Scrabo Tower facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Scrabo Tower
Scrabo Tower, May 2007
Built	1857-1859
Architect	Lanyon & Lynn
Listed Building – Grade B+
Designated	1977
Reference no.	HB24/11/031
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Scrabo Tower is a tall, old lookout tower in Northern Ireland. It stands about 135 feet (41 meters) high on Scrabo Hill, near the town of Newtownards. From the tower, you can see amazing views all around. It's a famous landmark that people can spot from far away. The tower was built a long time ago, in the 1850s, to remember a man named Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry. It was first called the Londonderry Monument. Its design looks like old Scottish castles.

What is Scrabo Tower?

Today, most people call the tower on Scrabo Hill "Scrabo Tower." Visitors love to go there for the great views and to explore the area. But its first name was the Londonderry Monument or Memorial. This name was for the Marquesses of Londonderry, who were powerful landowners. It was not directly named after the city of Londonderry, which is far away.

The marquesses owned a lot of land around Scrabo Hill. The tower and hill stand high above the town of Newtownards, which is about 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast. Because the tower is so noticeable, it is often used as a symbol for Newtownards. The tower was built on the site of a very old fort from prehistoric times.

Where did the name "Scrabo" come from?

There are two ideas about where the name "Scrabo" came from. One idea is that it comes from an Irish word, screabach. This word means "rough stony land." Scrabo is also the Irish name for the area where the hill is located.

Another idea is that the name comes from the Irish words scraith bó. This means "cow pasture" or "sod of the cow." Scraith means a grassy area or turf, and bó means cow. This idea helps explain why the name "Scrabo" ends with an "o" sound.

History of Scrabo Tower

Why was the tower built?

The tower was built to honor Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry. He was born Charles William Stewart in 1788. He was a soldier who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. He later became a marquess, which is a type of noble title. He owned a large estate in County Down, Northern Ireland.

When the 3rd Marquess died in 1854, his son and his wife decided to build a monument for him. They didn't get along very well, so they each started their own project. This led to two monuments being built: the Scrabo Tower in Ireland and a statue in England.

A group in Newtownards started collecting money to build the Irish monument. Rich local families and friends of the marquess gave most of the money. Even some of the people who rented land from him helped out. About 730 people donated money in total. The marquess's son, Frederick Stewart, 4th Marquess of Londonderry, was a big part of these efforts.

Building the tower

The group raised enough money for a budget of £2000. At first, they planned to build the monument in Newtownards town. But they later decided to build it on Scrabo Hill. This way, it could be seen from the marquess's family home, Mount Stewart. Also, good building stone was available from a quarry on the hill.

In 1855, the group held a competition to choose a design for the monument. Many designs were sent in, including an obelisk and three different towers. The winning design was an obelisk, but it was never built. The first few designs were too expensive. Finally, a design by a company called Lanyon & Lynn was chosen. This design was for a tower that looked like old Scottish castles.

Artist's View of the Londonderry Memorial Tower, believed to represent the original project by Lanyon & Lynn

The design was meant to look like a "peel tower." These towers were built in Scotland long ago to protect people. This style was thought to be a good fit for the Stewart family, as they were connected to the old Scottish rulers.

The first stone of the tower was laid on February 27, 1857. Many important people attended the ceremony, including the 4th Marquess. The building work stopped in 1859 because the cost went over budget, reaching £3010. The inside of the tower was left unfinished at that time.

What does the tower symbolize?

Some people said the tower was built to show how thankful the tenants (people renting land) were to the Marquess. They said he helped them during the Great Famine. However, this might not be completely true. The Marquess was criticized during the famine for not lowering rents and for spending a lot of money on his own home. Most of the money for the tower came from rich people, not from the tenants.

The tower is very big and strong. It mostly shows the power of the landowners. People have described it as "more curious than beautiful" and "one of the finest examples of 19th century folly towers." A folly is a building built mostly for decoration, not for a practical purpose.

Later years of the tower

After the tower was finished in 1859, a man named William McKay became its caretaker. His family lived in the tower and even ran a tearoom there until 1966. This was impressive because there was no water supply at the top of the hill!

Later, the government took over the tower and the land around it. In 1977, Scrabo Tower was officially listed as a historic building. In 1992, the government spent £20,000 to fix the tower. They repaired windows, fixed the stone walls, added lightning protection, and put in a wooden floor that was missing.

Today, the tower is part of Scrabo Country Park. The park is managed by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. In 2014, the tower had to close for a while because water damaged the electricity. But by 2017, it was fully open to visitors again.

What does Scrabo Tower look like?

The tower's roofs in 2009. Notice the stone roofs.

Most experts say the tower's style is Scottish Baronial. This means it looks like old Scottish castles. The tower is about 135 feet (41 meters) tall.

The tower has three main parts: a base, a main body, and a roof with battlements and small turrets. The base is wider at the bottom and holds the ground floor. The main body has straight walls. A stone band separates the base from the main body.

A round stair tower sticks out from one corner of the tower. The top of the main tower is round, with a steep cone-shaped roof. There's a platform with four small turrets (mini-towers) around it. These turrets also have steep cone-shaped roofs. All five roofs are made entirely of stone.

The entrance and plaque

The main entrance door is on the north side of the tower. You reach it by a short set of outdoor stairs. Above the door, there's a special plaque made of dark stone. This plaque has an inscription that dedicates the monument to the 3rd Marquess. It mentions his name, Charles William Vane, and the year 1857.

Inscription and relief above the tower's entrance.

Above the plaque, there's a carved relief in white stone. It shows the crown, two symbols (a dragon and an arm with a sword), and the motto of the marquesses of Londonderry. The dragon symbol represents the Stewart family. The arm holding a sword represents the Vane family. The motto, written in Latin, says: "METUENDA COROLLA DRACONIS," which means "the dragon's crest is to be feared."

Inside the tower

The original plans for the tower showed it having eight levels. However, when construction stopped in 1859, only the ground floor and the first floor had proper floors and ceilings. The space above the first floor was left empty all the way up to the roof.

The ground floor was used as the caretaker's home. The first floor was meant to be an armory (a place to store weapons), but it was never used for that. Later, during repairs, a new wooden floor was added, creating a second floor from the empty space.

What stone was used?

Two types of stone were used to build Scrabo Tower. One is a light-colored, sometimes pinkish, sandstone. This stone was used for detailed carvings, window frames, stairs, and the roofs. The other stone is a dark-grey dolerite, which is a very hard rock. This stone was used for the main walls. It was cut into blocks and laid in rough patterns, making the tower look very strong and rugged.

What can you see from Scrabo Tower?

The tower on Scrabo Hill, seen from across Strangford Lough.

Scrabo Hill is about 540 feet (165 meters) above sea level. If you climb the 122 steps to the viewing platform at the top of the tower, you get amazing views! You can see Strangford Lough and its many islands. You can also see the towns of Newtownards and Comber. The area to the south and southwest has many drumlins, which are small hills shaped by glaciers. You can see these clearly from the tower.

On a clear day, you might even see Helen's Tower to the north. You can also spot the Copeland Islands with their lighthouse. Farther away, across the North Channel, you might see the coast of Scotland, including the Mull of Kintyre and Ailsa Craig. To the southeast, you might see the Isle of Man. To the south, the Mourne Mountains are visible. And to the west, you can see Divis Mountain and Cave Hill near Belfast.

Scrabo Country Park surrounds the tower. It includes the top and parts of the eastern and southern sides of Scrabo Hill, as well as Killynether Wood. The eastern part of the hill is special for geology (the study of rocks and earth). You can see where different types of rocks meet in the old quarry. This area, including the tower's site, is a protected Area of Special Scientific Interest. A golf course, Scrabo Golf Course, is located on top of the hill to the west of the tower.

In fiction

Scrabo Tower has even inspired stories! In a story called The Enchanted Duplicator by Northern Irish writers Walt Willis and Bob Shaw, there's a "Tower of Trufandom" that was inspired by Scrabo Tower.

See also

In Spanish: Torre Scrabo para niños