Portaferry Castle
| Portaferry Castle | |
|
County Down | |
|---|---|
,_October_2009.JPG) Portaferry Castle | |
| Type: | Tower house |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | J59305085 |
| Location: | 54°22’48"N, 5°32’56"W |
| Village: | Portaferry |
| History | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | (State care) |
Portaferry Castle is a small tower house in Portaferry, County Down, overlooking the harbour (and in the townland of Ballyphilip).
The castle was built in the 16th century by William Le Savage. Portaferry Castle is today a state care monument.[1]
History
The castle was probably built in the 16th century by a member of the Savage family. In 1635, Patrick Savage's brother-in-law, Sir James Montgomery of Rosemount (Greyabbey), repaired the castle by roofing and flooring it so that his sister could live in greater comfort there.[2]
Features
It is a square building with a small projecting turret on the south corner. It is three storeys high plus attic and there is no vault. Most of the eastern corner is in ruins. The entrance at the base of the tower is protected by a small machicolation and the entrance to the ground floor chamber is protected by a murder-hole. A curved stairway within the tower rises to the first floor and a spiral stairway in the west corner continues to roof level.[2][3]
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Portaferry Castle) |
References
- ↑ List of State Care Monuments (Historic Environment Division)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Harbinson, P. (1992). Guide to National and Historic Monuments of Ireland. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan. p. 120.
- ↑ Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland (1983). Historic Monuments of Northern Ireland. Belfast: HMSO. p. 107.