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Scrabo Tower
Scrabo Tower is a 135 feet (41 m) high 19th-century lookout tower or folly that stands on Scrabo Hill near Newtownards in County Down, Northern Ireland. It provides wide views and is a landmark that can be seen from afar. It was built as a memorial to Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry and was originally known as the Londonderry Monument. Its architectural style is Scottish Baronial Revival.
Nowadays, the tower on Scrabo Hill is usually just called Scrabo Tower and is visited for its views and surroundings. However, its original name was Londonderry Monument or Memorial. That name referred to the Marquesses of Londonderry and only indirectly to the city or county of that name, which is 87 miles (140 km) away. The marquesses owned much ground around the hill. The hill and tower rise over the town of Newtownards, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast. As the tower dominates the town, it is often used as an emblem for Newtownards. The tower is built on the site of a prehistoric hill fort. Scrabo is pronounced /ˈskræboʊ/ according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) or /ˈskrɑːboʊ/ according to the pronunciation heard on the Placenames Database of Ireland website. The pronunciation is attested in the old spelling variant 'Scraboh'.
The Northern Ireland Place-Name Project derives the name from Irish screabach meaning "thinly covered rock" or "rough stony land". It was anglicized 'Scrabock' in the 16th century. Screabach is also the Irish name of Scrabo townland, in which the hill stands. Another suggestion is that the name comes from Irish scraith bó, meaning "sward of the cow", "cow pasture", or "sod of the cow".
The tower commemorates the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, who was born Charles William Stewart in 1788. He fought in the Napoleonic Wars. He married twice, first to Catherine Bligh and then to Frances Anne Vane. His second wife was a rich heiress and the marriage contract obliged him to change his surname to hers, which explains why he was first called Stewart and later Vane. He succeeded his half-brother Viscount Castlereagh as marquess in 1822 and became owner of the family estate in County Down. The estate's great house, Mount Stewart, became his Irish residence but after his second marriage he lived mostly in England.
In 1854, when the 3rd Marquess died, his eldest son, Frederick Stewart, 4th Marquess of Londonderry, and his widow, the dowager marchioness, decided to build him a monument. As these two were not at good terms, each conceived and pushed his or her own project. Two monuments resulted: the Irish tower discussed here and an equestrian statue in Durham, England.
A committee was formed in Newtownards to raise funds by subscription for an Irish monument. The local gentry, together with the late marquess's friends - including Napoleon III of France - donated most of the money, with some of the tenants also contributing. Altogether 730 people subscribed. The person behind these efforts was his eldest son Frederick Stewart, 4th Marquess of Londonderry.
The funds raised allowed for a budget of £2000. At first, the monument was to be built in Newtownards, but it was later shifted to Scrabo Hill where it could be seen from Mount Stewart and where suitable building stone was quarried. In December 1855 the committee resolved to hold a design competition. The deadline was 1 February 1856. Four entries were considered: an obelisk and three towers. The first prize went to the obelisk, which was submitted by William Joseph Barre. However, the obelisk came to nothing and indeed none of the first three projects was executed. When the committee called for tenders from building contractors, all the submissions for the three best-rated entries exceeded the budget and were therefore rejected. Finally, a tender by Hugh Dixon from Newtownards for the fourth project was accepted. However, supporters of William Barre claimed that the competition had been rigged.
The fourth design had been submitted by the firm Lanyon & Lynn, a partnership of Charles Lanyon and William Henry Lynn that lasted from the mid-1850s to 1860. The design showed a tower in the Scottish Baronial style that could be understood as a peel tower and a symbol of the landlord as a chivalrous protector of his tenants in times of danger. Such a tower was considered especially suitable for a Stewart as the Stewarts or Stuarts ruled Scotland during the times when peel towers were erected.
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Scrabo Tower
Scrabo Tower is a 135 feet (41 m) high 19th-century lookout tower or folly that stands on Scrabo Hill near Newtownards in County Down, Northern Ireland. It provides wide views and is a landmark that can be seen from afar. It was built as a memorial to Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry and was originally known as the Londonderry Monument. Its architectural style is Scottish Baronial Revival.
Nowadays, the tower on Scrabo Hill is usually just called Scrabo Tower and is visited for its views and surroundings. However, its original name was Londonderry Monument or Memorial. That name referred to the Marquesses of Londonderry and only indirectly to the city or county of that name, which is 87 miles (140 km) away. The marquesses owned much ground around the hill. The hill and tower rise over the town of Newtownards, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast. As the tower dominates the town, it is often used as an emblem for Newtownards. The tower is built on the site of a prehistoric hill fort. Scrabo is pronounced /ˈskræboʊ/ according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) or /ˈskrɑːboʊ/ according to the pronunciation heard on the Placenames Database of Ireland website. The pronunciation is attested in the old spelling variant 'Scraboh'.
The Northern Ireland Place-Name Project derives the name from Irish screabach meaning "thinly covered rock" or "rough stony land". It was anglicized 'Scrabock' in the 16th century. Screabach is also the Irish name of Scrabo townland, in which the hill stands. Another suggestion is that the name comes from Irish scraith bó, meaning "sward of the cow", "cow pasture", or "sod of the cow".
The tower commemorates the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, who was born Charles William Stewart in 1788. He fought in the Napoleonic Wars. He married twice, first to Catherine Bligh and then to Frances Anne Vane. His second wife was a rich heiress and the marriage contract obliged him to change his surname to hers, which explains why he was first called Stewart and later Vane. He succeeded his half-brother Viscount Castlereagh as marquess in 1822 and became owner of the family estate in County Down. The estate's great house, Mount Stewart, became his Irish residence but after his second marriage he lived mostly in England.
In 1854, when the 3rd Marquess died, his eldest son, Frederick Stewart, 4th Marquess of Londonderry, and his widow, the dowager marchioness, decided to build him a monument. As these two were not at good terms, each conceived and pushed his or her own project. Two monuments resulted: the Irish tower discussed here and an equestrian statue in Durham, England.
A committee was formed in Newtownards to raise funds by subscription for an Irish monument. The local gentry, together with the late marquess's friends - including Napoleon III of France - donated most of the money, with some of the tenants also contributing. Altogether 730 people subscribed. The person behind these efforts was his eldest son Frederick Stewart, 4th Marquess of Londonderry.
The funds raised allowed for a budget of £2000. At first, the monument was to be built in Newtownards, but it was later shifted to Scrabo Hill where it could be seen from Mount Stewart and where suitable building stone was quarried. In December 1855 the committee resolved to hold a design competition. The deadline was 1 February 1856. Four entries were considered: an obelisk and three towers. The first prize went to the obelisk, which was submitted by William Joseph Barre. However, the obelisk came to nothing and indeed none of the first three projects was executed. When the committee called for tenders from building contractors, all the submissions for the three best-rated entries exceeded the budget and were therefore rejected. Finally, a tender by Hugh Dixon from Newtownards for the fourth project was accepted. However, supporters of William Barre claimed that the competition had been rigged.
The fourth design had been submitted by the firm Lanyon & Lynn, a partnership of Charles Lanyon and William Henry Lynn that lasted from the mid-1850s to 1860. The design showed a tower in the Scottish Baronial style that could be understood as a peel tower and a symbol of the landlord as a chivalrous protector of his tenants in times of danger. Such a tower was considered especially suitable for a Stewart as the Stewarts or Stuarts ruled Scotland during the times when peel towers were erected.