Carrickfergus castle5/21/2023 ![]() Top Image: Stewart / Carrickfergus Castle, reflections at sunset / CC BY-SA 2. To learn more about the castle, please visit Discover Northern Ireland. We hope that our work will become part of the history of Carrickfergus, and that people visiting the castle will enjoy this beautiful structure for years – if not centuries – to come.”Ĭarrickfergus Castle roofing project from SmartVideo on Vimeo.Ĭarrickfergus Castle had over 49,000 visitors in 2019. The oak used for the roof is from a sustainable source.”Ĭolum McNicholl, from JPM Contracts Ltd, the company who carried out the reconstruction, added “Now that the works are completed on the roof, and the dust settles, we can stand back and look at this roof with pride. The materials used are durable, traditional materials. The project has been designed to be sustainable on many levels. What has been achieved is an outstanding piece of architecture that safeguards this important and historic place. Archaeologists and conservation architects within the Department worked together to design a historically appropriate roof. “This investment has secured the future of this important monument and prevented irreparable damage to the structure. It can be visited for a small fee.Northern Ireland’s Minister for Communities Deirdre Hargey was a the reopening ceremony, and said: Until 1928 Carrickfergus Castle was used as a magazine and armory and during WW II it served as an air raid shelter.Ī great castle although its exterior is a lot more exiting than its interior. In 1797 the castle became a prison and in the early 1800s, under the threat of a possible French invasion, its defenses were considerably strengthened with 22 cannons. They looted the castle and town and then left. In 1760 Carrickfergus briefly fell into the hands of the French under the command of Francois Thurot. His leader King William III landed on the pier here in the same year. However, by 1689 the castle had fallen into disrepair and was easily captured by General Schomberg in 1690. The round towers of the gate house were lowered by half and transformed in the present D-shape amongst other improvements. In the early 1600s Carrickfergus Castle was updated for artillery. The entrance to the Outer Ward was guarded by a strong gate house formed by 2 large circular towers.ĭuring the Edward Bruce invasion the English retreated to Carrickfergus and the castle fell to the Scots in September 1316, after a year's siege. The walls were extended to encircle the whole of the rock the castle stood on. Only foundations of these walls remain at present.Ī third phase of building took place between 12 when the castle and the region were under the rule of another Anglo-Norman lord, Hugh de Lacy. The keep was raised to its present height and a second set of walls, now called the Middle Ward, was built. In 1216, after King John's reign, the second building phase to improve the castle started. In 1210, after John De Courcy had died, Carrickfergus Castle was captured by King John. The imposing landmark dominates the shoreline in Lough Belfast, the inlet surrounding the city, making it impossible to ignore for anyone trying to attack Belfast. From here, De Courcy ruled as a petty king over Ulster. Carrickfergus Castle is one of the best preserved castles in Northern Ireland and has withstood sieges and defended against invaders for more than 800 years. He built his castle, then just a 3-storey square keep within a small enclosure, now called the Inner Ward, at the end of a rock jutting out into the sea, guarding the entrance to Belfast Lough. Carrickfergus Castle lies on the seafront in the town by the same name, in County Antrim, in Northern Ireland.Ĭarrickfergus Castle was built somewhere between 11 by the Anglo-Norman lord John de Courcy.
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