Herewith the old Tower House in Bangor, County Down. Overlooking the harbour, it was built in 1637 by James Hamilton, a Scotsman who had originally arrived in Ireland in 1587 and settled in Dublin where he was one of the first Fellows of Trinity College, founded five years later. Following the accession of fellow-Scot James Stuart to the English throne as James I, Hamilton moved north and established a settlement in County Down, which he represented in the House of Commons until created Viscount Claneboye in 1622. While an abbey had been established in Bangor in the mid-sixth century, the town owes its present existence to Hamilton who made it a borough and encouraged trade. The tower house was constructed to serve as a custom house, Bangor having been granted port status by James I in 1620. In later centuries it had a chequered history but in recent years has served as a tourist information centre (although firmly closed to tourists – and everyone else – when the Irish Aesthete visited in mid-August…)

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