Battlefields›Attack on Newtownards

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Attack on Newtownards

Q: When did Attack on Newtownards take place?

Attack on Newtownards took place in 1798, in Down, northern_ireland. On 9-10 June 1798, during the Down rebellion, David Bailie Warden led around 300 United Irishmen (mainly from Bangor, Donaghadee, Greyabbey and Ballywalter) against Newtownards. The initial assault was repelled by musket fire from the garrison at the Market House, but the York Fencibles garrison subsequently withdrew, allowing the rebels to occupy the town and establish a short-lived 'Committee of Public Safety'. Rebel control lasted about three days until the defeat of the main rebel force at the Battle of Ballynahinch on 12 June 1798.

Q: Who won Attack on Newtownards?

United Irishmen (briefly) was victorious. The defeated side was Crown forces (York/Yorkshire Fencibles garrison). On 9-10 June 1798, during the Down rebellion, David Bailie Warden led around 300 United Irishmen (mainly from Bangor, Donaghadee, Greyabbey and Ballywalter) against Newtownards. The initial assault was repelled by musket fire from the garrison at the Market House, but the York Fencibles garrison subsequently withdrew, allowing the rebels to occupy the town and establish a short-lived 'Committee of Public Safety'. Rebel control lasted about three days until the defeat of the main rebel force at the Battle of Ballynahinch on 12 June 1798.

1798

Down, northern_ireland

Era

modern

Battle Type

Pitched Battle

Location

Down, northern_ireland

Status

Unregistered

The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated

Crown forces (York/Yorkshire Fencibles garrison)

Victor

United Irishmen (briefly)

Outcome

On 9-10 June 1798, during the Down rebellion, David Bailie Warden led around 300 United Irishmen (mainly from Bangor, Donaghadee, Greyabbey and Ballywalter) against Newtownards. The initial assault was repelled by musket fire from the garrison at the Market House, but the York Fencibles garrison subsequently withdrew, allowing the rebels to occupy the town and establish a short-lived 'Committee of Public Safety'. Rebel control lasted about three days until the defeat of the main rebel force at the Battle of Ballynahinch on 12 June 1798.

The Battle

History & Significance

Attack on Newtownards was a modern pitched battle between opposing field armies, fought at Down, Northern Ireland in 1798. United Irishmen (briefly) prevailed over Crown forces (York/Yorkshire Fencibles garrison). On 9-10 June 1798, during the Down rebellion, David Bailie Warden led around 300 United Irishmen (mainly from Bangor, Donaghadee, Greyabbey and Ballywalter) against Newtownards. The initial assault was repelled by musket fire from the garrison at the Market House, but the York Fencibles garrison subsequently withdrew, allowing the rebels to occupy the town and establish a short-lived 'Committee of Public Safety'. Rebel control lasted about three days until the defeat of the main rebel force at the Battle of Ballynahinch on 12 June 1798.

Confirmed battlefield location

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Attack on Newtownards lies on Sherwood Sandstone Group, bedrock that formed in the Ladinian. The rock here is sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Attack on Newtownards

This page covers Attack on Newtownards. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview

An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.

Monuments

The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.

Battlefields

The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.

Roman World

Ireland was never conquered by Rome, so this traces the island's Iron Age kingdoms and its contact with the Roman world.

Historic Records

The 19th-century records of this place: valuations, Ordnance Survey memoirs and topographical accounts.

Civil War

The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.

Geology

The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.

Local Names

What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.

Historical Maps

Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.

Literature

The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.

Legal

The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.

Spotlight

A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.

Target Zones

For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.

Timeline

The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.

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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Attack on Newtownards

Hengiform enclosure

Scheduled monument · ~3.4 mi

Castlereagh hengiform enclosure is a possible henge monument located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Henges are Neolithic ritual monuments consisting of a circular or oval ditch with an internal or external bank, typically dating to between 3000 and 2000 BCE. This site sits upon Sherwood Sand…

The long stone. standing stone

Scheduled monument · PREHISTORIC · ~4.2 mi

The Long Stone is a prehistoric standing stone located in Castlereagh, Northern Ireland. The monument survives as a single upright block of stone, testament to ritual or territorial significance in the ancient landscape. Such megaliths are characteristic of Neolithic and Bronze Age communities ac…

Castle espie brickworks powder and explosives store. powder store, cf ihr 2781

Scheduled monument · ~4.2 mi

Castle Espie Brickworks Powder and Explosives Store is a structure located in the Ards peninsula of County Down, Northern Ireland. The building stands on bedrock of the Armagh Group, Visean limestone geology characterised by interbedded limestone, argillaceous rocks and subordinate sandstone. The…

Windmill stump - c.f. ihr 2775

Scheduled monument · ~4.2 mi

Windmill stump is a post-mill base surviving in Ards, County Down. The monument comprises the substantial stone foundation of a windmill, whose superstructure has been lost. Mills of this type, common throughout the British Isles from the medieval period onwards, exploited wind power to grind gra…

Shell midden

Scheduled monument · ~4.3 mi

Shell midden is a midden located in the Ards peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland, at grid reference J497116. The site is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference number 16104. Shell middens are accumulations of discarded mollusc shells and other food debris, marking p…

Dundonald motte. motte & possible souterrain

Scheduled monument · E.CHRIST. · ~4.6 mi

Dundonald motte is a Norman motte-and-bailey earthwork located in Castlereagh, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The monument consists of a substantial defensive mound typical of early medieval fortifications, likely constructed in the twelfth century following the Anglo-Norman arrival in Ulster.…

The market cross, old cross. market cross

Scheduled monument · POST-MED · ~0.1 miles

Old tower, castle garden. plantation house & bawn

Scheduled monument · POST-MED · ~0.1 miles

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