Quoile Castle

Quoile Castle is a castle situated 1.5 miles (2.4km) from Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland, just off the main road from Downpatrick to Strangford, on the east bank of the River Quoile. The castle was built during the late 16th / early 17th Century and was continuously used up to the 1700s.[2] It has been suggested that it was built by Captain Richard West.[3] Quoile Castle is a State Care Historic Monument in the townland of Quoile, in Down District Council area, at grid ref: J4963 4701.[4]

Quoile Castle
Near Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland
TypeTower house
Site history
BuiltLate 16th century[1]
MaterialsSplit-stone rubble with sandstone dressing[1]

The castle is a tower house - a type of building found throughout Ireland, largely constructed from the 15th to 17th Centuries - the Stangford Lough coastline has a density of these monuments (e.g., Audley's Castle, Sketrick Castle, Mahee Castle, Portaferry Castle etc). Whilst they had defensive features, it has been suggested that they were built to withstand an attack by a [small] rival militia, rather than being able to withstand a large siege-type attacks.[5]

Finds

In 1986, seven silver sixpence pieces dating from the time of Elizabeth I were found at the castle.[6]

Partially reconstructed West wall of Quoile Castle, Downpatrick
  • Quoile Castle, October 2009
    Quoile Castle, October 2009
  • Information board, Quoile Castle, October 2009
    Information board, Quoile Castle, October 2009
  • Quoile Castle, October 2009
    Quoile Castle, October 2009

See also

References
  1. Logue, Ruth (2004). Monitoring Report: Quoile Castle, County Down (PDF) (Report). Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork, Queen's University Belfast. p. 3. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  2. Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland (1983). Historic Monuments of Northern Ireland. Belfast: HMSO. p. 107.
  3. Castles and Other Fortifications In Europe (1999). "Castles NL". Castles and Other Fortifications In Europe.
  4. "Quoile Castle" (PDF). Environment and Heritage Service NI – State Care Historic Monuments. p. DOWN 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2007.
  5. Mallory & McNeill (1991). The Archaeology of Ulster: From Colonization to Plantation (2nd ed.). The Institute of Irish Studies (Queen's University Belfast). p. 270. ISBN 978-0853893530.
  6. Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland (1988). Pieces of the Past. Belfast: HMSO. p. 97.
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