Plaque Comber

A plaque on the wall of McWhinney’s butcher’s shop at the corner of Castle Street in Comber commemorates the great Ards Tourist Trophy or TT Race which once ran through the town. This was the famous butcher’s shop corner, a noted feature of the course, where cars didn’t always successfully negotiate their passage from the Square into Castle Street.

Comber

The Ards TT ran from 1928 until 1936. It was a massive event on the sporting calendar, held in August or early September, and attracting up to half a million spectators in any one year. Starting at Quarry Corner in Dundonald, cars raced their way along the public roads (closed of course for the occasion) through Newtownards and Comber back to Dundonald again – a gruelling 30 laps of this 13½ mile circuit.

Comber Grandstand

Comber was packed with spectators. The Belfast and County Down Railway (BCDR) Company built a grandstand on the Belfast Road, and private individuals provided teas, sandwiches, buns and seats – in exchange for silver and bronze, of course. It was a regular ploy to charge for the convenience of a wall or garden hedge to lean over while viewing the race. Rowans constructed a stand against a large shed beside the road and offered tickets at 10s 6d each (52½p). The shed still stands today.

Footbridge Comber

The railway kept running through the race, despite the fact that it crossed the Newtownards Road on a level crossing at the Glassmoss just outside Comber. The solution was to erect temporary platforms on each side of the road with a wooden footbridge connecting them. Passengers simply walked over the bridge and changed trains.

Poster

Poster

1928 Curzon Bugatti

1928 Cambell Bugatti

1928 Cambell

1928 Start and Finish

The Elk

Conway Square

1928

Vernon Balls on Church Street

1928 start

1929 Church Street

Humphrey Cooks 7th place (Bentley)

Entering Conway Square

Novolari

1928 Lea Francis

Circuit

1928

1928

1928

United States Paper