The Story of Carrickfergus Townscape Heritage Initiative p3
The Castle
The Castle is strategically sited on a rocky promontory to command Belfast Lough.
The town of Carrickfergus is inextricably linked with its Castle.
Begun by John de Courcy soon after his 1177 invasion of Ulster, the Castle played an important military role until 1928.
Its long history includes sieges by King John in 1210 and Edward Bruce in 1315, its capture by Schomberg for William III in 1689, and capture by the French under Thurot in 1760.
The Castle was used by the army until 1928, and in the Second World War 1939–1945 it housed air-raid shelters.
The earliest phase of the Castle is the polygonal inner ward on the tip of the rock, begun between 1177 and 1181, and built in one programme with the keep (or Great Tower).
The 4-storey keep remains the most prominent part of the Castle complex and although built primarily for defence was also the principal residence of the Lord and his family.
A visit will provide the opportunity to see how the Great Hall at the top of the Great Tower has been transformed by the new roof which has greatly improved the visitor’s experience.
The middle ward was added between 1217 and 1222; it had a postern gate to the sea and originally had four defensive towers, but only the east sea tower remains today.
The outer ward and gatehouse were probably built between 1226 and 1242, taking in the full extent of the rocky promontory.
The gatehouse primarily consists of two towers; the western tower was traditionally used by the constable whereas the eastern tower was used as accommodation and storage for the garrison with a chapel at third floor level.
The windlass for the portcullis was housed in the small room between the two towers.
Later changes were mainly concerned with provision for guns and the Castle’s use as an ordnance depot.
Cannons from the 17th to 19th centuries are on show and the keep houses historical and other displays.
There is a sensory room on the ground floor of the keep enabling neurodiverse visitors to enjoy the Castle more fully.
The Castle is owned and managed by the Department for Communities.
Carrickfergus Castle, contact: T: 028 9335 1273 or E: carrickfergus.castle@communities-ni.gov.uk
Rory McNeary, Historic Environment Division, Department for Communities
St Nicholas’ Parish Church
The roots of St Nicholas’ Parish Church date back prior to its construction by John de Courcy who founded Carrickfergus in 1182.
The chancel was originally built by Robert la Mercer in 1305-1306 and the original roof was considerably lower.
The current floor is approximately 1m lower than the original, due to consequent reconstructions.
The original body of the Church was much wider.
The massive Norman arches opened out on both sides of the nave revealing side aisles.
These are believed to have housed side chapels two in the south and two in the north.
The Church was reconstructed by Thomas Paps for Sir Arthur Chichester in 1614.
The Norman pillars where hidden within the present walls and did not come to light again until 1907 when they were uncovered during restoration.
The baptistry found at the back of the nave was originally constructed in 1614 as the porch of the Church.
The porch of the Church was an extremely important feature because much civic business was transacted there.
Coroner’s courts were held in it and public deeds and covenants were signed there.
Long deep cuts to the cornerstones are believed to have been made by soldiers as they sharpened their halberds.
In the past the Church has benefitted greatly from the patronage of Sir Arthur Chichester, the Lord Deputy of Ireland and Governor of Carrickfergus.
He was the first Lord Baron of Belfast and together with his close family are interned in the vault.
This was closed to the public until 1830.
The Donegal aisle houses an elaborate Jacobean monument in marble and alabaster to Sir Arthur and his wife Lady Lettice.
Between them lies their only child who died in infancy.
Below is a monument to his brother Sir John Chichester who was ambushed and killed in the nearby village of Glynn in 1597.
Many visitors will be surprised by the crooked aisle.
This skew has been immortalised by the poet Louis MacNeice in his poem ‘Carrickfergus’.
His father John Frederick MacNeice, was rector of the Church where Louis grew up, submerged in the history and the architecture of this wonderful building.
The Church is adorned with many interesting stained glass windows and includes a small Lepers’ window where people from the nearby hospital could come and observe the service.
The Church even has a stained glass window which depicts St Nicholas, AKA Santa, on a sleigh.
Rev Dr Christopher St John (Rector St Nicholas’ Parish Church, Carrickfergus)
Carrickfergus Museum and Civic Centre
Alongside Carrickfergus Castle and St Nicholas’ Church, the Carrickfergus Museum & Civic Centre and Town Hall complex is one of the most significant places in the town, having been in continuous use for over 800 years.
In the medieval period, it was common for wealthy landholders to construct ecclesiastical buildings such as churches, convents, and monasteries.
This was because secular and church power were closely entwined, and because wealthy individuals wished to show their piety and secure their place in the afterlife.
To this end, Hugh De Lacy, the first Earl of Ulster, established a Franciscan Friary and graveyard (the present-day Town Hall and courtyard) on this site.
A map of 1560 shows that the Friary had several buildings, including a water mill.
By this time the heyday of the monastery was at an end and was dissolved soon after during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, begun by Henry VIII.
In the 1970s, archaeological excavations uncovered 68 skeletons from the late medieval cemetery associated with it.
The site was then chosen by Sir Arthur Chichester, Governor of Carrickfergus, (later Lord Deputy of Ireland) to be the location of his grand new mansion, Barbican Gatehouse and Gardens, known as Joymount.
Completed by 1618, an English traveller described it as ‘a prince’s palace’ with 365 windows, 52 doors, and 12 chimney breasts.
Despite being a masterpiece of Jacobean architecture, the Chichesters had moved out by 1724 and the house was demolished in 1768.
One of the Barbican gatehouse towers survives today, and that, together with a section of red brick wall leading to Shaftesbury Park, is all that is left of Chichester’s great ‘palace’.
The new County Antrim Courthouse (the present Town Hall) and jail was built in its place and opened in 1779.
The jail was enclosed by a 6m high rubble-stone wall that still exists to this day. Antrim Street, where this building stood, was once known locally as ‘Drop View Terrace’ – because this was where public hangings took place.
When Crumlin Road Jail was opened in Belfast in 1850, the site was vacated and later acquired by the Antrim Artillery Militia, who built the upstanding Victorian, redbrick buildings that make up the present-day Museum and Civic Centre.
You can still see the barred windows from the ordnance store if you look up inside.
The Courthouse, meanwhile, was adapted as the Town Hall and opened in 1935.
The Town Hall was used to support civic activity including the distribution of gas masks during the War.
Between 1992 and 2002 the present Civic Centre and Museum was the home of the ‘Knight Ride’, a mono-rail ride high up in the glasshouse building that took visitors through 800 years of Carrickfergus’ history.
Following this, Carrickfergus Museum was opened in 2004, with permanent and temporary exhibition galleries, in a shared space that incorporates Mid and East Antrim Borough Council facilities, a café, an education room and community archive.
Shirin Murphy, Collections Access Officer, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council