Site of fish pond

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Site in the former Castle Gardens to the W of Canal Row of a large, T-shaped, fish pond (c.71m x 68m), possibly associated with the nearby medieval priory, or possibly dating from more recent centuries (c.1700s). The pond was completely filled in in 1975 and is now covered in both grass and tarmac, with no apparent visible trace of its ever being there.

First Survey Record:
'T-shaped fish pond - about 220/230 feet long by about 40 feet wide and reputedly about 10 feet deep with earth retaining banks. Condition fair to poor and needs attention'.

Historical information

The site of the former fish pond falls within land enclosed by Hugh Montgomery in the early 1600s, land which belonged to the medieval priory of Newtown, the ruins of which Montgomery repaired and adapted for use as the parish church. He also built himself a ‘princely mansion’ (c.1611-18) just to the south of the church and either built or repaired the boundary wall (around his ‘Castle Garden’) adding flanking towers. The whole plot, along with all other Montgomery holdings within Newtownards was acquired by Captain Robert Colvill in 1675, who remodelled the house (which had been largely destroyed by fire in 1664) and built a chapel next to the church. The Colvill lands in the area were bought by Alexander Stewart in 1744 , but this site was gradually abandoned by the new owner. The old church served as a court house between 1817 and 1850 and by the latter date (?or shortly afterwards) a large flax mill was sited within the former Castle Garden itself, with the rear gardens of the recently built houses in Court Street to the north of the wall.
The story of this pond, however, is obscure. On a Colvill map of the town, dating from 1720, the site of the pond is marked ‘Big Garden’, but there is no indication of pond itself. Similarly, Walter Harris, writing in the early 1740s, makes no mention of it even though he gives a reasonably detailed description of the whole enclosed area. The pond is shown on the 1834 OS map and marked ‘fish pond’ on that of 1858-60, suggesting that it may have been cut out some time during the later 18th or early 19th centuries. However, it is impossible to be certain as to its age; it could well be medieval but may have remained unused during later centuries and subsequently not recorded, or deemed worthy of recording.
The pond was filled in in 1975.

References- Primary sources
1 Rev. George Hill ed. 'The Montgomery Manuscripts' (Belfast 1869), pp.58-59, 61, 87.
2 ‘The town and tenements of Newtown in the County of Down…1720’ reprinted in Trevor McCavery Newtown: a history of Newtownards (Dundonald 1994) p.79. Though the author of this book gives no reference as to this map, the original is undoubtedly belongs to the Colville estate maps contained within to the Londonderry Papers [PRONI D.654/M1A].
3 Walter Harris 'The ancient and present state of the County of Down' (Dublin 1744), p.58.
4 PRONI OS Maps 1st ed. 1834, Co. Down 6.
5 PRONI OS Maps 1st rev. 1858-60, Co. Down 6.

Secondary sources
1 'Archaeological survey of Co. Down' (HMSO 1966), pp.260, 284-87.
2 Trevor McCavery 'Newtown: a history of Newtownards' (Dundonald 1994), pp.34-37, 40, 54-56, 78.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Site of large T-shaped fish pond, possibly of medieval origin, though evidence appears to suggest that it was not cut out until the late 18th or early 19th centuries. The pond was filled in in 1975 and the site bears no trace of its having existed. This site is afforded protection by monuments legislation.