Ballyderown Castle

An Early Anglo-Norman Castle at Ballyderown, County CorkAuthor(s): Tadhg O'KeeffeSource: The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Vol. 114 (1984), pp. 48-56Published by: Royal Society of Antiquaries of IrelandStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25508856 .

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48

An Early Anglo-Norman Castle

at Ballyderown, county Cork

Tadhg O'Keeffe, Member

A previously unidentified early Anglo-Norman castle is brought to attention, its architecture is described and its national context and chronology are discussed.

Ballyderown Castle is situated about 5km north-east of Fermoy along the T30 road to

Lismore, close to its junction with the L187 to Kilworth. It is marked on O.S. Six-inch sheet 28, parish of Kilcrumper, barony of Condons and Clangibbon, county Cork (NGR R 847 007). The castle is sited on a terrace (100 feet O.D.) overlooking the River Araglin, several hundred metres upstream from its confluence with the River Blackwater. The townland of Ballyderown extends between the Rivers Araglin and Funshion, both tributaries of the Blackwater, and from this the place-name

? Baile idir da abhainn ? is derived (Fig 13).

It is probable that the de Caunteton (later Condon) family, important Norman land owners in north-east Cork, built Ballyderown Castle, although the building is not referred to until the middle of the 14th century. In an inquiry into the possessions of the de

Caunteton family in 1310, it is revealed that Maurice de Caunteton had 240 acres of land and a weir and fishery at Ballyderown; strangely, no mention is made of the castle (CJRI III, 160). On his death, Maurice's lands passed on to his son, David, who was murdered in

1341. An inquisition taken the following year reveals that David held of the king the castle with two carucates (240 acres) at Ballyderown, and at 'Killord' (Kilworth, 3km to the

north-west) 'a water-mill and a rent of eight marks of the borough, half a mark's rent of the

pleas and perquisites of the hundred and court of Killord and Balyderawyn', as well as other rents. The advowson of the church of Kilworth belonged to the castle (CIPM X, 152-3). David's daughter, Elizabeth, held the manor of Ballyderown up to her death in 1365 (CIPM XII, 90). Ballyderown appears to have remained in Condon hands

throughout the middle ages because it was forfeited along with other possessions following Patrick Condon's participation in the Desmond rebellion in the later 16th century. It then became a residence of the Fleetwood family who retained it until the late 17th century when it came into the possession of a Stephen Moore of Clonmel. His grandson was

elevated to the peerage with the title Baron Kilworth of Moore Park and later became Viscount Mountcashell (Bewley 1908). It remained Mountcashell property possibly until

early this century when it came into the ownership of a succession of people. Over thirty years ago the Agricultural Institute of Ballyderown Farm (part of the Moore Park

Institute) was established and in the conversion of the site to its new function some demolition and clearance work was carried out around the main structure of the castle, which itself was partly damaged.

102 Palmerstown Drive, Dublin 20.

JRSAI Vol. 114 (1984): 48-56.



ANGLO-NORMAN CASTLE AT BALLYDEROWN 49

Feet I 0-100 u7 J100-200 | !l II x! 2 00- 300 lp!S300 +

Fig 13 The location and topographical setting of Ballyderown Castle (BC); F? Fermoy; G

? Glanworth; K ?-

Kilworth.

The castle has never been fully described. Only one photograph has been published (Waters 1917. opp. 34), and it shows the castle much as it is today, although with a shed

built against the west wall. Power (1932. 92) published a brief description which is quite inaccurate: "the ruined keep is a square (about 50ft. to the side) in plan, and has immense roundheaded windows in the basement apartment".

The surviving building is of two periods: a rectangular block which belongs on architectural grounds to the Anglo-Norman period, and a small projecting turret which is

probably of late medieval date. These two components will be described separately. The floor plans are given in Fig 14.

The Anglo-Norman Building (Fig 15a) This building is 18.7m long and 12.8m wide. It survives to three storeys and a maximum

height of about 12m. It is constructed of largely uncoursed limestone with a rubble infill.

Many, if not all, the main openings ? doors and windows ? were embellished with softer,

moulded stones, the more accessible of which have been robbed. Only the material of the chamfered quoins (Fig 15b) has been examined closely and has been identified by Dr J. S. Jackson as a medium grained arkosic sandstone of local origin which is superficially similar to oolitic limestone in its chalkv white appearance.



50 TADHG O'KEEFFE

On the exterior of the castle the line of a substantial base batter may be traced. Its height was apparently lowest (1.25-1.5m) and its projection slightest (0.6m?) on the west side. The feature increased in size towards the east as the ground on which the building stands

slopes gently downwards to the edge of the terrace: on the south and north walls the line of the base batter survives to heights of 2m and 2.25m respectively, and its former projection

may be estimated at lm on the north wall and perhaps as much as 1.5m on the south. On the east wall the base batter was 3.5m high and probably projected for 1.5m.

The ground floor was lit by two slits or loops set in slightly splaying embrasures in the west wall. Externally, the loops cut through and rose above the level of the base batter. One of the embrasures has segmental vaulting and retains clear traces of longtitudinal plank centering, while the other has a very bluntly pointed segmental arch. A largely destroyed opening on the east wall is recalled locally as having been an entrance (Fig 17). The surviving wall facing here is about 0.75m off present ground level; beneath this was solid masonry. The facing rises 1.75m before reaching what appears to be the springing line of an arch or vault, indicated by two obliquely-set slabs. The asymmetrical position of this feature relative to the two openings on the opposite wall, and the fact that it did not extend

straight down to ground level, would suggest that this was not a window embrasure.

However, a main entrance in the south wall immediately adjacent to the long east wall would be more typical. Apart from having the mural stairs rise to the left on entering, this

arrangement would also have accommodated a mural chapel above, as at Grenan, county Kilkenny (Waterman 1968). Besides, with an entrance in the east wall, one would have had to turn at a right angle in the south-east corner before or in the ascent of the stairs, a

layout for which the writer knows of no Irish parallels. Either of these two possible entrance positions would have given access to the ground floor. The building may, alternatively, have been entered at first floor level in the destroyed part of the east wall.

The first floor was reached by a mural stairway with a round-vaulted roof in the south wall. At the top of the stairs is a small and narrow mural lobby lit by a plain rectangular loop. The first floor room was reached by a round-arched doorway (Fig 16a) the moulded stonework of which is missing, set in a splaying, plank-centred embrasure, and leading off the lobby. The room was lit by at least four massive windows set in splaying embrasures.

The two windows in the west wall were altered at some stage of the castle's history. One of the pair (Fig 16b) has some of the light-coloured limestone blocks of its internal jambs in situ. The other embrasure on the wall is narrower and fairly straight-sided. The two round-headed windows on the north wall are well preserved (Fig 17). The more complete of the two retains some of its chamfered jamb-stones (inaccessible but possible of arkosic

sandstone) and some roll-moulded stonework on its arch; above this moulding and in each case part of the same block, was a projecting hood of plain rectangular section, a small part of which survives (Fig 15c). It is clear from what survives in this window that the width of the opening across the impost and jambs was narrower than that across the springing line

of the arch, suggesting that the upper part of the window was a fanlight. It is possible that a latrine serving this first floor room was located beyond the mural

lobby in the south wall and was later removed to accommodate the turret. A possible fireplace of very plain character might be suggested for one of the two sloping, flat settings of stone at different levels in the internal south wall (a and b, Fig 14). A vertical cavity higher up in the thickness of the south wall might be interpreted as a flue but is very narrow.

The first floor may have been vaulted over; some gradually projecting stones survive on the south wall and a joist socket in the north wall between the two window arches (Fig 17)




might represent former constructional timber work. A vault here could not have been very

high if it spanned the internal width of the castle. It is more likely that these projecting stones and the setback in the wall thickness above simply provided firm support for a

timber floor. The walling above the setback is probably an original component of the

Anglo-Norman building as the chamfered quoins continue upwards, apparently in primary position, into its external corners (Fig 15a, b). The course of masonry which marks second floor level on the exterior of the building (Fig 15a) might be interpreted as evidence that all the walls were built to this height before the upper storey was begun. That this walling represents a distinct storey rather than the roof level of the castle is indicated by its height, the existence of a splaying window and the absence of any indication of the roofing technique or of merlons. In the south wall of the building at this level is a vaulted mural

passage lit by at least one window. Although connected to the top chamber in the later

turret, it might belong to the primary structure.

The Turret

Projecting for 2.5m southwards from the long west wall of the Anglo-Norman building is a turret 3.2m wide (Fig 14). It is four storeys in height. A later date for this structure is

indicated, firstly by the preservation of the original base batter in its east and west walls, and secondly, by the absence of chamfered sandstone quoins like those on the two

surviving Anglo-Norman period corners.

The basal storey, corresponding with the ground floor of the castle, is of solid masonry

penetrated by two latrine chutes and outlets. The second storey chamber was reached

through the mural lobby. This, and the third storey chamber above, correspond with main first floor level. The latter chamber has only one window and no entrance; it must have been entered through a trap-door from above or by ladder from below. The top storey of the turret is vaulted over. It is liberally provided with plain windows (three, possibly four) and had a double latrine at the south wall end. A plain doorway gave access to the vaulted

mural passage in the south wall of the Anglo-Norman building.

Function, Comparisons and Chronology A full assessment of the architecture and chronology of Ballyderown Castle is very

difficult for two reasons: firstly, there is a dearth of published studies of comparable buildings in Ireland, and secondly, the architectural details and planned designs of Anglo

Norman military and domestic structures in Ireland have not yet received close attention.

Although all the outworks have apparently been destroyed, the principal building of the

original castle of Ballyderown is that surviving today. It was isolated or free-standing within its defences. The structure was of three storeys, the second storey (or first floor) probably being the great hall, the castle's social and administrative nucleus. Below it, the

ground floor was probably the guard-room. The thinly walled apartment above the hall

might be considered the main private chamber of the castle, although there is now no evidence for a fireplace or an original latrine. This internal arrangement suggests that

Ballyderown may be described as a keep with both military and domestic functions rather than simply a hall like that at Greencastle, county Down (McNeill 1980,24).

From published measurements, the Ballyderown keep is only smaller in ground area than the main structures at Trim, Maynooth, Carrickfergus and Grenan, making it one of the largest examples of a keep (or hall) in Ireland. The keep geographically closest is in

Glanworth, 9km to the west (Fig 13). Measuring less than 11m by 9m externally (Waterman 1968,72), it is considerably smaller than Ballyderown. Grenan Castle, county



52 TADHG O'KEEFFE

Kilkenny, is the closest published comparison for Ballyderown. It is very slightly larger than the Cork castle and also has chamfered quoins (although of imported stone), but is different in that its first floor may have been cross-partitioned into a hall and smaller

private chamber (Waterman 1968, Fig 1). The problem of the chronology of Anglo-Norman keeps is a major one. Not all early

stone castles possessed keeps, and where they do occur they do not necessarily belong to the earliest building phase; Dundrum Castle, county Down (McNeill 1980, 7-9) is an

example. Nevertheless, the main period of their construction appears to be the first half of the 13th century. Only one keep, Carrickfergus, county Antrim (McNeill 1981, 42) has been dated to the late 12th century, but is is very likely that many more were begun, some

perhaps even completed, by about 1200: in eastern Ireland, the phase of motte construction (c. 1170 to c. 1210) apparently did not preclude the building of stone castles

with keeps, while in Munster, where an early Anglo-Norman presence is historically attested but few early earthwork fortifications are known, stone castle and keep construction probably started at an equally early date. In Connacht, particularly in

Galway, a small group of keeps (some perhaps halls) can be dated on historical grounds to the second quarter of the 13th century. The keep probably went out of fashion in Ireland about 1250: one of the latest known examples is Seafin, county Down (ASNI, 219-20).

One feature at Ballyderown which may be a chronological indicator is the roll-moulding above one of the first floor windows (Fig 15c). Leask dated to c. 1200 more eleborate

roll-mouldings in the hall at Adare (1951, 35), while a fragment at Greencastle (ASNI, 215) probably dates to between 1227 and 1242, the main period of construction at the castle

according to McNeill (1980, 23). The Ballyderown roll-moulding embellishes a Norman

Romanesque arch. Stalley (1984, 68-9) has pointed out the dominance of Romanesque over early Gothic in Ireland between 1170 and 1200. On this basis it might be argued that the several extant round-arched or Romanesque openings at Ballyderown indicate a date for the castle in the late 12th or very early 13th century. However, in the sphere of military architecture, the Romanesque tradition which is represented mainly by windows and

doorways and their carved stonework may have lingered on past the advent in Ireland of Gothic in its ecclesiastical context. Nevertheless, a date between c. 1190 and c. 1220 may be cautiously advanced for the Ballyderown keep.

Acknowledgements

My thanks to Dr J. S. Jackson, formerly of the National Museum of Ireland, for

examining a sample of the quoin stonework, and the Cotter family for their hospitality during my stay in Cork.

References ASNI1966. An Archaeological Survey of Co. Down, ed. E. M. Jope. Belfast.

BEWLEY, E. T. 1908. The Fleetwoods of the County Cork, JRSAI2$ (1908), 103-25. CIPM 1973. Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem. Reprint Nendeln/Liechenstein. CJRI1956. Calendar of Justiciary Rolls, Ireland, vol. Ill 1308-14, ed. M. C. Griffith.

LEASK, H. G. 1951. Irish Castles and Castellated Houses. Dundalk.

McNEILL, T. E. 1980. Anglo-Norman Ulster. Edinburgh. -1981. Carrickfergus Castle. Northern Ireland Archaeological Monographs: No. 1, Belfast.

POWER, P. ed. 1932. Crichadan Chaoilli. Cork. ST ALLEY, R. A. 1984. Irish Gothic and English fashion, in The English in Medieval Ireland, ed. J. F. Lydon.

Dublin.

WATERMAN, D. M. 1968. Rectangular keeps of the thirteenth century at Grenan (Kilkenny) and Glanworth

(Cork), JRSAI9S (1968), 67-73. WATERS, E. W. 1917. The Castles of North-East Cork, JCHAS 23 (1917), 30-35.




_._.?i r ~ - * * "__^.__^.^_ !

BALLYDEROWN CASTLE i H^^^^^^^H I

^ ?..._.-} ^^^^^H j

A??l? W^rmanM!! lot* m*Hl.u?l7 I l^^l GROUND FLOOR Anglo Normanfe^xx

late meaievair ; i^^^h

i;i;; modern jexx unknown date ! ̂ j |

o 10 \v w&M. i-1-1-1-1?i?i-1_I_i_i \?t^ i^84jg|Jg?) m '\ -.j

^H FIRST FLOOR H SECOND FLOOR

Fig 14 Floor plans of Ballyderown Castle.



54 TADHG O'KEEFFE

^^^^^Sl^msS^^^^ffSSjSS^^H^fs^i^^^^i^ ^^'^^ ^M^MM-ii X-i. .^X

Fig 15 (a) Ballyderown Castle from the north-west; (b) chamfered quoins on upper north-east corner; (c) roll-moulding and chamfered jambs on north wall window.



liPiiiillK

Fig 16 (a) Internal south-west corner showing entrance into first floor level and second floor mural passage;

(b) interior of window in west wall.

> o 1 n > i DO ? o



56 TADHG O'KEEFFE

Fig 17 Interior north wall showing first floor window embrasures; wall facing of possible original entrance in right foreground.



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