Mahee Castle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mahee CastleNendrum Castle |
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| Mahee Island, County Down, Northern Ireland | |
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Mahee Castle from the west
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 Mahee Castle
Nendrum Castle |
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| Coordinates | 54°30′03″N 5°38′55″W / 54.500951°N 5.648475°W |
| Type | Tower house |
| Height | 25 feet (7.6 m) |
| Site information | |
| Open to the public |
Yes |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1570 |
| Built by | Captain Thomas Browne |
| In use | 16th–17th centuries |
Mahee Castle, also known as Nendrum Castle, is a small, old castle ruin. It's a type of castle known as a tower house. You can find it on Mahee Island in Strangford Lough, County Down, Northern Ireland. It's close to the old Nendrum Monastery. Captain Thomas Browne built this castle in 1570. People stopped using it in the early 1600s, and it started to fall apart. In 1923, some people from the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society helped fix parts of it. They wanted to stop it from falling apart even more.
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Where is Mahee Castle Located?
Mahee Castle is on the western side of Mahee Island. It sits right next to a causeway. A causeway is like a bridge that connects the island to the mainland. This causeway is the only way to get to the island by land. Today, a narrow road goes over this causeway.
Mahee Island is found near the western shore of Strangford Lough. This is southeast of the town of Comber. The castle stands on a small hill called a drumlin. There is also a car park nearby for visitors.
What Does Mahee Castle Look Like?
This rectangular tower house was built to guard the bridge onto the island. To the southwest, you can still see parts of a walled area. This area is called a bawn. Mahee Castle also has a special boat bay right on the lake shore.
The castle is quite small inside. It only has two rooms on the ground floor. The main part, the tower-house, was once three stories tall. However, not much is left of the upper floors today. The entrance to the castle has a special opening above it. This opening is called a murder-hole. It was used to drop things on attackers.
The History of Mahee Castle
An English soldier named Captain Thomas Browne built Mahee Castle in 1570. He asked the Bishop of Down for permission to build it. The castle was left empty by the early 1600s. Over time, some of its corner stones might have been taken. Local people may have used them for their own building projects. Stones from the northeastern wall were even used to build the causeway to the island.
During the 1400s and 1500s, Mahee Castle was near a border. This border was between two different territories. One was called Clandeboye to the north. The other was Dufferin to the south. Because it was a border area, there were often fights. Mahee Castle might have been taken over by different groups many times.
Restoration Efforts in 1923
In 1923, some important work was done to save the castle. This work was led by H.C. Lawlor. The Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society helped with the project. They removed ivy plants from the walls. They also filled cracks with cement. The top of the tower was made waterproof. A strong wall, called a buttress wall, was built. This wall helps support the northeast corner of the tower.
What Did Digs at the Castle Find?
Archaeologists dug at Mahee Castle in 2001 and 2002. This was part of a program by the Environment and Heritage Service of Ireland. They carefully studied the layers of soil. These digs found animal remains and other items. These items dated back to the Late Medieval period. This suggests that the castle might have existed even before 1570. The main goal of these digs was to plan how to restore the castle.
The archaeologists found many interesting things. They found shells and animal bones. They also found knives and different kinds of pottery. Some of the pottery was hundreds of years old. Large amounts of modern glass were also found. There were also pieces of flint and broken pots. The digs showed that the castle's foundation was on a man-made flat area. This area was built on the northeastern end of a drumlin. A buttress retaining wall was built in 1923 to support the back of this flat area. It was about 4 metres (13 ft) from the tower's southwestern end.
