Scrabo Tower

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,…

s.]] The tower's style is called Scottish Baronial by most recent authors.: "... mysteriously designed in the Scottish baronial style ..." The article in the Illustrated London News of 1857 says "... in the style of a Scottish chateau ...", whereas the article in the Dublin Builder of 1865 calls it "Scotch baronial". Its height is 135 ft as can be confirmed by measuring the scaled elevation drawing in Howley (1993). However, heights of 125 feet and 195 feet have been given. The tower consists of a base, a main body and a crenellated and turreted roof. The base contains the ground floor. It has battered (sloped) outer surfaces. The main body has vertical walls. The limit between the base and…