Hide

NEWTOWNARDS

hide
Hide
In 1868, the parish of Newtownards contained the following places:

"NEWTOWNARDS, a parish, post and market town, in the baronies of Ards and Lower Castlereagh, county Down, province of Ulster, Ireland. The parish is 7 miles long, and its greatest breadth is 3½. The soil is fertile, with a proportion of bog. The interior is traversed by the roads from Belfast to Grey-Abbey and to Donaghadee. The living is an impropriate curacy in the diocese of Down, value £120. The church was a gift from the late Board of First Fruits in 1817. There are a Roman Catholic chapel, six Presbyterian places of worship, and a Methodist meeting-house; also four Sunday and several day schools in the parish. Whiskey Hall and Millcross Lodge are the principal residences. The town is situated at the head of Lough Strangford, on the road from Bangor to Downpatrick, 1.9 miles N. of Downpatrick, and 109 from Dublin. It is a station on the Belfast and County Down railway. The town consists of a large square, where stands the townhall, from which area diverge the several principal streets. The Marquis of Londonderry has done much towards the improvement of the place. It is well lighted and paved, and enjoys various advantages. The principal public buildings are the courthouse, market house, dispensary, police station, the union poorhouse, a commercial bank, brewery, &c. The shaft of a stone cross stands in the great square. The principal manufactures are muslin, weaving, and embroidery. Petty sessions are held at intervals. Newtown Ards was founded in 1244 by Walter de Burgh. After its forfeiture by the O'Nials it came to the Hamilton and Montgomery families, from whom it passed to the Marquis of Londonderry, the present proprietor. It was chartered by James I., and was formerly a borough returning two members to the Irish parliament before the Union. The North Down Militia have their headquarters here. The Newtown Ards Poorlaw Union includes 16 electoral divisions in county Down. This locality has long been celebrated for the number of religious houses, traces of some of which are still discernable. Saturday is market day. Fairs are held on 23rd January, 14th May, and 23rd September."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2018