Olderfleet Castle

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ruins of Olderfleet (approx. 1860–1883).
Olderfleet Castle, 2006

Olderfleet Castle is a ruined castle at Curran Point south of Larne Harbor in County Antrim, Northern Ireland . The place name "Olderfleet" is a corruption of the Viking name Ulfrecksfiord (or Ulfried's Fjord ).

The four-story residential tower is a State Care Historic Monument in the townland of Curran and Drumaliss in the Mid and East Antrim District .

history

The residential tower may have been built by the Scottish-Irish Bissett family from Glenarm around 1250, although these ruins are more likely to be attributed to Curran Castle , a residential tower from the 1500s. On a map from 1610 it was called Coraine Castle .

Edward Bruce landed here with his 6,000-strong army in 1315 when he was about to take Ireland and was welcomed by the Bissetts . Queen Elizabeth I attached such great strategic importance to the castle that she took it for the crown and appointed Sir Moyses Hill as its governor in 1569. In 1597 the castle was claimed by the McDonnells and in 1598 it was demolished.

The current castle was probably built around 1612. In 1621 it was given to Sir Arthur Chichester as a fief and remained in his family until it was leased to William Agnew in 1823 . James Chaine acquired the lease in 1865. In 1938 the castle passed into the hands of the state.

construction

The remains of the four-story residential tower are now limited to part of the tower with a pair of loopholes in the basement. The square-shaped ruin shows that the walls were only one meter thick. In addition, there is no residential decor, which suggests that it may have been built as a fortified warehouse and watchtower.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ernest Sandford: Discover Northern Ireland . Northern Ireland Tourist Board, Belfast 1976. ISBN 0-9500222-7-6 . P. 53.
  2. ↑ a b c d Olderfleet Castle . Northern Ireland Tourist Board. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  3. ↑ Olderfleet Castle . In: Environment and Heritage Service NI - State Care Historic Monuments . Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 22, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ehsni.gov.uk
  4. ↑ a b c Olderfleet Castle . Larne Borough Council. Archived from the original on January 19, 2014. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 13, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.larne.gov.uk
  5. ↑ a b c d Olderfleet Castle . Retrieved October 22, 2015.

Web links

Commons : Olderfleet Castle  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 54 ° 50 ′ 42 "  N , 5 ° 48 ′ 32.4"  W.