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Killyleagh Castle
Killyleagh Castle is a castle in the village of Killyleagh, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is believed to be one of the oldest inhabited castles in the country, with parts dating back to 1180. It follows the architectural style of a Loire Valley château, being redesigned by the architect Sir Charles Lanyon in the mid-19th century. It has been owned by the Hamilton family since the early 17th century.
It is currently the home of Gawn Rowan Hamilton and his young family. The castle hosts occasional concerts; performers have included Van Morrison, Glen Hansard and Bap Kennedy. The gate lodges provide self-catering holiday accommodation. From 2012 to 2014, the castle was used to film CBBC show Dani's Castle.
Killyleagh was settled in the late 12th century by Norman knight Sir John de Courcy, who built fortifications on the site of the castle in 1180 as part of a series of fortifications around Strangford Lough, which he had built in order to protect the lands he had seized from the native Irish.
In 1602, Gaelic chieftain Con O'Neill of Clandeboye owned large tracts of North Down, including Killyleagh. O'Neill sent his men to attack English soldiers after a quarrel and was consequently imprisoned. O'Neill's wife made a deal with Scots aristocrat Hugh Montgomery to give him half of O'Neill's lands if Montgomery could get a royal pardon for O'Neill. Montgomery obtained the pardon but King James I divided the land in three, with the area from Killyleagh to Bangor going to another Scot, James Hamilton, later 1st Viscount Claneboye. A map of Killyleagh from 1625 showed the castle as having a single tower on the south side of a residence. In about 1625 Hamilton moved from Bangor to Killyleagh Castle, where he built the courtyard walls. It has been the home of the Hamilton family ever since.
Viscount Claneboye's son, the 1st Earl of Clanbrassil (by the first creation), built the second tower. He supported the Stuart monarch Charles I of England and the castle was besieged in 1649 by Oliver Cromwell's forces who sailed gunboats into Strangford Lough and blew up the gatehouse. The Earl fled, leaving behind his wife and children. Parliament fined him for the return of the castle and his land.
The 1st Earl's son, the 2nd Earl of Clanbrassil (by the first creation), rebuilt the castle in 1666. He erected the north tower and built (or perhaps restored) the long fortified bawn (wall) in the front of the castle. The 2nd Earl's castle is mostly what remains today.
In 1667, the 2nd Earl married Lady Alice Moore, daughter of the Earl of Drogheda, and their only child died in infancy. Lady Alice discovered that her father-in-law, the 1st Earl of Clanbrassil (by the first creation), had stated in his will that should his son, the 2nd Earl, die without issue, the estate should be divided between five Hamilton cousins, the eldest sons of his five uncles. She destroyed the will and had her husband, the 2nd Earl, make his own will in 1674, leaving the estate to her. Henry, Lord Clanbrassil, died of poisoning in 1675, then Lady Alice died in 1677, leaving the estate to her brother. The cousins, however, were aware of the 1st Earl's will, and pursued their rights as inheritors. The matter was concluded 20 years later when a copy of the original will was discovered. By then, the cousins were all dead. The last to die was James Hamilton of Neilsbrook, County Antrim, son of Archibald Hamilton, the next brother of the 1st Viscount Claneboye. James Hamilton of Neilsbrook had been confident of a settlement in his favour and had bequeathed the estate to be divided in two, with one half going to his daughter Anne Stevenson (née Hamilton), and the other half to his younger brothers Gawn and William Hamilton. In 1697, the probate court divided the castle, with Gawn and William gaining the main house and the two towers and their niece Anne receiving the bawn and gate house. Gawn and William had to open a new entrance on the north side in order to enter their castle.
William died without children in 1716 and the castle passed to successive generations of Gawn Hamilton's descendants. Gawn's great-grandson, Archibald Hamilton Rowan, an Irish nationalist of the United Irishmen, lived in the castle as one of his homes between 1806 and 1834 after his return from exile in America.
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Killyleagh Castle
Killyleagh Castle is a castle in the village of Killyleagh, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is believed to be one of the oldest inhabited castles in the country, with parts dating back to 1180. It follows the architectural style of a Loire Valley château, being redesigned by the architect Sir Charles Lanyon in the mid-19th century. It has been owned by the Hamilton family since the early 17th century.
It is currently the home of Gawn Rowan Hamilton and his young family. The castle hosts occasional concerts; performers have included Van Morrison, Glen Hansard and Bap Kennedy. The gate lodges provide self-catering holiday accommodation. From 2012 to 2014, the castle was used to film CBBC show Dani's Castle.
Killyleagh was settled in the late 12th century by Norman knight Sir John de Courcy, who built fortifications on the site of the castle in 1180 as part of a series of fortifications around Strangford Lough, which he had built in order to protect the lands he had seized from the native Irish.
In 1602, Gaelic chieftain Con O'Neill of Clandeboye owned large tracts of North Down, including Killyleagh. O'Neill sent his men to attack English soldiers after a quarrel and was consequently imprisoned. O'Neill's wife made a deal with Scots aristocrat Hugh Montgomery to give him half of O'Neill's lands if Montgomery could get a royal pardon for O'Neill. Montgomery obtained the pardon but King James I divided the land in three, with the area from Killyleagh to Bangor going to another Scot, James Hamilton, later 1st Viscount Claneboye. A map of Killyleagh from 1625 showed the castle as having a single tower on the south side of a residence. In about 1625 Hamilton moved from Bangor to Killyleagh Castle, where he built the courtyard walls. It has been the home of the Hamilton family ever since.
Viscount Claneboye's son, the 1st Earl of Clanbrassil (by the first creation), built the second tower. He supported the Stuart monarch Charles I of England and the castle was besieged in 1649 by Oliver Cromwell's forces who sailed gunboats into Strangford Lough and blew up the gatehouse. The Earl fled, leaving behind his wife and children. Parliament fined him for the return of the castle and his land.
The 1st Earl's son, the 2nd Earl of Clanbrassil (by the first creation), rebuilt the castle in 1666. He erected the north tower and built (or perhaps restored) the long fortified bawn (wall) in the front of the castle. The 2nd Earl's castle is mostly what remains today.
In 1667, the 2nd Earl married Lady Alice Moore, daughter of the Earl of Drogheda, and their only child died in infancy. Lady Alice discovered that her father-in-law, the 1st Earl of Clanbrassil (by the first creation), had stated in his will that should his son, the 2nd Earl, die without issue, the estate should be divided between five Hamilton cousins, the eldest sons of his five uncles. She destroyed the will and had her husband, the 2nd Earl, make his own will in 1674, leaving the estate to her. Henry, Lord Clanbrassil, died of poisoning in 1675, then Lady Alice died in 1677, leaving the estate to her brother. The cousins, however, were aware of the 1st Earl's will, and pursued their rights as inheritors. The matter was concluded 20 years later when a copy of the original will was discovered. By then, the cousins were all dead. The last to die was James Hamilton of Neilsbrook, County Antrim, son of Archibald Hamilton, the next brother of the 1st Viscount Claneboye. James Hamilton of Neilsbrook had been confident of a settlement in his favour and had bequeathed the estate to be divided in two, with one half going to his daughter Anne Stevenson (née Hamilton), and the other half to his younger brothers Gawn and William Hamilton. In 1697, the probate court divided the castle, with Gawn and William gaining the main house and the two towers and their niece Anne receiving the bawn and gate house. Gawn and William had to open a new entrance on the north side in order to enter their castle.
William died without children in 1716 and the castle passed to successive generations of Gawn Hamilton's descendants. Gawn's great-grandson, Archibald Hamilton Rowan, an Irish nationalist of the United Irishmen, lived in the castle as one of his homes between 1806 and 1834 after his return from exile in America.