Ballygowan period, and subsequent to the introduction of the Belfast & County Down Railway in 1850, that the village began to grow. Ballygowan railway station opened on 10 September 1858, but finally closed on 16 January 1950. After the railway closed in 1950 the village became an attractive "dormitory" town and the ensuing 50 years have seen rapid growth. On Monday, 15 September 2014, the remains of The Baron Bannside (better known as The Rev. Ian Paisley) were buried in the graveyard attached to Ballygowan Free Presbyterian Church. Lord Bannside was a former First Minister of Northern Ireland and a former
Thomas de Grey, 6th Baron Walsingham and played for I Zingari at Sandringham on 17-18 July 1866 (at which the Prince of Wales opened for the team). Thomas de Grey, 6th Baron Walsingham Thomas de Grey, 6th Baron Walsingham (29 July 1843 – 3 December 1919) of Merton Hall, Norfolk was an English politician and amateur entomologist. Walsingham was the son of Thomas de Grey, 5th Baron Walsingham, and Augusta-Louisa, daughter of Sir Robert Frankland-Russell, 7th Baronet. He was born on Stanhope Street in Mayfair, the family's London house. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. He sat as Conservative Member of Parliament for