Last Surviving Market Cross in Ulster at Newtownards

We are out in Newtownards.
I have walked the length of Newtownards main streets literally hundreds of times but remarkably I have never taken in, the strange, ancient monument/folly building, sitting at the junction of Castle Street and High street.
It is dated 1636 and is about 15' high and 25' in circumference. so it is a substantial building. It looks as if there is a cellar down below. The weather beaten stone faces of it's octagonal shape certainly appear very old. There is no plaque or noticeboard to indicate just what it is. Here is history right under our noses but for 99.9999 % of people struggling along in the everyday bustle/challenge of life, it is totally invisible. It's only use now a landmark meeting place.
A quick internet check reveals that this structure is the town Market Cross. Market crosses were built in many Ulster towns as symbols of the successful establishment of a market. This one has special significance because this is the only surviving 17th Century market cross in Ulster!
It was built in 1636 but was destroyed by Cromwellian Commonwealth troops in 1658. Why? Was it seen as Catholic or Popish? The original cross resembled a similar structure in Edinburgh, being octagonal, having a flat roof and topped by a stone column some 20 feet in height on which there was a carved lion (this is the comparative structure I think - NT2573 : The Mercat Cross Edinburgh). When it was first built it was a single-storey building with a flat roof surrounded by a balustrade. It was surmounted by a tall pillar, about 6m high. This was topped by a stone lion. In this respect it was similar to some of the Mercat crosses which still exist in Scotland. Ornamental spouts with grotesque or animal heads allowed rainwater to drain from the roof.
The original Scrabo stone building was less than 11 feet tall and octagonal in shape with a low door and staircase leading to the roof. The present replacement building was finished in 1666. Its conical roof was probably used as an office or shelter for the towns night watchmen and as a prison for the drunk and disorderly. -A sort of early police station perhaps? Towns people say that the Cross used to "flow with wine" at the birth of a royal baby. I'm left wondering if this was a market cross where is the cross?
Further
Its importance declined when the new market house was built in Conway square in 1765. The story goes that the cross was the centre for local commerce and a bargain struck within its shadow was legally binding.
An octagonal building it is about twenty feet high and topped with a weather vane. It is made of wrought iron and Scrabo sandstone. Each panel of the octagon measures 5 feet 6 inches in length. The complete cross is 10 feet 10 inches from the pedestal cornice, but lower walls are now obscured by a modern plinth. On the northeast face there is a lintel lead door opening. The other faces have niches segmental in plan with semi-domed head and carved scallop shell. Each of the panels on the side of the cross has a carving and these include images of a rose, a helmet with the horns of a half moon, a fleur-de-lys within a laurel wreath, a cross within a coronet and the Shaw, Montgomery, Royal and Irish Coats of arms.
Poster flip inheck says-
It was used for tethering and watering horses, the water troughs are gone a long time and the road has been raised by 2-3 feet over the years, the Gargoyles were a later addition and were most recently replaced in the mid 90s by a good friend of mine. https://uk.images.search.yahoo.com/yh... This site has loads of great information and pictures of the Ards covering many years and changes.. http://www.newtownards.info/newtownar...