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
Edward Stanley, 6th Baron Stanley of Alderley 4th and 5th Barons. When the mansion at Alderley Park was destroyed by fire in 1931 he moved into the former farmhouse. When he sold the estate in 1938 to the property developers Hambling Crundall and Co Ltd., many of his older tenants were forced to leave the village. He had four wives: He and Victoria had one daughter, The Hon. Edwina Maureen Stanley (born 19 January 1933). On his death in 1971, his brother Lyulph Stanley succeeded to his titles, albeit only briefly. Edward Stanley, 6th Baron Stanley of Alderley Edward John Stanley, 6th Baron Sheffield, 6th Baron Stanley