Athclare Castle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Athclare Castle |
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| Native name Irish: Caisleán Áth Cláir |
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South face of Athclare
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| Area | Dunleer, Ireland |
| Built | c.1550 |
| Built for | Barnewell family |
| Architectural style(s) | Fortified limestone tower house |
| Reference no. | LH018-040 |
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Athclare Castle (also called Aclare, or Caisleán Áth Cláir in Irish) is an old Tudor tower house in the Dunleer area of County Louth, Ireland. It was built around the 1550s for the Barnewell family. This type of castle was common for defense in a part of Ireland called the Pale during the Tudor period. Athclare Castle has been changed and added to over hundreds of years. Today, it is seen as a very important historical site by the Irish National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Exploring Athclare Castle
The main part of Athclare Castle is a tall, three-story tower house. It was built in the 1550s. This tower stands on its own. Next to the tower, on the east side, is a hall. This hall has a fireplace from the early 1600s.
The tower house from the 1500s is still complete. It has its original top wall, called a parapet. You can see many narrow openings, called "loops," in the walls. These loops were for shooting arrows or guns. There is also a vent at the top of the tower.
The castle has a sloped slate roof. It has clay tiles on the roof ridge. There are also brick chimneys. Stone supports, called corbels, hold up the roof edges. The tower has a stone parapet, also supported by corbels. The walls are made of rough stone. Smooth stones, called quoins, are used at the corners.
You can see stone bands, called string courses, on the parapet. The castle has pointed archways. Some windows are square-shaped. There are arrow loops on the north, south, and east sides. One special arrow loop is on the first floor of the south side. The doors and windows have stone frames. The main door on the south side has a pointed arch. The stones around the arches are called voussoirs.
The castle is still partly used as a home today. A two-story house is built right next to it on the west side. Because of this, the castle has some newer parts. These include metal drainpipes and a steel gate. Some door openings are square. Some windows are made of modern plastic (uPVC). There are also wooden and glass doors.
The newer parts have sloped roofs. They are made of rough stone. Some window openings are curved. They have red brick frames. There are also painted wooden windows. Many farm buildings are attached to the old castle.
The History of Athclare Castle
Athclare Castle is located about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the coast. It is in a very good area for farming. This made it a great place to live in the past. The castle was also close to the edge of the Pale. This was a time when there was a lot of trouble in northeastern Ireland. So, a strong, fortified home like Athclare was very important for safety.
The Barnewell family first built the castle. It was made bigger in the 1650s. By then, the castle was owned by the Taaffe family.
After the Cromwellian conquest, the Townley Family from Lancashire took over the castle. They rented it from Erasmus Smith. In 1661, Henry Townley lived there. His old papers tell us a lot about life back then. The castle was changed again in the 1840s. New buildings were added, forming a courtyard to the north.
In the 1940s, a historian named Henry G. Tempest wrote about the castle. He said it was a strong stone building. It had battlements around a newer roof. A longer, lower building was attached to it. Inside the castle, a spiral staircase went from the ground to the third floor. The second floor was once the main room. You could reach it by two stone staircases outside.
Tempest also mentioned a large room on the second floor. It had a beautiful carved stone fireplace. This fireplace still had traces of gold, red, and blue paint. It showed the Townley family crest. Another crest, possibly the Taaffe family's, was also there.
Most of the old floors were gone, except for a stone one on the second story. Five old wooden beams were still in place. On the ground floor, there were three vaulted rooms. Their plaster ceilings showed marks from how they were built. Two small rooms opened onto the yard. They looked like dog kennels. The castle was also extended towards the west.
Today, Athclare Castle is just east of the modern M1 Motorway. It is a National Monument. This means it is protected by the Irish government. However, it is still privately owned. At least one of the beautiful fireplaces from the castle has been moved. It is now in the house next door. The castle has a special number, "LH018-040----," from the National Monuments Service.
See Also
