The Old Custom House of Bangor is a 17th century tower and adjoining tower house. It is situated on the seafront in Bangor

Bangor, County Down

Bangor is a large town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a seaside resort on the southern side of Belfast Lough and within the Belfast Metropolitan Area. Bangor Marina is one of the largest in Ireland, and holds Blue Flag status...

, County Down

County Down

-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

. It is a well preserved reminder of Bangor's sea-faring history alongside its modern marina.

Originally built as a custom house by James Hamilton, 1st Viscount Claneboye

James Hamilton, 1st Viscount Claneboye

James Hamilton, 1st Viscount Claneboye was a Scot who became owner of large tracts of land in County Down, Ireland, and founded a successful Protestant Scots settlement there several years before the Plantation of Ulster...

 in 1637, the architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

 of the tower is unique in Bangor and rare in Ulster. Over the past 300 years the building has served various purposes – private dwellings, an antique shop and housed hot seawater

Seawater

Seawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% . This means that every kilogram of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts . The average density of seawater at the ocean surface is 1.025 g/ml...

baths.

The future of the Tower House was protected when the Historic Buildings Branch of the Department of the Environment added it to their "List of Buildings of Special Interest" in 1979. Today, Tower House serves as the Council's Tourist Information Centre.

It is located at by the Coast Guard building very near the bottom of High Street, Bangor, Co.Down.