Crawfordsburn (from the Ulster Scots: Crawford's burn meaning "Crawford's stream") is a small picturesque village in County Down, Northern Ireland. The village, which is now effectively a commuter suburb, lies between Holywood and Bangor to the north of the A2 road, about 4km west of Bangor town centre. Bounded to the north and north east by Crawfordsburn Country Park, the village attracts many visitors. It had a population of 531 people in the 2001 Census. It is in the Borough of North Down.
Crawfordsburn originated in the 17th century as a small settlement on an important routeway along North Down. It was named after a stream which flows through the village. It has retained elements of its 17th century history along its Main Street including the coaching inn. The Sharman-Crawford family developed the village in the 18th and 19th centuries. Crawfordsburn was promoted as a Victorian tourist attraction, particularly for those visitors using the railway to nearby Helens Bay.
The Old Inn, Crawfordsburn has been in existence since the 1600s. Records show this building to have been standing in its present form since 1614. There is evidence that substantial additions were made in the middle of the 18th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Donaghadee was one of the principal cross-channel ports between Ireland and Great Britain. The mail coach making connections with the sailing packet, changed horses at The Old Inn at Crawfordsburn and so it came to be patronised by many notable people including Swift, Tennyson, Thackeray, Dickens and Trollope. It was also frequented by C. S. Lewis.
Crawfordsburn Country Park, on the southern shores of Belfast Lough, features 3.5km of coastline and the two best beaches in the Belfast area. The Park also includes Grey Point Fort, a coastal battery and gun emplacement dating from 1904 and updated during World War II. It now houses a military museum.
