Originally an important Anglo-Norman settlement, in the early 1600s Sir Hugh Montgomery established his ‘headquarters’ at Newtownards and with the assistance of his wife Elizabeth oversaw the development of the town which by 1611 included around 100 houses ‘all peopled with Scottes’. In 1744 Newtownards was acquired by the Stewart family. The Town Hall was built as a market house around 1770; during the 1798 Rebellion it was held for a time by a party of United Irishmen. St Mark’s Church of Ireland, completed in 1817, is one of the best examples for its date of the Perpendicular Gothic style in the British Isles.
Did you know that Ards Arts Centre, formerly the Town Hall, was attacked in 1798. The building still has the prison cell where the 1798 rebellion men were held.
Newtownards Priory and Bawn
In 1244 a Dominican priory was founded in Newtownards. When Sir Hugh Montgomery moved to Newtownards he converted the cloistral buildingsof the priory to his domestic residence – Newtown House – and had the priory church restored as a place of worship.The tower with its handsome classical entrance was built in 1636 – the year in which Sir Hugh died. His funeral was along the lines of an impressive Scottish state funeral, and he was buried within these walls. Newtown House burned
down in 1664, but a portion of the bawn wall – from which Castlebawn
takes its name – survives.
Market Cross
Under Sir Hugh Montgomery’s direction Newtownards became an important market centre. The story is told that in 1607 merchants would travel from Scotland to Newtownards and backin a day to do business.The Market Cross in Newtownards is the second on the site, the first having been built under Montgomery’s direction as a replica of the market cross in Edinburgh. At the market cross ‘all proclamations that come from the Chief Governor of this kingdom’ were issued. It bears the date 1636, the year that Montgomery died.
Movilla Abbey and Cemetery
On the outskirts of Newtownards is Movilla Cemetery. This was the site of a monastery founded by St Finian in the 6th century which became an Augustinian abbey in the 13th century – the ruins of the abbey church stand in one corner of the cemetery. The cemetery includes some memorials to rebels executed in 1798 including Archibald Warwick who was hanged at Kircubbin.The Corry mausoleum is one of three graves at Movilla to former Provosts of Newtown - Provost being a Scottish term for mayor.
