The Ballance House Glenavy
by Vicky Davey, Aaron McClean,
Gilian Cowan and Paul Coburn
To
see a Panorama VR of Ballance click here
(will NOT work with all machines)
The Ballance House Glenavyby Vicky Davey, Aaron McClean,
To
see a Panorama VR of Ballance click here |
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The Ballance House is the restored birthplace of John Ballance the late 19th Century Prime Minister of New Zealand.. John Ballance was born here in 1839 where the cottage room is now built. The Ballance House has a beautiful view of Lough Neagh and on a clear day five of the six counties of Ulster can be seen. The exterior of the house has been carefully restored to its original appearance and the grounds have been treated appropriately. This includes the orchard planted by the New Zealand All Blacks in 1989.
When entering the house, on the left of the hall is a commemorative stone, which is the work of Mr Jason McDonald, a New Zealand stonemason now living in Belfast.
| The parlour on the right has been furnished in the style of 1850, when John Ballance would have been living here and it is the only room to be restored in this fashion. In it hangs a photograph of John Ballance aged fourteen. The other photograph is a portrait of his mother, the whereabouts of the original is not known. The furnishings and books in the parlour suggest that the Ballances were fairly well off and interested in education. |
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| Ballance House | Quaker Background | Education and Emigration | Political Career |
