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
Benjamin Bathurst (politician, born 1872) Bathurst. Benjamin Bathurst (politician, born 1872) Lieutenant-Colonel Allen Benjamin Bathurst (25 June 1872 – 8 October 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician. He usually went by his middle name and was known as "Benjamin Bathurst". Bathurst was the third son of Allen Bathurst, 6th Earl Bathurst, and his first wife the Hon. Meriel "née" Warren (1839–1872), daughter of George Warren, 2nd Baron de Tabley. He commanded the 5th Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment and achieved the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Territorial Force Reserve. At the 1895 general election he was elected to the House of Commons as Member