town as a thriving seaside resort in Victorian times, Bangor Bay was the focal point for regattas, fleet visits and steamer excursions, and attractions like Pickie Pool and Laird's Boats became popular. Meanwhile cargo vessels passed in and out regularly. All these featured among the hundred photographs in this book, very few of which have been published before. The story is brought up to date with a colour section depicting highlights of recent years since the establishment of a new harbour and splendid Marina

This book, written by the late Rev. James Hamilton, M.A., is to commemorate the 1400th Anniversary of the Abbey's Foundation.

Bangor is nowadays a large suburban area in which the original core is dwarfed by recent housing developments, public and private. This leaflet gives the stories behind a number of the street and avenue names, mostly in older parts of the town.Thankfully there is again a mood to give newly built areas names in keeping with the locality rather than "imported" ideas from, say, London.

Bangor was a site of ancient sanctity. An important monastery was founded in 558 AD. The town as we know it dates from the arrival of Scots settlers.With the arrival of the railway the town became a popular resort with the Victorians. With the help of this booklet follow the cultural trail of Bangor's history.

A leaflet detailing the early history of the Custom House & Tower with descriptions of the architecture.

The founder of modern Bangor came originally from Scotland, settling in Dublin in 1587 as a school master. With the help of this leaflet discover how the modern day Bangor came about.

This leaflet gives an insight into the story behind the 1st Marquis of Dufferin & Ava and what happened along the way. As Clandeboye still plays a part in the history of Bangor and the surrounding area this leaflet is of great interest to those wanting to find out more about the history and developement of Bangor.

A wonderful eye into what Bangor West looked like at the turn of the last century. See how it looked then and compare it with todays modern town layout.

A wonderful eye into what Bangor East/Ballyholme looked like at the turn of the last century. See how it looked then and compare it with todays modern town layout.