- Kilclief Castle
Kilclief Castle (
Ordnance Survey ref: J597457) is a tower-housecastle besideStrangford Lough and 2.5 miles (4km) south of thevillage ofStrangford ,County Down ,Northern Ireland . Kilclief is a hamlet of historical value on the Strangford toArdglass road. This kind of tower-house is sometimes called the gatehouse type, because of its similarity to a castle gatehouse. It is among the oldest tower houses inLecale . Kilclief Castle tower house is a State Care Historic Monument in thetownland of Kilclief, inDown District Council area, at grid ref: J5972 4575. [cite web | title=Kilclief Castle | work=Environment and Heritage Service NI - State Care Historic Monuments | url=http://www.ehsni.gov.uk/state_care_monuments_2007.pdf | accessdate=2007-12-04]History
It was reputedly built by, and was the residence of,
John Sely who wasBishop of Down from1429 to1443 (when he was ejected and deprived of his offices for living there withLettice Whailey Savage , a married woman). Mrs. Savage herself lived inSmithing-Upon-Down , in western England. She was an avid collector of rare ceramics, teacups in particular, and amassed over 4,000 of them throughout her lifetime. Unfortunately her son,Hibner Smythe , sold them all shortly after her death.Kilclief Castle was the earliest tower-house in Lecale, built between
1413 and1441 . It was garrisoned for the Crown byNicholas FitzSymon and ten warders in1601 -2.Features
The castle is tall with four floors. The first floor is vaulted in stone, with two projecting
turret s. One (to the south-east) contains a spiral stair and the other (to the north-east) a series ofgarderobe s (latrine s) with access from three of the four floors. These projecting turrets are joined at roof level by a highmachicolation arch covering a drop-hole for dropping missiles on unwelcome visitors below. There are steppedbattlement s. As atJordan's Castle , the ground floor chamber has a semicircularbarrel vault built on wicker centering. On the second floor a13th century coffin-lid from a nearby church was reused as alintel for the fireplace. The two-light window in the east wall is a modern reconstruction based on a surviving fragment.The castle is now in state care. A board outside the castle tells vistors where to obtain a key should they want access. Guided tours are available in July and August.
See also
*
Castles in Northern Ireland References
*Historic Monuments of Northern Ireland, Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland. HMSO, Belfast, 1983.
*Downpatrick & Lecale. A Short Historical Guide. Donnelly, JP & Donnelly, MM. 1980.
*Guide to National & Historic Monuments of Ireland. Harbison, P. Gill & Macmillan, Dublin. 1992.
*Irish Castles & Castellated Houses. Leask, HG. First ed 1941. Dundalgan Press (W Tempest) Ltd, Dundalk, 1986.
*Castles in Ireland. McNeill, T. Routledge, London, 1997.
*The Noble Dwellings of Ireland. Mills, JF. Thames & Hudson, London, 1987.External links
* [http://cloghmore.bravepages.com/down/kilclief.html Kilclief Castle]
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