Down County Museum occupies the old county jail, a late 18th-century building with its own hard history. Thomas Russell, a United Irishman, was executed at its gates in 1803, and the museum uses the jail setting well.
The collections cover County Down's archaeology, farming, town life, and political history. The original Down High Cross, moved indoors to protect it from weathering, is the key object for visitors following the early Christian story around the cathedral.