Helen's Bay

Although, in 1855, Lord Dufferin did not even own the beach or much of what is now the golf course, he was discussing with his agent the idea of creating a bathing town. There is even a painting, allegedly by him, of a grand Victorian town, viewed from the rocks below us, complete with a pier at the centre of the beach and a pleasure steamer lying alongside. The Presbyterian church on Church Road bears a strong resemblance to the style of buildings in the painting. It was inaugurated in October 1896 when Lady Dufferin laid a memorial stone.[1]

In 1862, Lord Dufferin purchased the beach and the far side of the land now occupied by the golf course, adding it to his Sea Park, and planting clumps of trees, which he later named after some of his favorite yachts, ‘Talisman’, ‘Chimera’ and ‘Erminia’. The ‘Erminia’ holds a little-known place in local history. Lord Dufferin purchased the yacht in 1857 with the intention of converting her into an auxiliary yacht by installing a steam engine. It must have been an impressive piece of engineering, for when the steam pressure was first raised the crew abandoned ship in fear.[2] However, sea trials were undertaken, and she was pronounced fit to carry Lord Dufferin, his mother, and friends on a voyage to the Mediterranean, visiting Egypt and venturing as far as Constantinople.

Before embarking on the voyage, Lord Dufferin sailed in the company of friends to Cherbourg for the unveiling of a statue to Napoleon 1st, followed by a ball. One of his guests was Helen Graham, better known by her friends as Nelly, and a very close friend of the young Dufferin – much to the displeasure of his mother.[3] On his return to England, he wrote in his diary that he had “Sent Nelly a picture of ‘Erminia’[and] called the bay at Grey Point Helen’s Bay after [her]”.[4] So, we may have been looking across to Nelly’s Bay, but he later crossed out the “her” in his dairy and replaced it with “my mother” who was also called Helen. Hence, Helen’s Bay is named after Lord Dufferin’s mother, and not his girlfriend.

The proposed location of the bathing town eventually became the Helen’s Bay golf course, which was opened in May 1896. Lord Dufferin was both landlord and patron and in the early years the caddies were the sons of Clandeboye Estate workers. His prowess is not known, but he did record a round in May 1897.[5] He also noted in his diary in October 1900 that he received a deputation from the members about building them a house.[6] The first club house was later described as a quaint old cottage. Also quaint would have been the flock of sheep employed to keep the grass under control. No wonder the highest score on the opening day was 168![7]

[1] PRONI D1071/H/V/1/33 (24 October 1896)

[2] PRONI D1071/H/V/1/15 (9 February 1858)

[3] Andrew Gailey, The Lost Imperialist (London: John Murray, 2015), 74.

[4] PRONI D1071/H/V/1/15 (25 August 1857)

[5] PRONI D1071/H/V/1/34 (2 May 1897)

[6] PRONI D1071/H/V/1/36 (22 October 1900)

[7] Twixt Bay & Burn, ed. R. Masefield (Bayburn Historical Society, 2011), 105.