Barryscourt Castle
| Barryscourt Castle | ||
|---|---|---|
 Entrance to Barryscourt Castle |
||
| Alternative name (s): | Caisleán Chúirt to Bharraigh | |
| Creation time : | 15th century | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg (Tower House) | |
| Conservation status: | restored | |
| Standing position : | Irish nobility | |
| Construction: | Quarry stone | |
| Place: | Carrigtwohill | |
| Geographical location | 51 ° 54 '16 .4 " N , 8 ° 15' 32.4" W | |
| Height: | 7 m ASLTemplate: height / unknown reference | |
|
||
Barryscourt Castle ( Irish Gaelic : Caisleán Chúirt to Bharraigh ) is one castle of the East Irish County Cork , near the town of Carrigtwohill .
history
The area on which Barryscourt Castle stands today has been inhabited for over 1000 years; evidence of the existence of a wooden watermill was found that was erected near a watercourse on the site sometime in the 7th century, long before any type of fortress existed there. Barryscourt fell into the hands of the Anglo- Norman family De Barry in the 12th century ; Remnants of masonry found on the site could be the remains of another watermill or that of an early fortress that the De Barrys built.
While the lands of the De Barrys in different parts of County Cork were divided between the individual branches of the family, Barryscourt remained in the hands of the most powerful branch, the Barrymores ( Barra mór means "large Barrys" in German). The Barrymore line later died out and it fell to Barryscourt in 1556 to a distant cousin, James FitzRichard of the Barryroes ( Barra Rúa , Eng .: "Red Barrys"). Today's Tower House in Barryscourt was probably built in the late Barrymores, either in the late 15th or early 16th centuries. According to the architectural style, it can be dated to around 1550; it became the family residence of the Barrys.
The Barrys participated in the Desmond Rebellions of 1569 and 1579, and in 1581 they destroyed or seriously damaged the family's castles to prevent English troops from conquering them. This was also the case with Barryscourt Castle, which was threatened by an army led by Sir Walter Raleigh . After the second rebellion was put down, the Barrys were pardoned by Queen Elizabeth I of England and Barryscourt Castle was repaired. At that time, the second wall ring or enclosure was added, which enclosed the inner courtyard and had three corner towers.
Barryscourt was no longer the main seat of the Barry family from 1617, but was apparently still an important fortress for many years afterwards, as it was attacked and captured in the Irish Confederation Wars in 1645 . The traces of the impacts of the cannonballs fired during this attack on the castle can still be seen on the castle walls.
Barryscourt Castle was later no longer used and the Coppinger family (who had taken over the property from the Barrys) had a house built near the castle in the early 18th century. However, this house has long since disappeared. In 1987 the Barryscourt Trust was established to preserve the castle and develop it as a memorial. In the 1990s, the relatively undamaged outer walls of the Tower House by Dúchas were repaired and the building was given a new roof, and today Barryscourt Castle is a popular monument managed by the Office of Public Works . The interior is furnished as it was probably in the 16th century. There are free guided tours of the castle every day.
architecture
Barryscourt Castle was built in a style very typical of 16th century Ireland. It consisted of a central tower house with smaller annexes that were arranged around the main building in the courtyard. The whole was protected by an external enclosure or curtain wall with three smaller towers. A large building once stood near Tower House, probably a knight's hall , but only ruins remain. The Tower House is located in the south-west corner of the almost rectangular courtyard, the entrance to which is very close in the southern curtain wall. There is a smaller gate in the north curtain. The dungeon is designed so that the prisoners could fall into it from above. Three smaller turrets rise up at the corners to the northeast, southeast and southwest of the main tower. These three turrets are five stories high while the main block of the tower is only three stories high.
swell
- John Ludlow, Noel Jamerson (editors): Medieval Ireland: The Barryscourt Lectures IX . Barryscourt Trust in partnership with Cork County Council and Gandon Editions, Kinsale 2004.
