Written by Gavin Bamford, Chair, History Hub Ulster (Written April 2020 and updated 2024)
History Hub Ulster will be stationed at Neill's Hill across European Heritage Open Days (September 14 and 15, 2024). Give them a visit to learn more about the heritage of this sapce in East Belfast. Or, if you fancy a dander, join Steven Patterson of Hometown Tours for a free walking tour meeting in C.S. Lewis Square at 11:00 on both days, which will walk between he Square and Neill's Hill. For more details see visiteastside.com/events.
What makes Neill's Hill such an important station and why did BBC Radio Ulster programme 'Good Morning Ulster' feature it in January 2018? There was a walk through the former station with myself and BBC reporter, Sara Neill and then a studio discussion, featuring railway historian Charles Friel BEM who talked about Neill's Hill, the Belfast & County Down Railway (BCDR) and other closed railways in Northern Ireland.
On 1st March 1890 when the BCDR opened a small station between Bloomfield and Knock stations on the main line to Comber. The new station had a level crossing on the Sandown Road, a gateman and a boy porter together with a sand siding from which sand was extracted for the manufacture of the famous Belfast bricks.
In 1927 the station consisted of sidings, station-masters house (built 1904), porters house, passenger sheds, two platforms, a subway and advertising boards on fencing. A signal cabin had been closed in 1925.
With Bloomfield, Neill’s Hill and Knock now being commuter stations with new housing developments being built, the platforms at Neill’s Hill were extended to accommodate the additional passenger traffic.
After the war, the BCDR reduced the status of Neill's Hill from a 'station' to a 'halt'. Eventually, on 15th January 1950, the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) closed the main line and the suburban stations on it. The track lifting gangs came in, dereliction of the buildings started immediately. The level crossing was removed and, later, the station buildings were demolished and the subway filled in.
My parents moved to Sandhill Gardens in 1953 and three children followed by 1961. Our house backed onto the station. This photo (below) shows Rea and Paul playing in our back garden with the former station building in the background.
As children, the railway became our playground. We had platforms to play on, we ventured into the subway as far as we could and when the ferns grew in the summer, we would hide in them and make plans as only children can. Within a few years, the station was demolished and cleared.
Our friends, the McMaster's lived in 25 Sandhill Gardens. Their house was different from the others in Sandhill Gardens as their land was bordered by a public footpath from the platform through to the road. A garage couldn't be built until the family purchased the public footpath.
(left) Neill's Hill Railway Station following demolition.
We left the area in 1977. The Knock Valley Sewer Scheme was laid in 2003/2004 along the length of the former main line between Dundonald and Ballymacarrett. It was this sewage scheme that effectively stopped heavy rail ever returning to the former BCDR track bed. The Comber Greenway was laid out between the Holywood Arches ending just short of Comber.
In 2005, the Belfast Telegraph newspaper campaign 'Saving Our Heritage' (Reporter, Linda Stewart) featured Neill's Hill as an industrial heritage site in danger. Sustrans who manages the Comber Greenway said at the time "We wouldn't have any big plans for it at the moment... but we could consider it for the future".
2010 saw a change in tactics for myself. The remaining section of the UP platform was safely hidden away in the undergrowth. However, what was missing from the bigger picture was signage to inform the general public, walkers and cyclists on the Comber Greenway that their greenway owed its existence to the railway.
A Facebook group was created, ‘Friends of Neill’s Hill Railway Station’ that brought together a group of like-minded individuals. Myself, William Scott, Michael Hopper and Edward Connolly formed a work group and tidied up the old station platform.
In later years, the greenway path was widened cand lighting was placed along the entire length. The department who owns the greenway issued a statement; "The Department recognises the historical importance of the remains of the old railway infrastructure along the Comber Greenway and has taken the necessary steps to ensure that it's work will not interfere or remove these features".
What makes Neill's Hill such an important feature? Quite simply, it's nostalgia for what is effectively an old railway within the city boundaries. For me, it's also a 60-year story that spans my childhood, my working life and into retirement.
(Above) L-R: William Scott, Eddie Donnelly, Gavin Bamford and Michael Hopper. Opposite, Neill's Hill platform before work.
