Boundary Stone next to 73 Tullybrannigan Road Ballaghbeg Newcastle Co. Down BT33 0PL

This granite boundary stone, dating from around 1905, marks the limit of the former Newcastle Urban District Council (UDC). Established in October 1905 under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, the UDC acted as the “town council” until 1973, when urban and rural councils were abolished by the Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971. The stone is roughly 0.6 metres in height and has a slab-like form with the top sculpted into the shape of three arches, resembling a gravestone. The road-facing side is inscribed “NEWCASTLE UDC”. It is one of a series of stones that originally marked the perimeter of the UDC as it crossed roads, and is believed to be the only survivor in its original location around this particular boundary, perhaps one of the few such markers remaining in Northern Ireland. The stone is situated on the grass verge of the north side of Tullybrannigan Road, close to number 73, approximately 1.3 kilometres west of Newcastle town centre, in a suburban/semi-rural setting. It was recorded on Ordnance Survey maps from 1919-20 and likely dates from the time of the UDC's formation or shortly thereafter. Its survival provides an important remnant of the town’s past political and social history.