Editing Newtownards (section)

===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&nbsp;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. 140–141</ref>

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 – Historic Sites, Houses, Castles & Buildings in Newtownards, Newtownards – Discover Northern Ireland|url=https://discovernorthernireland.com/things-to-do/scrabo-country-park-p715621|access-date=2020-07-25|website=discovernorthernireland.com}}</ref>