Gamblestown

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Gamblestown
The Dromore Road at Gamblestown Village - geograph.org.uk - 606847.jpg
The Dromore Road at Gamblestown Village
County Down UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Gamblestown
Location within County Down
Irish grid reference J 083 475
District
  • Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon
County
  • County Down
Country Northern Ireland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town DROMORE
Postcode district BT25
Dialling code 028
UK Parliament
  • Upper Bann
NI Assembly
  • Upper Bann
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland
Down
54°25′41″N6°14′02″W / 54.428°N 6.234°W / 54.428; -6.234
Dromore Road, Gamblestown Dromore Road, Gamblestown near the Junction with the Lisnasure Road - geograph.org.uk - 606850.jpg
Dromore Road, Gamblestown

Gamblestown is a small village in County Down, Northern Ireland about a mile from Donaghcloney, on the Lurgan to Dromore road. [1] It is situated in the Parish of Magheralin and the townland of Clogher. [2] In the 2021 census it had a population of 141 people. [3] It is situated to the southeast of the Craigavon Borough Council area.

The village is largely composed of residential development, a church hall and some retail warehousing, but is without other facilities. [1] Historically, Gamblestown developed as a small rural settlement centered around a cluster of farm workers' cottages located along the Dromore Road. The village's growth has remained modest, with approximately 50 residential properties currently established in 2010. In the 1970s, the Gamblestown Park housing estate was constructed, marking the first significant expansion of the settlement. Subsequent development has primarily consisted of individual dwellings built along the road frontages.

Gamblestown contains an Area of Archaeological Potential (AAP) located within the northern portion of the village, specifically on lands to the east and west of Drumnabreeze Road. This designation indicates that the area may hold archaeological interest or significance, although no specific archaeological sites or monuments are recorded within the settlement itself. [4]

The earliest recorded instance of the townland Clogher appears in a 1666, whereas earlier documents consistently use the form Crogher. Alternative Irish terms such as cróchar ("bier") and cnochaire ("heap of footed turf") have been suggested, though it is more likely that the original name Clogher was misread as Crogher due to the visual similarity between the letters "l" and "r". The Irish element clochar (An Clochar) is generally interpreted as "a stony place". [5]

References

  1. 1 2 "Gamblestown". Craigavon Area Plan 2010 (Adopted). 3 April 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  2. "Place names of County Down". NI Family History Research Site. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  3. "Gamlestown in Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon (Northern Ireland)". citypopulation.de. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  4. Preparatory Paper 14: Strategic Settlement Evaluation. Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council. Accessed 30 July 2025.
  5. "PlacenamesNI.org - Clogher, County Down (Northern Ireland Place-Name Project, Tionscadal Logainmneacha, Thuaisceart Eirann)". ArcGIS Experience. Retrieved 20 March 2025.

See also