Magherascouse (/ˈmækrəˌskuːs/ MACK-rə-SKOOSE, from Irish: Machaire Scamha, meaning "Plain of the bare patch of rocks") is a rural townland near Ballygowan in County Down, Northern Ireland.

It lies within the electoral division of Ballygowan which is part of the Ards and North Down Borough Council.

All the earlier spellings suggest that the original form of the place name was Machaire Scamha meaning ‘plain of the bare patch of rocks’.

[2] Before the early 17th century Plantation of Ulster, when many Lowland Scots moved across the Irish Sea to settle in north-east Ireland on lands granted by King James VI to James Hamilton and Hugh Montgomery,[3] the area of Magherascouse was sparsely inhabited by Irish Gaels.

[4][5][6] In the Irish Rebellion of 1798 a man of the name, Nevin Kerns from Magherascouse participated in the Battle of Saintfield.

The terrain from Ballygowan to Comber required many rock cuttings, the most notable of which being known as 'the gullet', part of which passed through Magherascouse.

[14] The railway line which passed through Magherascouse was closed by the Ulster Transport Authority on 15 January 1950.

It lies within the Electoral Division of Ballygowan which is part of the Ards and North Down Borough Council.

[16] Magherascouse contains a lough of about 11 acres (0.04452 km2) near the centre of the townland roughly 5 kilometres south of Comber.

[17][18] The population of Magherascouse declined a considerable amount in the first half of the 20th century as people moved away and found jobs in nearby towns and cities such as Comber, Saintfield and particularly Belfast.

On Census Day (Sunday 31 March 1901) the population of Magherascouse was 431 from 81 households (excluding 8 uninhabited houses).

Half an acre of land was donated by the Truman family who owned a farm there at the time.