Newtownards

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Newtownards Scots: Newton[1] or Newtonairds[2] Irish: Baile Nua na hArda[3] Ards
View of Newtownards from Scrabo Tower
Newtownards Location within County Down
Population	28,050 (2011 Census)
• Belfast	9 mi (14.5 km)
District	Ards and North Down
County	County Down
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NEWTOWNARDS
Postcode district	BT22, BT23
Dialling code	028
Police	Northern Ireland
Fire	Northern Ireland
Ambulance	Northern Ireland
UK Parliament	Strangford
NI Assembly	Strangford
List of places UK Northern Ireland Down 54°35′28″N 5°40′48″W / 54.591°N 5.68°W / 54.591; -5.68Coordinates: 54°35′28″N 5°40′48″W / 54.591°N 5.68°W / 54.591; -5.68

Historical populationshow

Year	Pop.	±%
1821	3,332	—
1831	4,442	+33.3%
1841	6,721	+51.3%
1851	9,566	+42.3%
1861	9,542	−0.3%
1871	9,562	+0.2%
1881	8,676	−9.3%
1891	9,197	+6.0%
1901	9,110	−0.9%
1911	9,587	+5.2%
1926	10,149	+5.9%
1937	19,546	+92.6%
1951	12,243	−37.4%
1961	13,083	+6.9%
1966	12,929	−1.2%
1971	15,484	+19.8%
1981	20,531	+32.6%
1991	24,301	+18.4%
2001	27,821	+14.5%
2011	28,050	+0.8%
[4][5][6][7]

Newtownards is a town, townland and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is situated in the civil parish of Newtownards and the historic baronies of Ards Lower and Castlereagh Lower.^[8] Newtownards is in the Ards and North Down Borough. It is known colloquially by locals as "Ards". The population was 28,050 in the 2011 Census.^[4]

History[]

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Irish settlement[]

In 540 AD, St. Finian founded Movilla Abbey, a monastery, on a hill overlooking Strangford Lough about a mile North-East of present-day Newtownards town centre. "Movilla" (Magh Bhile) means "the plain of the sacred tree," in Irish, which suggests that the land had previously been a sacred pagan site. It became a significant Christian settlement - a centre for worship, study, mission and commercial trade, well known throughout Ireland. It was sacked by the Vikings sometime after AD 824, though survived for a thousand years as a monastic settlement (becoming part of the Augustinian Order in 1135), until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1542.

Around 1226, the Normans, who arrived in Ireland after 1169, established a new town around Movilla, naming it Nove Ville de Blathewyc ("New Town of Blathewyc" in reference to an earlier Irish territory). A Dominican priory was built in 1244 and was also dissolved in 1542.^[9]

In 1572, both monasteries were burned by the Clanaboy O'Neills under Brian O'Neill as part of a campaign to deny buildings to the English,^[10][9] after which the urban settlement at Movilla disappeared and the area around it became known as "Ballylisnevin" ("the town land of the fort of the family of Nevin").^{[citation needed]}

The Scottish town[]

In 1605, Hugh Montgomery was granted the lands and set about rebuilding what was by then known as Newtown, later expanded to Newtownards. Official records show the town was established in 1606. Montgomery built a residence in the ruins of the old priory, the tower of which remains. Scottish settlers, particularly from Ayr, and to a lesser extent Irvine, in Ayrshire, arrived in large numbers and the town grew quickly.^[11]

Due to the shallow mud of Strangford Lough, Newtown never developed as a port, with goods instead transported from the nearby town of Donaghadee on the Irish Sea coast of the Ards Peninsula. Instead, it became a market town, with the Market House in Conway Square constructed in 1771.^[12]

1798[]

North Down and the Ards Peninsula were briefly held by United Irish insurgents in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. On the morning of 9 June, "Pike Sunday", United Irishmen, mainly from Bangor, Donaghadee, Greyabbey and Ballywalter, under the command of the Presbysterian licentiate (later American diplomat) David Bailie Warden, marched on the town. They were driven off with musket fire from the Market House, but the garrison of Yorkshire Fencibles then withdrew, allowing the rebels to establish a French revolutionary style Committee of Public Safety. The "Republic" in Newtownards did not survive the rout two days later of the main rebel conjunction at Ballynahinch.^[13]

The Great Famine[]

During the Great Famine, which resulted from the dependence of small tenants and cottiers on a blighted potato crop, the largest local landowner, Lord Londonderry, rejected rent reductions on grounds of "personal inconvenience". By 1847 the 800 inhabitants of the town were witness to "emaciated and half-famished souls" queuing at soup kitchens and overflowing the newly built workhouse. Despite Lord Londonderry's objection, with the upgrading of the road to Donaghadee several public works programs for famine relief were instigated. In general, conditions on the land, not as acutely subdivided as in western districts of Ireland, and availability of weaving and other employments, saved the town from the worst.^[14][15]

Victorian growth[]

The early 19th century saw the reclamation of the marshlands south of the town. At the same time its growth was accelerated by integration into the Belfast and Lagan Valley industrial region and market. The Belfast and County Down Railway connected Newtownards to Belfast, via Comber and Dundonald, in 1850, and to Donaghadee in 1861. By the same year the town's population had risen to 9,500. (This rail line was closed in 1950.) On 12 July 1867, despite the Party Processions Acts, the Orange Order paraded from Bangor to Newtownards. The parade was organised by William Johnston (sentenced to a short term in prison the next year for his actions) and about 30,000 took part.^[16]

As the nineteenth century progressed the economy became increasingly tied to the growing city of Belfast and the town continued to prosper and by the 20th century had increasingly become a commuter town. Newtownards' population reached 13,100 in 1961 and had doubled to 27,800 by the end of the 20th century.^{[citation needed]}

The Troubles[]

During the Troubles, Newtownards was the scene of a car bomb attack on 5 July 1993, when Roma's Bar in Regent Street was targeted. The pub was destroyed, but has since been rebuilt. The attack was carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army with a 700 kg (1,500 lb) device.^[17] There were no fatalities. Police said the 10-minute warning, telephoned to a local radio station, was "totally inadequate." The warning said the bomb contained 1,500 pounds of explosives.^[18]

Recent times[]

The Newtownards townland of Ballywatticock, towards Mount Stewart, made headlines on 17 July 2021 when it was announced by the Met Office that the local weather station clocked the hottest temperature ever recorded in Northern Ireland, reaching 31.2 °C at 15:40. The previous high in Northern Ireland was 30.8C set in the summers of 1976 and 1983.^[19]

Developments[]

Castlebawn Shopping Centre is a shopping centre and retail park in Newtownards. As of April 2016 it contained a Tesco Extra, Matalan, Discount NI, and Home Bargains outlets. A Burger King and a Tesco petrol station are located in the main car park.^{[citation needed]} Following a judicial review in 2014 which overturned planning permission, the company Castlebawn Ltd went into administration,^[20] and no additional development was progressed.

Places of interest[]

Scrabo Tower[]

The town of Newtownards is overlooked by the 100-foot (30 m) high Scrabo Tower. The tower is 41 metres high, and was erected on Scrabo Hill as a memorial to Charles Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry in 1857. Those loyal to the Stewart family suggested the inspiration lay in the gratitude of his tenantry for his solicitude during the famine. Given the popular criticism the Marquess in those years, this seems doubtful. In 1847 he and his wife made contributions of £20 and £10 to their local relief committees. The following year they expended £15,000 renovating their home in Mount Stewart.^[21] Only 450 subscribers were connected to the estate on which there were 1,200 tenants farmers and many associated employees. Two-thirds of the cost was met by 98 subscribers (on a list headed by Emperor Napoleon III of France), most of whom were fellow gentry.^[22]

The Scottish baronial-style tower is open to the public and houses a historical and local environment exhibition. The basalt topped sandstone hill at Scrabo is one of the dominant features of north Down. The tower now stands in Scrabo Country Park with its woodland walks and parkland through Killynether Wood.^[23]

Movilla Abbey[]

The ancient ruins of Movilla Abbey, monastic settlement are situated within the grounds of Movilla Cemetery. Nothing visible remains today of Finnian's original Celtic Abbey, but the 15th Century Augustinian ruins still stand, and are worth seeing. They are a part of the St Patrick's Trail Tourist Route^[24]

Somme Heritage Centre[]

The Somme Heritage Centre, which is situated a little north of the town, is the Somme Association's flagship project. Situated adjacent to the Clandeboye Estate outside Newtownards, the centre is a unique visitor attraction of international significance showing the reality of the Great War and its effects on the community at home. The centre commemorates the involvement of the 36th (Ulster) and 16th (Irish) divisions in the Battle of the Somme, the 10th (Irish) Division in Gallipoli, Salonika and Palestine, and provides displays and information on the entire Irish contribution to the First World War.^{[citation needed]}

The centre promotes cross-community contact, mutual understanding, an appreciation of cultural diversity, and is a major visitor attraction. The centre is built on ground provided by Ards Borough Council in what is to be the Whitespots Country Park. Historically, the 36th (Ulster) Division trained on the estate during the first few months of the war and German prisoners of war were interned there. A replica of Helen's Tower was built on the Somme battlefield as Northern Ireland's national war memorial.^{[citation needed]}

Mount Stewart[]

On the east shore of Strangford Lough, a few miles outside Newtownards and near Greyabbey, stands Mount Stewart, an 18th-century house and garden – the home of the Londonderry family. The house and its contents reflect the history of the Londonderrys who played a leading role in British social and political life. The ninety-eight acre garden at Mount Stewart has been proposed as a UNESCO world heritage site.^[25]

Largely created by Dame Edith Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry, wife of the 7th Marquess, in the 1920s, it has an unrivaled collection of rare and unusual plants.^{[citation needed]}

Sport[]

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Rugby

Ards Rugby Football Club plays at Lansdowne Road, south of the town along the main Comber road. The 1st XV currently plays in the Ulster Qualifying Division 2.^{[citation needed]} Former players include Blair Mayne DSO, Phil Matthews and Nigel Carr, all former Ireland and British Lions players.

Cricket

Ards Cricket Club currently plays in Section 3 of the NCU Senior League. Its home games take place at Londonderry Park, which is on the Portaferry Road.

Football

There are two local football teams: Ards F.C., who play in the NIFL's Danske Bank Premiership, and Ards Rangers F.C., who play in the Northern Amateur Football League. Ards F.C. was founded in 1900 and plays its home matches at Clandeboye Park in Bangor, which it shares with Bangor F.C., following the sale of local ground Castlereagh Park. Ards Rangers F.C. plays its home matches at Drome Park which is directly beside the former Castlereagh Park. 1st Bangor Old Boys F.C. also play at Drome Park.^{[citation needed]}

Ards motor racing Circuit

The Ards Circuit through Newtownards was a motorsport street circuit used for RAC Tourist Trophy sports car races from 1928 until 1936. At the time it was Northern Ireland's premier sporting event, regularly attracting crowds in excess of a quarter of a million people.^[26]

On 5 September 1936, in appallingly wet conditions, local driver Jack Chambers lost control of his Riley approaching the Strangford Arms in Newtownards at the Newtownards rail bridge and crashed into the crowd, killing eight spectators. This tragedy brought an end to nine years of racing over the Ards street circuit.^[27]

Notable natives/residents[]

• Christine Bleakley, television presenter known for her work on ITV, was raised in Newtownards
• Harry Cavan, senior VP of FIFA (1980–90), and president of the Irish Football Association from 1958 to 1994.
• Jason Dunkerley, Canadian five-time paralympic medalist, was born and raised in Newtownards. His family emigrated to Canada when he was 14.^[28]
• Nick Earls, a novelist born in 1963 in the area; he later moved to Brisbane, Australia.
• Celia de Fréine, dramatist and poet, was born in the town in 1948 before later moving to Dublin and Galway.
• Eddie Irvine, racing driver and runner-up in the 1999 Formula One World Championship for Ferrari, was born and lived in Newtownards.
• Martyn Irvine, former World Cycling Champion and two-time silver medalist, is from the town.
• Michael Legge, stand-up comedian, was born and raised in the town.
• Robert Blair "Paddy" Mayne, SAS co-founder, was born and lived in Newtownards and attended Regent House Grammar School. A bronze statue of him stands outside the town hall. He played rugby for Ireland and for the Lions in the 1938 British Lions tour to South Africa.^[29]
• Conor McBride, computer scientist
• Rhys McClenaghan, Irish international gymnast, 2020 Tokyo Olympic pommel horse finalist, was born and lives in Newtownards.
• Colin Nixon, former football player who managed Ards, is from Newtownards.
• Ricky Warwick, best known as the frontman for the Scottish band The Almighty, is from the town.

See also[]

• Newtownards (civil parish)
• Market Houses in Northern Ireland
• List of civil parishes of County Down
• List of localities in Northern Ireland by population

References[]

Further reading[]

• Hanna, J. and Quail, D. 2006. Old Newtownards. Stenlake Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9781840332902.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Newtownards.

• Newtownards Directory 1910
• Newtownards Online