Portaferry Castle, Co. Down
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Having finally concluded my accounts of the
Chapple Family’s jaunts about the countryside in 2013 (here
| here
| here),
I thought it was time to relate some of our more recent adventures. In May of
this year we drove down to the small town of Strangford, Co. Down, to take the
short ferry crossing to Portaferry. This is a relatively frequent excursion for
us, as the Chapples Minors are both big fans of the Exploris Aquarium in the
town [Website | Facebook].
On this particular day we were in town to experience the Strangford
Lough Maritime Festival. In particular, we were keen to see inside the Queen's University Marine
Laboratory. We got a fantastic tour about their facility and gained some
really interesting insights into their ongoing research work – in both biology
and engineering – from their fantastically enthusiastic (and patient) staff and
students. If you ever get the chance to visit there, do not squander the
opportunity … if only to see their amazing indoor
wave tank! In amongst all the things to see in Portaferry, it’s easy to
overlook Portaferry Castle.
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| Portaferry Castle, from the south-west |
The castle is in State Care and is a relatively
small tower house of 16th century date. It was built by a member of the Savage
family, probably William Le Savage. The castle was reroofed and repaired in
1635 by Sir James Montgomery of Rosemount (Greyabbey) for the benefit of his
sister, married to Patrick Savage. The building is square in plan, with a projecting
turret on the southern corner. The entrance is protected by a machicolation
above, with a ‘murder hole’
in the ceiling of the entrance chamber, for added protection (via Wikipedia). These
days, the ivy and weed strewn battlements make excellent perches for gulls
looking stoically out to sea, while the simple ruins can still hold the fascination
of children and adults, imagining imminent attack by land and sea.
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| Ground floor entrance |
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| Interior |
 |
| Vertical panorama of the interior |
 |
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| View from the north-east, near the entrance to the Exploris Aquarium |
I hope you enjoy these few simple images, but I
also hope that this (and other posts here) inspire you to get up and get out
and come see some of our ancient treasures!
For those who care for such things, I’ve added a
selection of 3D images of Portaferry Castle here and where to find your viewing
glasses (and an index to 3D stuff on the blog) here. Enjoy!
See also:
The Northern Ireland Sites & Monuments Record for Portaferry Castle.
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