Glanworth Castle (in Ruins) — Boherash

In rich limestone pasture land, on a promontory overlooking the River Funshion and Glanworth Bridge (CO027-042003-). This castle has natural defences on two sides, a sheer cliff to the E and a steep slope to the S, while the ground rises gently to the N and W. The castle was originally built in the 13th century, possibly on an earlier site associated with the Eoganacht Glennamnach, the pre-Norman dynasty ruling the territory around Glanworth (Manning 2009, 1), though no clear evidence for early-medieval activity was found during the excavation of the castle (Ibid., 136). The castle perimeter is defined by a roughly four-sided walled enclosure with small towers at each corner, three circular and one square (see plan in Manning ibid., 13). Near the SE corner of the enclosure is a 13th-century hall-keep of two storeys and an attic (ext. 13.2m N-W; 11.4m E-W, including the base batter; T 2.25m at the base; int. 8.8m N-S; 6.8m E-W). The original entrance is at 1st-floor level in the N wall. Large beam holes for the original 1st floor are visible; these were later replaced with a double barrel vault partly supported by a N-S wall. The only original openings in the ground floor were three arrow loops. At 1st-floor level are two narrow windows, in the E and W walls, built of undressed stones. Also at this level is a garderobe entered through a doorway at the S end of the W wall. The attic floor, above the main chamber, has one loop-like window in the middle of the N wall. Remains of a parapet wall (c. 0.8m) survive at the S and N ends of the keep. Excavation in 1982-84 (Manning 2009; see plans, 137) established four main phases of construction, and revealed a complicated range of buildings on the W side of the castle (see plan in ibid., 31). The earliest building was a 13th-century rectangular gatehouse (ext. L 15m; Wth 8.8m) with chambers at each side of a roughly central gate passage. The gatehouse was built at the same time as the original curtain walls, which were bonded to its N and S walls. The room to the S of the gate passage (L6m; Wth 3.2m) was vaulted above the 1st floor. The only opening in the ground floor is a doorway in the E wall. Above the vault, at 2nd-floor level, is part of a blocked-up doorway which would have given access onto the wall-walk of the curtain wall. The area to the N of the passage consists in two tiny vaulted prisons with trapdoor entrances in their vaults. Plank-centering is visible underneath each vault (W vault: 3.67m N-S; 2.61m E-W; H 1.64m to 1.92m; E vault: 3.65m N-S; 2.43 E-W; H 1.4m to 1.7m). The room above the vaults (L 6.1m; Wth 3.6m), had originally two openings in the E wall, the one to the S probably the doorway. A Sheela-na-gig was found in the western vaulted prison during excavation, and it appeared to have deliberately hidden away here in or before the 17th century (Ibid., 91-3; Manning 1987). In a second phase of building, the gate passage was blocked at each end and the building extended northwards, forming the new NW corner of the castle. A new entrance gateway was opened in the curtain wall immediately S of the gatehouse. The northern extension created two new spaces, a room to the E and a narrow passage to the W (L 8.3m; Wth 1.5m max), with a connecting doorway between the two and a stairway rising from it within the dividing wall, which was itself built in place on the original curtain wall there. The eastern room (L 8.4m; Wth 3m) had a doorway to the S end of the E wall, and a loop or window to the N end of it. A third phase of building, dating from the 15th century, saw the building heightened and a new battered face added to encase the earlier work, though this was not completed (Ibid., 38). In addition, a garderobe turret was added near the SW corner, which survives to full height, a testament to the quality of the masonry and mortar used. The turret chamber, at 1st-floor level (L 3.2m; Wth 1.7m), was accessed through a doorway in the now missing E wall, and had one tiny opening for light. The 2nd floor was comprised of a narrow vaulted chamber (L 3.1m; Wth 1.15m) with a double garderobe, and another small vaulted room (Wth 1.8m). The garderobe chamber had 3 slit openings, and the chutes (L 0.7m; Wth 0.3m) were placed side by side against the W wall. Above were two more storeys, with ogee-headed windows in the three remaining walls, and finally the parapet (wall T 0.35m). During the same phase, new sections of curtain wall were built on the W and S sides. The new W curtain wall extended further W than the original, and included the construction of a small circular tower at the N end and a square one at the S end. Circular corner towers were also added to the SE and NE corners of the castle at this stage and a new main entrance gateway opened in the N curtain wall. Beneath the phase-3 W curtain wall, near its S end, an earlier E-W wall was found running towards the SW corner of the original castle. This may have been part of a town wall, or the wall of an outer bailey. Remains of a long building extending along the cliff top to the E (L 40m; Wth 8.5m), with large openings overlooking the river and a circular tower at its SE corner, may be a later medieval hall altered in the 16th and 17th centuries (see plan ibid., 13), though ‘its position in the building history of the castle is difficult to establish’ (Ibid., 14). A possible earlier hall (L 34m E-W; 10m N-S), was identified in the NE of the castle, with the curtain wall as its N wall, and its chamber block projecting towards the edge of the cliff to the E. Minor additions were made to the castle in the late 16th and 17th centuries, including a kitchen in the NW corner and a bakehouse, with a large bread oven, in the SW corner. The floor of the bread oven was paved with old querns or millstones (see photograph Mould 1991, 152) made of sandstone, chosen to withstand the great heat created. Occupation of the castle continued into the 18th century, and by the 19th century, it had become a ruin and was quarried for stone. This is a National Monument in State Ownership (no. 558) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 4: North Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2000), and the published report on the excavations carried out in 1982-84: Con Manning, ‘The History and Archaeology of Glanworth Castle, Co. Cork: Excavations 1982-4’ (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2009). Photographs attached CO027-042001-_01: aerial view of castle from SE. CO027-042001-_02: View of exterior of enclosure from SE. CO027-042001-_03: Exterior of castle from NW. CO027-042001-_04: View of hall-house from SE. CO027-042001-_05: View of the 15th-century garderobe tower, from SW. CO027-042001-_06: View of excavated buildings, from E. CO027-042001-_07: View of excavated gatehouse and garderobe, from SE. CO027-042001-_08: Plan of the castle showing the main building phases (Manning 2009, 13). CO027-042001-_09: Ground and 1s-t floor plans of the hall-keep (Manning 2009, 15). CO027-042001-_10: Plans showing the development of the castle from phases 1 to 4 (Manning 2009, 137). CO027-042001-_11: Ground and 1st-floor plans of the W range of buildings (Manning 2009, 31). CO027-042001-_12: Sheela-na-gig (Manning 2009, 31). Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009 Date of last revision: 29 June 2023