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24-603: Antrim Castle or Massereene Castle was a fortified mansion in Antrim , County Antrim , Northern Ireland , on the banks of the Sixmilewater River . It was built in stages between 1613 and 1662. It was destroyed by fire in 1922 and finally demolished in the 1970s. All that remains are a slightly raised grassed platform as well as a freestanding Italian stair tower built in 1887, and a gatehouse built around 1818 with twin neo-Tudor towers, with older connecting walls. The gardens are

48-433: A T shape, as well as a motte of a Norman castle. Jacobean-Revival outbuildings of coursed rubble basalt with sandstone dressings were built about 1840. The entrance gateway to the demesne has octagonal turrets. The stable block was later converted for use as a family residence and renamed Clotworthy House. This was acquired by Antrim Borough Council and converted for use as an Arts Centre in 1992. The formal gardens were

72-497: A means of exercising control over the conquered areas. These tower houses were typically not intended to be used in any major military actions. For this purpose, the crusaders relied on a number of larger order castles . A number of such tower houses still exist, well-preserved examples include Purtse , Vao and Kiiu castles in Estonia . One theory suggests that private tower-like structures proliferate in areas where central authority

96-884: A number of cases 'Fortified Houses' were built onto pre-existing tower houses. 'Fortified Houses' were protected by gun fire from the angle towers and bartizans , and were also provided with bawn walls with gunloops , towers and protected gateways. 'Fortified Houses' were built throughout Ireland by large landowners from a variety of backgrounds, such as the Old English Earl of Clanricarde who built Portumna Castle in County Galway ; Gaelic lords such as MacDonogh MacCarthy , Lord of Duhallow , who built Kanturk Castle in County Cork ; and Cromwellian soldiers such as Sir Charles Coote , who built Rush Hall in County Offaly . Over

120-610: A number of these by the end of the Middle Ages, but few now remain, notably two towers in Bologna , twenty towers in Pavia and fourteen secular towers in the small city of San Gimignano in Tuscany now the best group to survive. Scotland has many fine examples of medieval tower houses, including Drum Castle , Craigievar Castle and Castle Fraser , and in the unstable Scottish Marches along

144-425: A popular tourist attraction on Randalstown Road, Antrim. Antrim Castle was built originally in 1613 by English settler, Sir Hugh Clotworthy, and enlarged in 1662 by his son, John Clotworthy, 1st Viscount Massereene . It was through his daughter and heiress, Mary, and her marriage to Sir John Skeffington, 4th Baronet (by special remainder he would become the 2nd Viscount Massereene), that the estate and title came to

168-466: A public display of power and wealth. They represented a long term investment in their owner’s regional future and were monuments to an aspiration for an English and Continental house style suited to local Irish conditions. On a basic level the construction of a 'Fortified House' represented the owners’ desire to modernise and Anglicize. Tower house After their initial appearance in Ireland, Scotland,

192-626: A single family, some by several families together or by entire village communities. Most notable in the New World might be considered a focal element of the Mesa Verde Anasazi ruin in Colorado , United States. There is a prominent structure at that site which is called the "tower house" and has the general appearance characteristics of its counterparts in Britain and Ireland. This four-story building

216-811: Is weak, leading to a need for a status symbol incorporating private defences against small-scale attacks. For example, the North Caucasus was a country where fierce competition over limited natural resources led to chronic feuding between neighbours. There are numerous examples of tower houses in Svanetia , Chechnya and Ingushetia , where a clan-like social structure survived well into the 20th century. Numerous examples of Svan tower houses are found in Chazhashi and Ushguli . See Vainakh tower architecture for details. The Yemeni city of Shibam has hundreds of tower houses. Similarly, hundreds of Tibetan tower houses dot

240-523: The Basque Country , some of them dating to the 8th century. They were mainly used as noble residences and were able to provide shelter against enemies, starting with the Muslims and later Aragón and Castile . Due to complex legal charters, few had boroughs attached to them, thus they are usually found standing alone in some strategic spot like a crossroad, rather than on a height. During the petty wars among

264-522: The Frisian lands , Northern Spain and England during the High Middle Ages , tower houses were also built in other parts of western Europe, especially in parts of France and Italy. In Italian medieval communes , urban palazzi with a very tall tower were increasingly built by the local highly competitive patrician families as power centres during times of internal strife. Most north Italian cities had

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288-624: The Balkans since the Middle Ages . They became very widespread in the 17th century, built by both Christians and Muslims in a period of decline of Ottoman authority and insecurity. The tower house served the purpose of protecting the extended family. In the Baltic states , the Teutonic Order and other crusaders erected fortified tower houses in the Middle Ages, locally known as "vassal castles", as

312-775: The Basque nobles from 1379 to 1456, the upper floors (with defensive capacity) of most of them were demolished. Few have survived unscathed to the present day. Since then they have been used only as residences by their traditional noble owners ( Saint Ignatius of Loyola was born in one of them, which stands to this day) or converted into farmhouses. To the west of the Basque Country, in Cantabria and Asturias similar tower houses are found. Furthest west in Spain , in Galicia , medieval tower houses are in

336-451: The Classical and Military architecture coming from Continental Europe. The social, political and military changes that took place from the 1580s-1650s were to play a major role in the development of this unique Irish structure. These houses provided a comfortable living space for the elite of early seventeenth-century Irish society. They were fashionable yet defendable. The 'Fortified House' was

360-457: The border between England and Scotland the peel tower was the typical residence of the wealthy, with others being built by the government. In 17th century Scotland these castles became the pleasure retreats of the upper classes. While able to adopt a military nature, they were furnished for comfort and social interaction. Tower houses are commonly found in northern Spain, especially in Navarre and

384-466: The latter family. The castle was rebuilt in 1813. In March 1689 the castle was raided by Jacobite General Richard Hamilton and his men who looted Viscount Massereene's silver plate and other silverware and furniture up to a value of £3000, a considerable loss at the time. For some time the castle was used for political conferences; in 1806 Right Hon. John Foster , the last Speaker of the Irish House

408-794: The notable historian and author Lyndsy Spence giving tours of the Castle Gardens. In December 2022 Antrim historian Stephen McCracken published definitive evidence showing that the Castle had been destroyed by the IRA citing the Irish National Archive testimonies. His evidence focused on the testimony of Kevin Sheils and IRA Commander Fitzpatrick. Antrim Castle had been rebuilt in 1813 as a three-storey Georgian-Gothic castellated mansion, designed by Dublin architect, John Bowden . The Restoration style doorway of

432-581: The origin of many Modern Age pazos , noble residences as well as strongholds. Large numbers of tower houses can be found across Portugal, particularly in the north of the country. By the 15th century they had lost their military or residential uses, and were often either expanded into larger manors or converted into hunting lodges for the aristocracy. A feature peculiar to Germany is the few preserved tower houses of Ratisbon , reminiscent of those in San Gimignano. Distinctive tower houses were built in

456-507: The original castle, featuring heraldry and a head of Charles I, was re-erected as the central feature of the entrance front. It also had tower-like projections at the corners of round-angle turrets. A tall hexagonal turret of ashlar was added to the front in 1887 when the castle was further enlarged. There was also a 17th-century formal garden, unique in Ulster . The gardens also featured a long canal with another canal at right angles to it, making

480-549: The past six decades studies concerning Irish 'Fortified Houses' have identified them as a transitional genre that emerged at the end of the sixteenth century and acted as an architectural bridge between the Irish medieval tower-house and the country manor house of the late seventeenth century. The 'Fortified House' drew on the earlier tradition of the tower-house and was influenced by the Tudor and emerging Jacobean architecture from England and

504-499: The sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth century, the fortified house ( Irish : teach daingean ), along with the stronghouse , developed as a replacement for the tower house . 'Fortified Houses' were often rectangular, or sometimes U or L-shaped, three-storey structures with high gables and chimney stacks and large windows with hood mouldings . Some examples have square towers at the corners. The interiors were relatively spacious with wooden partitions and numerous fireplaces. In

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528-609: The so-called Tribal Corridor in Western Sichuan , some 50 metres high with as many as 13 star-like points, and the oldest are thought to be 1,200 years old. They appear to have been created as much for prestige among village families as for defence. Kaiping and some other towns in South China retain a plethora of watchtowers, or diaolous . Although they were built mainly as protection against forays by bandits, many of them also served as living quarters. Some of them were built by

552-689: The subject of a £6m restoration project, by Antrim Borough Council supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund , to preserve the historic site. Antrim Castle Gardens won the Ulster in Bloom Special Award 2012. A statue of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was unveiled in the castle gardens in September 2024. Fortified houses in Ireland In Ireland at the end of

576-540: Was reported to have spoken in the Oak Room of the castle at a meeting. At 3am after a small family gathering on 28 October 1922, the castle caught fire and was destroyed. Although much of the evidence pointed to arson by the IRA , the official verdict was not conclusive, thus no insurance claim was paid out. The castle remained a ruin until its demolition in 1970. In 2022 centenary anniversary commemorations were held which included

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