Comber

Comber (Irish An Comar, German The confluence ) is a city in the north- east of Ireland in County Down in Northern Ireland.

The place

Comber is located 8 km south of Newtownards, in the northwest of Strangford Lough; of Belfast, it is about 15 kilometers southeasterly direction. Administratively part of the place to Ards District; its population was in the 2001 census, the population of Comber was determined with 8933 persons; thereof 91.6 % Protestant, and 3.7 % were Catholic.

Past and present

The eponymous confluence of two rivers, which meet in Comber is the River Glen and River Enler. It is believed that a church was built here in the 5th century; by the Cistercians the Comber Abbey was founded in 1200. During the Plantation of Ulster in the early 17th century a settlement, however, was one miles further south than the present place and served as a haven to traders and fishermen developed. In the 18th century Comber shifted to the site of today's marketplace ( " The Square " ) and developed into an industrial center with several mills. During his time mainly linen production and grain processing were the focus, Comber is now a center of potato production and also developed in the 20th century to a commuter town for Belfast, where the population of 4,000 in 1961 increased to nearly 9,000 in 2001. For about 100 years, from the mid-19th to the mid 20th century, Comber was also known for its whiskey production. For exactly 100 years, from 1850 to 1950, Comber was connected through the Belfast and County Down Railway to the Railway.

Personalities

• John Miller Andrews (1871-1956), second Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
• Thomas Andrews (1873-1912), naval architect
• Ottilie Patterson (1932-2011), a blues singer