Bully’s Acre
In the great potato famine of 1846-7 Newtownards did not suffer as much as other areas of Ireland as although the potato was important local farmers also grew wheat, oats and barley. This helped avoid the reliance on potatoes that proved so disastrous in the west of Ireland. However the crisis did not leave Newtownards untouched. The poor and impoverished people of Ards (paupers) relied on being admitted to the workhouse to survive although sometimes they faced worse conditions here than they would have had at home.
The workhouse was completed in December 1841 for 600 inmates. Today the building is now Ards Hospital on Church Street. This workhouse had two large separate extensions built during the famine period. Admissions to the workhouse more than doubled in the winter of 1846-47. They had doubled again by the summer of 1847. It is not known how many people actually starved to death as a result of the famine, but many were weakened as a result of under-nourishment and subsequently died of typhus, relapsing fever, dysentery or scurvy. Not surprisingly a large proportion of the deaths occurred in the workhouse where these diseases were rife.
In 1848, Newtownards Board of Guardians received complaints from the various parish authorities that their graveyards were filling up with pauper dead from the workhouse. As a result, the Board bought an acre of ground from Lord Londonderry in the townland of Milecross to be used as a burial ground for the paupers in 1850. This is the area known as Bully’s Acre.
The cache is a small camouflaged plastic container containing only a log so bring a pen with you. It is hidden within the area of the park. Please take care in crossing the roads to the site as the roads around it can be busy at times, keep a close eye on children too. As this is an extremely public area ensure that you are very discrete in retrieving and replacing the cache. Also please put it back exactly where you got it from. Parking is available nearby on the streets but take care not to block access for local residents. Please take note of any parking restrictions in force.