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Earth Science Conservation Review
| Ballyquintin Point | Down |
| Site number: | 1138 | ||
| ESCC: | IS | ||
| Locality Type: | Cliff, Coastal section | Status: | ASSI |
| Grid Reference: | J625454 Centroid | ||
| Google maps: | 54.33188,-5.50185 | ||
| County: | Down | Council area: | Ards & North Down Borough Council |
| Period: | Quaternary | ||
| Stages: | Pleistocene | ||
| Site Description | |
|---|---|
| Highlights: | |
At Ballyquintin Point a series of rock platforms, cliffs and an extensive gravel depositional feature provide evidence of former shorelines above the present level. Although largely vegetated, the gravel feature is clearly discernible and a few disused borrow pits provide exposure. | |
| Introduction: | |
Ballyquintin Point at the tip of the Ards peninsula contains abundant morphological evidence of raised former shorelines. Raised shoreline features of County Down have been known for some time and have been described by several authors (Praeger, 1896; Stephens & Collins, 1960; Stephens & Synge, 1966). The Ballyquintin site is frequently referred to in such regional appraisals of former shorelines (Stephens, 1958, 1963; Stephens & McCabe, 1977; Herries-Davies & Stephens, 1978). The site has, however, not been studied in detail and the ages of the features and their associated sea levels have only been established through (sometimes questionable) comparison with the elevation of features in other areas. No absolute age determination has been conducted nor has any sedimentological analysis been carried out at this site. Consequently the evolution of the features and their relationship to past sea level and past sedimentary dynamics are little understood. | |
| Description: | |
At Ballyquintin Point, a distinct scarp is cut in boulder clay on both east and west sides of the peninsula, although it is most pronounced on the eastern side where it closely approximates to the 10m contour line. This scarp is fronted by a low-lying plain composed of red clay which falls gradually to present HWM from an initial elevation of 55ft O.D. (c. 17m) (Stephens, 1963, 1968). Seaward of this terrace (and possibly extending landward under the clay) a rock platform is exposed at approximately present sea level. On the rock platform near-vertical bedding in the underlying Palaeozoic strata is truncated by a subhorizontal erosional surface which probably represents a wave-cut platform. Apparently resting upon the low lying plain is a gravel deposit which is concentrated around Ballyquintin Point itself. It is apparently banked against the scarp in places. The gravel feature comprises well-rounded pebbles of Palaeozoic country rock (grey sandstone and occasional limestone) which are typically 15-20cm in diameter and appear well sorted. The deposit is entirely clast-supported and lacks a matrix. A number of included limestone clasts are heavily bored by marine molluscs. The gravel feature consists of a series of sub-parallel ridges of low relief (<1m amplitude) which are aligned parallel to the scarp line at Ballyquintin Point. East of Ballyquintin Point several isolated gravel ridges occur with their long axes oriented perpendicular to the scarp line. A few disused gravel extraction pits indicate a minimum gravel thickness of 2m but the collapse of the pit walls has obscured any evidence of internal structure. While the upper surface of the feature is lightly vegetated (principally with ivy although gorse is characteristic of the ridge crests) above the influence of modern wave processes, the seaward margin has been reworked by contemporary wave action and a series of cusps is present. The outer edge of the feature has also been modified by overwashing or storm deposition along the outer 2-3m. The limits of modern overwashing are marked by debris lines although most debris lines are below the upper surface of the feature. | |
| Importance: | |
Past use of this site in regional interpretations of isostatic uplift and the position of former shorelines suggest it to be of national importance, however, detailed information on the nature and evolution of the site is lacking. It appears to be one of several gravel features of probable Late Glacial age along the Northern Ireland coast, none of which have been studied in detail. This site, in combination with the other gravel barrier sites offers the potential to map former shorelines and document relative sea level movements since the last glaciation. The site is also of importance in elucidating the evolution of Strangford Lough and in this regard the depositional setting of the gravel feature is particularly important. The gravel structure is unusual in a local sense in that clast-supported coastal gravel features are rare in Northern Ireland. It may represent a gravel foreland deposited at the junction of ocean wave-dominated conditions and the current-influenced area at the mouth of Strangford Lough. | |
| Interpretation: | |
The lack of detailed investigation of this site is clear from the literature. While it has been utilised in a series of regional studies, little detailed reference exists regarding the site itself. Stephens (1963, 1968) believed that the site was one of four which initially proved a Late Glacial age for the widespread red marine clay. In this regard the gradual slope of the red clay up toward a notch cut into a Drumlin at 19.5m O.D. demonstrated a link between the notch and a former raised sea level of post- Drumlin Readvance age and established the case for a late glacial transgression. Stephens & McCabe (1977 p 183) refer to a "well- marked morainic line" extending from Ballyquintin Point to Ardglass which marks the limit of ice movement during the Drumlin Readvance Stage. Davies & Stephens (1978) and Stephens (1968) suggest the terrace fronting the cliffline (and the cliffline itself) at Ballyquintin Point were formed during Late Glacial times. No interpretation of the origin or depositional setting of the gravel depositional structure could be found in the literature, which given the widespread reference to the site and its use in regional studies is perhaps surprising. Reconnaissance field visits could not firmly establish its relationship to the Late Glacial red marine clay. The apparent lack of exotic lithologies within the feature perhaps mitigates against a post-glacial age but no definite conclusions can be drawn on the available evidence. The morphology of the gravel feature is suggestive of a foreland deposited at the junction of Strangford Lough and the open sea. Low, linear ridges on its surface are suggestive of intermittent progradation perhaps driven by a fluctuating sediment supply. The presence of isolated ridges with shore-normal crestlines to the east of Ballyquintin Point is suggestive of derivation of the pebbles from the northeast and their transport southward as discrete shore-normal bars, however, such an interpretation is entirely speculative. | |
| Conclusions: | |
Raised cliff and shore platforms at and above present sea level occur at Ballyquintin Point as does an extensive raised coastal gravel depositional feature. Little published information exists on the relationships of the various features to each other or of their origin or sedimentology, although the sites offer the opportunity for investigation of former dynamics in the context of the late- and post-glacial evolution of the County Down coast. Absolute dating and field examination of the relationships of the various geomorphological units is needed to firmly establish the age and evolution of the various elements. | |
| Notes: | |
Further studies of the sedimentology of the gravel feature are necessary in order to determine its relationship to past sea levels. Field mapping and levelling of the site would help elucidate the relationships of the various features. Dating might be undertaken on suitable material from the site. | |
| Keywords | |
|---|---|
| Relations: | Late-glacial deposit |
| Geomorph: | degraded cliff, gravel beach, raised shoreline, rock platform |
| Access | |
|---|---|
| Management: | |
The area is owned by the Department of the Environment and access is difficult. Farming practices could potentially affect the raised cliffline. | |
| Threats: | Possibly farming practices. |
| Uses | |
| Educ. Level: | Undergraduate / Postgraduate |
| References (8) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Herries Davies, G.L. & Stephens, N., 1978. The Geomorphology of the British Isles - Ireland. Methuen, London. | |||
| Praeger, R.L.I., 1896. Report upon the raised beaches of the north-east of Ireland with special reference to their fauna. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, vol. 4, pp.30-54. | |||
| Stephens, N., 1958. The evolution of the coastline of north-east Ireland. Reports of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, vol. 36, pp.389-391. | |||
| Stephens, N., 1963. Late glacial sea levels in north-east Ireland. Irish Geography, vol. 4, pp.345-359. | |||
| Stephens, N., 1968. Late-glacial and Postglacial shorelines in Ireland and southwest Scotland in: Morrison, R.B, & Wright, H.E. (eds) Means of Correlation of the Quaternary successions. In 7th Congress of the International Association of Quaternary Research In Means of correlation of Quaternary successions. | |||
| Stephens, N. & Collins, A.E.P., 1960. The Quaternary deposits at Ringneil Quay and Ardmillan, Co. Down. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, vol. 61C, pp.41-77. | |||
| Stephens, N. & McCabe, A.M., 1977. Late-Pleistocene ice movements and patterns of Late- and post-glacial shorelines on the coast of Ulster, Ireland. Special Issue of the Geological Journal, numb. 7 In The Quaternary History of the Irish Sea., pp.179-198. | |||
| Synge, F. & Stephens, N., 1966. Late Pleistocene shorelines and drift limits in north-east Ulster. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, vol. 39, pp.101-125. | |||
| Map(s): | See the 1:50,000 O.S. Sheet 21 (Strangford Lough). | ||
| Record type: | ESCR report | ||
| Entered by: | E M Porter | ||
| Enlander, I., Dempster, M. & Doughty, P., 2026. Ballyquintin Point, County Down, site details. [In] Earth Science Conservation Review. https://www.habitas.org.uk/escr/site.php?item=1138. Accessed on 2026-11-05. |
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