Gideon’s Green
This small park in Whitehouse was named after a Huguenot soldier, Gideon Bonnivert, who came to Ireland in 1690 with William of Orange's army. His eye-witness accounts of the landing are contained in a diary held in the British Museum in London.
Macedon House
Macedon House was built on a magnificent jagged headland between Whiteabbey and Whitehouse, and enlarged in 1802, by Alexander Stewart in the hope that he might be styled "Alexander of Macedon" - so now you know where the name came from! The land, overlooking Belfast Lough, was cited to be one of the finest views in north East Ireland.
After a succession of owners, it passed in 1903 to William Henry McLaughlin, of McLaughlin & Harvey, the famous contractors that built many of Belfast's finest buildings. The last resident of the house was Charles Agnew, land & estate agent, after which it was acquired as a children's home by Dr Barnardo's in 1950.
This home closed in 1981, after which the house was demolished, but the beautiful headland where it stood has now been incorporated into Hazelbank Park, one of the most beautiful in the province.
Gideon Bonnivert Journal Extract
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