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{{Short description|Town in County Down, Northern Ireland}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name = Newtownards
| irish_name = Baile Nua na hArda<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.logainm.ie/?text=newtownards&placeID=65685|title=Bunachar Logainmneacha na hÉireann|website=Logainm.ie|access-date=15 September 2016}}</ref>
| scots_name = Newton<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/ballycopelandwindmillus.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425000835/http://www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/ballycopelandwindmillus.pdf |archive-date=2011-04-25 |url-status=live|title=Home | Department of the Environment|website=Doeni.gov.uk|access-date=15 September 2016}}</ref> or Newtonairds<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.northsouthministerialcouncil.org/nsmc_annual_report_2002_-_ulster-scots_version_(pdf_837kb)-2.pdf|title=North-South Ministerial Council: 2002 Annual Report in Ulster Scots|website=Northsouthministerialcouncil.org|access-date=15 September 2016|archive-date=29 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829113640/http://www.northsouthministerialcouncil.org/nsmc_annual_report_2002_-_ulster-scots_version_%28pdf_837kb%29-2.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| static_image_name = CIMG1481 ScraboViewNewtownardsTown.JPG
| static_image_caption = View of Newtownards from [[Scrabo Tower]]
| map_type = Northern Ireland
| coordinates = {{coord|54.591|-5.68|display=inline,title}}
| population =
| population_ref = ([[2011 United Kingdom census
| irish_grid_reference =
| unitary_northern_ireland = [[Ards and North Down Borough Council|Ards and North Down]]
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|2001|27821
|2011|28050
|2021|29677
|footnote=<ref name="2021 pop">{{cite web |title=Settlement 2015 |url=https://build.nisra.gov.uk/en/custom/data?d=PEOPLE&v=SETTLEMENT15&%7ESETTLEMENT15=N11000040 |website=NISRA |access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref><ref name=Census2011>{{cite web | url = https://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/public/AreaProfileReportViewer.aspx?FromAPAddressMulipleRecords=Newtownards@Exact%20match%20of%20location%20name:%20@Exact%20Match%20Of%20Location%20Name:%20%20Newtownards@23? | title = Census 2011 Population Statistics for Newtownards Settlement | publisher = [[Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency]] (NISRA) | access-date = 13 August 2019}} [[File:UKOpenGovernmentLicence.svg|30px]] This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under the [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ Open Government Licence v3.0]. © Crown copyright.</ref><ref name=Census2001>{{cite web | url = https://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/public/PivotGrid.aspx?ds=4840&lh=69&yn=2001&sk=135&sn=Census%202001&yearfilter=2001 | title = Census 2001 Usually Resident Population: KS01 (Settlements)
'''Newtownards''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|n|juː|t|n̩|ˈ|ɑːr|d|z}}; {{Lang-ir|Baile Nua na hArda<ref name="auto"/>}}) is a town 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 in the [[Civil parishes in Ireland|civil parish]] of [[Newtownards (civil parish)|Newtownards]] and the historic [[Barony (Ireland)|baronies]] of [[Ards Lower]] and [[Castlereagh Lower]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Newtownards|url=http://www.thecore.com/seanruad/|website=IreAtlas Townlands Database|access-date=16 May 2015}}</ref> Newtownards is in the [[Ards and North Down Borough Council|Ards and North Down Borough]]. The population was
==History==
===Irish settlement===
In 540 AD, [[Finnian of Moville|St. Finian]] founded [[Movilla Abbey]], a [[monastery]], on a hill overlooking [[Strangford Lough]] about a mile northeast of present-day Newtownards town centre. "Movilla" (''Magh Bhile'') means "the plain of the sacred tree" in [[Irish language|Irish]], which suggests that the land had previously been a sacred [[Celtic paganism|pagan]] site. It became a significant Christian settlement
The [[Normans in Ireland|Normans]] conquered east Ulster in the 1170s, founding the [[Earldom of Ulster]]. Around 1226, they established a new town around Movilla, which became known as the "New Town of Blathewic", after the Irish territory of [[Blathewyc|Uí Blathmhaic]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Newtownards, Co Down |url=http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=6802 |publisher=Place Names NI}}</ref> A [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] priory was built in 1244 by [[Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster|Walter de Burgh]]<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Newtownards |volume=19 |page=594}}</ref> and was also dissolved in 1542.<ref name="Thompson09">{{cite web|last1=Thompson|first1=Mark|title=Newtownards Priory
In 1572, both monasteries were burned by the [[Clannaboy]] [[O'Neill dynasty#O'Neills of Clanaboy|O'Neills]] under Sir [[Brian McPhelim O'Neill]] to deny buildings to the English, who were attempting to [[Plantations of Ireland#East Ulster|colonize the Ards]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Newtownards Priory|url=http://ulsterscotstrail.com/newtownards/newtownards-priory|website=Ulster Scots Heritage Trail|access-date=15 September 2016}}</ref><ref name="Thompson09"/> After this the urban settlement at Movilla disappeared and the area around it became known as "Ballylisnevin" ("the town of Nevin's fort").<ref>{{cite book|url=https://
===The Scottish town===
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===The Great Famine===
During the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Famine]], which resulted from the dependence of small tenants and cottiers on a blighted potato crop, the largest local landowner, [[Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry|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 the availability of weaving and other employments, saved the town from the worst.<ref>{{cite news |title=Irish Famine: How Ulster was devastated by its impact |
===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, County Down|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 Act]]s, the [[Orange Institution|Orange Order]] paraded from Bangor to Newtownards. The parade was organised by [[William Johnston (Irish politician)|William Johnston]] (sentenced to a short term in prison the next year for his actions) and about 30,000 took part.<ref>{{cite web|title=Parades and Marches – Chronology 2: Historical Dates and Events|work=Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN)|url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/parade/chpa2.htm|access-date=28 January 2010}}</ref>
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 28,000 by 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nisra.gov.uk/sites/nisra.gov.uk/files/publications/2017%20Mid-year%20Population%20Estimates%20for%20District%20Electoral%20Areas%20-%20statistical%20bulletin.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723174559/https://www.nisra.gov.uk/sites/nisra.gov.uk/files/publications/2017%20Mid-year%20Population%20Estimates%20for%20District%20Electoral%20Areas%20-%20statistical%20bulletin.pdf |archive-date=2019-07-23 |url-status=live|title=2017 Mid-year Population Estimates for District Electoral Areas|page=23|publisher=Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency|access-date=25 November 2022}}</ref>
===The Troubles===
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===Recent times===
On 1 November 2021, a bus in the town was hijacked and set on fire by two masked assailants allegedly protesting the [[Northern Ireland Protocol]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=2021-11-01|title=Newtownards: Bus hijacked by masked men and set on fire|
==Places of interest==
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===Scrabo Tower===
{{Main article|Scrabo Tower}}
The town of Newtownards is overlooked by the {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=on}} 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]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kineally |first1=Christine |title=Charity and the Great Hunger in Ireland: The Kindness of Strangers |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury |location=London |page=53 |isbn=978-1441117588 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GnksAQAAQBAJ |access-date=19 January 2021}}</ref> 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.<ref>McCavery, pp.
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 [[County Down|Down]]. The tower now stands in Scrabo Country Park with its woodland walks and parkland through Killynether Wood.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Scrabo Country Park
===Movilla Abbey===
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==Demography==
===2021 Census===
On Census Day (21 March 2021) the usually resident population of Newtownards was 29,677.<ref name="2021 pop"/> Of these:
* 98.67% were from the white (including Irish Traveller) ethnic group;▼
* 8.
* 72.17% indicated that they had a British national identity,<ref>{{cite web |title=National Identity (British) |url=https://build.nisra.gov.uk/en/custom/data?d=PEOPLE&v=SETTLEMENT15&v=NAT_ID_BRITISH&%7ESETTLEMENT15=N11000040 |website=NISRA |access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref> 5.91% had an Irish national identity<ref>{{cite web |title=National Identity (Irish) |url=https://build.nisra.gov.uk/en/custom/data?d=PEOPLE&v=SETTLEMENT15&v=NAT_ID_IRISH_AGG3&%7ESETTLEMENT15=N11000040 |website=NISRA |access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref> and 39.29% had a Northern Irish national identity.<ref>{{cite web |title=National Identity (Northern Irish) |url=https://build.nisra.gov.uk/en/custom/data?d=PEOPLE&v=SETTLEMENT15&v=NAT_ID_NORTHERN_IRISH_AGG3&%7ESETTLEMENT15=N11000040 |website=NISRA |access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref> Respondents could indicate more than one national identity
* 76.37% indicated that they had a British national identity, 4.86% had an Irish national identity and 31.39% had a Northern Irish national identity.▼
===2011 Census===
On Census Day (27 March 2011) the usually resident population of Newtownards was 28,050 accounting for 1.55% of the NI total.<ref name=Census2011/> Of these:
* 8.32% belong to or were brought up Catholic Christian and 79.35% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and other (non-Catholic) Christian (including Christian related)'.
▲* 76.37% indicated that they had a British national identity, 4.86% had an Irish national identity and 31.39% had a Northern Irish national identity. Respondents could indicate more than one national identity
==Sport==
;Rugby
[[Ards RFC|Ards Rugby Football Club]] plays at Lansdowne Road, south of the town along the main Comber road.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/news/ards-rugby-club-to-redevelop-grounds-with-social-enterprise-fund-loan-31262057.html|title=Ards rugby club to redevelop grounds with social enterprise fund loan|date=28 May 2015|newspaper=
;Cricket
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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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/article/838/the-tourist-trophy-races|title=The Tourist Trophy Races|last=Ireland|first=Culture Northern|date=2005-12-23|website=Culture Northern Ireland|access-date=2019-02-03}}</ref>
On 5 September 1936, in appallingly wet conditions, local driver Jack Chambers lost control of his [[Riley (motor-car)|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.<ref name="BBC Article">{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7567063.stm |title=Memorial revives Ards TT memories |access-date=5 January 2009 |
<!-- From 1928 to 1936, the [[RAC Tourist Trophy]] (TT) motor car races took place on a (closed) road circuit encompassing Newtownards, [[Comber]] and [[Dundonald, County Down|Dundonald]] in County Down, run in a clockwise direction. The pits were still visible up until the 1960s. Industrialist and pioneer of the modern [[agricultural tractor]], [[Harry Ferguson]], was instrumental in setting up the race, which was known as the Ards TT.
At the time it was Northern Ireland's premier sporting event, regularly attracting crowds in excess of a quarter of a million people.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}} Although it was a speed event, the entries were handicapped to allow cars of very different sizes and capabilities to race against each other on supposedly even terms over 30 laps (35 laps from 1933) of the 13.7-mile circuit. On 5 September 1936, in wet conditions, local driver Jack Chambers lost control of his [[Riley (motor-car)|Riley]] beneath the railway bridge coming into Newtownards, and crashed into the crowd killing eight spectators. This tragedy brought an end to nine years of racing over the Ards road circuit.<ref name="BBC Article">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7567063.stm|title=Memorial revives Ards TT memories|access-date=5 January 2009|
==Notable natives/residents==
{{See also|Category:People from Newtownards}}
* [[Christine Bleakley]], television presenter known for her work on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]], was raised in Newtownards<ref>{{cite book|url=https://
* [[Harry Cavan]], senior VP of FIFA (1980–90), and president of the Irish Football Association from 1958 to 1994.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/cavan-harry-henry-hartrick-a9776|title=Cavan, Harry (Henry Hartrick)|publisher=Dictionary of Irish Biography|access-date=25 November 2022}}</ref>
*Sir [[Robert Colville (Irish MP)|Robert Colville]] (died
* [[Jason Dunkerley]], [[Canadians|Canadian]] five-time [[paralympic]] medalist, was born and raised in Newtownards. His family emigrated to Canada when he was 14.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jasondunkerley.wordpress.com/about|title=About | WinningTrack|website=Jasondunkerley.wordpress.com|date=30 December 2010 |access-date=15 September 2016}}</ref>
* [[Nick Earls]], a novelist born in 1963 in the area; he later moved to [[Brisbane, Queensland|Brisbane, Australia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pwf.cz/rubriky/nick-earls_1201.html|title=Nick Earls|publisher=Prague Writers' Festival| access-date=25 November 2022}}</ref>
* [[Celia de Fréine]], dramatist and poet, was born in the town in 1948 before later moving to [[Dublin]] and [[Galway]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://
* [[Eddie Irvine]], racing driver and runner-up in the [[1999 Formula One World Championship]] for [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]], was born and lived in Conlig, near Newtownards.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/motor-sport/formula1/eddie-irvine-formula-1-is-now-embarrassing-29847974.html|title=Eddie Irvine: Formula 1 is now embarrassing|date=18 December 2013|newspaper=
* [[William Jackson (journalist)|William Jackson]] (1737–1795), political journalist, secret contact between the [[Society of United Irishmen|United Irishmen]] and the [[French First Republic|French Republic]].
* [[
* [[Steven Kane]], racing driver
* [[Michael Legge (comedian)|Michael Legge]], stand-up comedian, was born and raised in the town.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/news/legge-gets-helping-hand-with-some-alternative-comic-moments-29884863.html|title=Legge gets helping hand with some alternative comic moments|date=3 January 2014| newspaper=Belfast Telegraph| access-date=25 November 2022}}</ref>
* [[Paddy Mayne|Robert Blair "Paddy" Mayne]], [[Special Air Service|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 national rugby union team|Ireland]] and for the [[British and Irish Lions|Lions]] in the [[1938 British Lions tour to South Africa]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lt Col. Robert Blair 'Paddy' Mayne DSO Freemason|url=http://www.irishmasonichistory.com/lt-col-robert-blair-paddy-mayne-dso-freemason.html|website=Irish Masonic History and the Jewels of Irish Freemasonry|access-date=15 September 2016}}</ref>
* [[Barry McClements]], Commonwealth Games para swimming medallist<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/health/co-down-teenager-barry-mcclements-11098644|title=Co Down teenager Barry McClements chasing Paralympic glory after "never letting his disability hold him back"|date=26 March 2016|newspaper=Belfast Live| access-date=25 November 2022}}</ref>
* [[Rhys McClenaghan]], Irish international gymnast, 2020 Tokyo Olympic pommel horse finalist, 2024 Paris Olympic gold medalist, was born and lives in Newtownards.<ref>{{cite news |title=Commonwealth Games: NI secretary calls for ban on gymnasts to be lifted |
* [[Colin Nixon]], former football player who managed [[Ards F.C.|Ards]], is from Newtownards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/billy-on-the-box/billy-weir-colin-nixons-dismissal-from-ards-was-a-classless-way-to-end-the-reign-of-an-irish-league-class-act-37836962.html|title=Billy Weir: Colin Nixon's dismissal from Ards was a classless way to end the reign of an Irish League class act|date=21 February 2019| newspaper=
* [[Ricky Warwick]], best known as the frontman for the Scottish band The Almighty, is from the town.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newsletter.co.uk/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/newtownards-musician-ricky-warwick-releases-new-single-3124922|title=Newtownards musician Ricky Warwick releases new single|date=5 February 2021|newspaper=News Letter| access-date=25 November 2022}}</ref>
* [[Thomas Watters]], British diplomat and scholar
==See also==
* [[Newtownards (civil parish)]]
* [[Market
* [[List of civil parishes of County Down]]
* [[List of localities in Northern Ireland by population]]
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