Clough Castle facts for kids

Clough Castle, October 2009

Clough Castle is an old castle site in Clough, County Down, Northern Ireland. It's easy to find, located near where the A25 and A24 roads meet. This castle is a special type called a motte-and-bailey castle. It's also a protected historical site, looked after by the government. You can find it at grid ref: J4092 4029.

This castle was built by the Anglo-Normans after a leader named John de Courcy took control of eastern Ulster in 1177.

What Does Clough Castle Look Like?

Clough Castle is a great example of an Anglo-Norman castle. It has a stone tower that was added later. The castle has two main parts: a large mound called a motte, and a smaller, kidney-shaped area called a bailey.

The bailey is south of the motte. A ditch, about 2.1 meters (7 feet) deep, once separated these two parts. The motte itself is about 25 feet high. On top of this mound is a stone tower. This tower was made bigger in the 1400s to become a tower house.

The tower isn't exactly in the middle of the motte top. That's because a large hall used to be there, which seems to have burned down. Around the motte, there's another ditch. On the southeast side, a low, crescent-shaped bailey was probably connected to the motte by a wooden bridge.

Uncovering Clough Castle's Past

Archaeologists dug up the top of the motte in 1950. They found out that when the castle was first built, around the late 1100s or early 1200s, the top of the motte had a timber palisade around it. A palisade is a fence made of strong wooden stakes. Inside this fence, there were special pits for archers.

They also found the foundations of a long, rectangular hall. This hall was likely built in the mid-1200s. Later in the same century, a small, rectangular stone keep was built. A keep is a strong tower inside a castle. This keep was two storeys high and is still standing today. It was repaired and looked after in 1981 and 1982.

In the late Middle Ages, after a time when the castle wasn't used much, it was restored. More parts were added, making the tower house look like an L-shape.

Pictures of Clough Castle

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  Clough Castle, October 2009

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  Information board, Clough Castle, October 2009

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  Clough Castle, October 2009

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  Clough Castle, October 2009