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
William Willoughby, 6th Baron Willoughby of Parham William Willoughby, 6th Baron Willoughby of Parham William Willoughby, 6th Lord Willoughby (c. 1616 – 10 April 1673) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons and later in the House of Lords. In 1666 he inherited the peerage of Baron Willoughby of Parham, and from 1667 he served as Governor of Barbados. Willoughby was the third son of William Willoughby, 3rd Baron Willoughby of Parham, and his wife Lady Frances Manners, daughter of John Manners, 4th Earl of Rutland. He was educated at Eton College from 1623 to 1624. In 1636 he travelled abroad