Proposed Shopping Centre, Castlebawn, Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland. Archaeological Evaluation Report.

Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) was commissioned by WDR and RT Taggart, on behalf of Castlebawn Ltd, to undertake the archaeological evaluation of a site outlined for a proposed shopping centre, at Castlebawn, Newtownards, County Down in Northern Ireland (NGR centred SJ 4915 7375). The site lies to the south of the present centre of the town, immediately to the south of the medieval Dominican priory. The site comprises the entirety of a former seventeenth century walled garden, and is still surrounded by an almost intact wall which is a Scheduled Monument (Dow 6:19). It was later used for industrial purposes but now remains derelict, with any buildings having been demolished but evidence can be seen in the hardstandings still
present on site.
Large proportions of the proposal development of the site are given over to a basement car park, which will have a significant impact on any archaeological remains. A desk-based assessment undertaken for the Environmental Assessment of the site and watching brief maintained during geotechnical test pits in 1998 showed there to be high archaeological potential within the site (OAU 1998a and b). On account of the impact of the proposed development, the Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) requested a programme of archaeological trenching to adequately sample the archaeological resource prior to the determination of the planning application. The work was undertaken over ten days from 4th to 15th September 2006.