King’s Moss
[Photo: Whittley’s Tavern, King’s Moss.]
I was stumped at first to find the whereabouts of the townland of Kings Moss, and for a while the A.A. were also beaten but finally they came up with the answer. You will find it only a short distance out on the road to Ballyclare Via Corr’s Corner just before you come to a level crossing.
Kings Moss was settled by Frenchmen during the Williamite campaign in Ireland. In the early 18th Century it was the haunt of the local notorious Highwayman Captain McAlister and his band of brigands. The neighbouring townland of Ballycraigy was once part of the Donegall Estate. Here lived William Whittley (1795 to 1877) a Tenent Farmer and also the owner of a Spirit Grocer’s. Family tradition relates that William Whittley moved his business to King’s Moss when the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury married one of Lord Donegall’s daughters. The 7th Earl was a renowned reformer and certainly would have opposed a spirit licence of any kind on his Estate. The Solid (very well kept) house and tavern was built in 1825, one of the few remaining 19th Century pubs in the North. To date 7 generations of the family have lived here, which surely must constitute a record of the licensing trade here in Northern Ireland.
There’s an attractive back-to-the-old-days feeling about the small public bar. It looks like it hasn’t been touched since day one and in many ways the Proprietor is afraid to do so. The lounge built in 1973, is in the olde world style with an open fire and tastefully decorated bar. A new extension opened in late May of this year and is appropriately called THE SIGNAL BOX (because of its close proximity to the railway line only yards away).
Stepping into it is a novel experience, for the interior mirrors a trackside station. Here you have a choice of enjoying a drink or a meal in an area fashioned into ‘waiting rooms’ or boarding the carriage-style compartments to the left of the room. It looks like the Whittley family are on the ‘right lines’ for a long prosperous future.