Town Hall Conway Square Newtownards Co. Down

The building was commissioned by Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry to be the centre of the market town, a role previously undertaken by Newtownards Priory. It was designed by Ferdinando Stratford in a Grecian-Doric style and built of Scrabo stone between 1767 and 1771. The design involved a asymmetrical frontage with eleven bays facing Conway Square; the central section, which projected forwards, featured a doorway with a fanlight on the ground floor, a Venetian window on the first floor and a pediment containing a clock above; the wings had arcading on the ground floor and narrow windows on the first floor. Markets were held in the open area on the ground floor: access was from…