Maze (electoral ward)
Template:Infobox Irish Place Maze is an electoral ward in the Lisburn City Council area of Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It predominently lies in County Down although its northwestern corner lies in County Antrim, the division being the River Lagan. The Maze electoral ward consists of the settlements of Mazetown, Long Kesh, Culcavy, Aghnatrisk, Halftown and Ravernet, however when locals refer to the Maze, they are most likely referring to Mazetown and Long Kesh. In 2001, there were 3393 residents in the electoral ward.[1]
Mazetown and Long Kesh
The main article is Mazetown, County Antrim.
Mazetown is small settlement just off the main A3 Belfast-Armagh road, some 3 miles west of Lisburn. In the 2001 Census, it had a population of 323 (includes Halftown) and lies mainly in County Antrim. It is mostly residential and quiet.
Long Kesh is most famous for the Maze Prison (closed in 2000), which was sited on an aircraft field known as 'Long Kesh'. The actual prison entrance is on the Culcavy Road in Halftown. Long Kesh is also known for Down Royal Racecourse, which is the main attraction in the area, as well as the adjoining nine-hole Down Royal Golf Course. The area had 351 residents in the 2001 Census.[2]
Transport and Communications
The main A1 Belfast-Dublin dual-carriageway splits the ward as it ascends from the Sprucefield Roundabout (M1 junctions 7/8) to the Hillsborough roundabout, on a section commonly known as Carnbane Hill, named after the townland which it passes through.
Offically, as with the rest of the province, the dialling code in 028. However, the electoral ward covers no less than three local exchange areas (all of which lie within the Lisburn telephone code area). The western side is covered by the 'Maze' exchange (9262xxxx), the centre-north area by the Lisburn central exchange (926xxxxx) and the eastern and southern areas by the 'Hillsborough' exchange (9268xxxx).
Demographics
This data covers the whole electoral ward, not just the traditional Maze settlement. On Census day (29 April, 2001) there were 3353 people living in the Maze electoral ward. Of these:
- 22.9% were aged under 16 years and 15.6% were aged 60 and over
- 50.8% were female and 49.2% were male
- 89.1% were from a Protestant background and 6.2% were from a Catholic background
- 1.9% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed.[3]
See also
- HMP Maze
- Mazetown, County Antrim
- Lisburn
- Hillsborough
- Lisburn City Council
- List of villages in Northern Ireland
