Rathcline Castle — Rathcline

This almost square-shaped bawn (int. dims. c. 57m E–W; c. 55m N–S) incorporates a tower house (LF017-009002-) within its E wall and a fortified house (LF017-009003-) in its NE angle. A late 17th-century manuscript plan (NLI, MS 8646 (6)) indicates that the tower house and the fortified house, with another building adjoining the latter to the W, occupied most of the N half of the interior of the bawn. The S half was divided into two roughly equal areas by a N-S running wall. A gateway in this wall was in line with gateways in the E and W walls of the bawn. Another gateway in the S wall was opposite the doorway of the fortified house. A long building, aligned E-W, was built against the internal face of the S wall, to the W of the S gateway and a smaller, narrow building, aligned N-S, was built against the internal face of the W wall, to the N of the W gateway – both of these building were probably outhouses associated with the house. Projecting angle towers, square-shaped in plan, are shown on the NE, SE, SW and NW corners. Access to the NE tower was by means of an external stairs that were built against the N gable of the E wing of the fortified house. Those at SE, SW and NW were accessed from stairs within the bawn. A formal walled garden (LF017-009008-), also with projecting angle towers, adjoined the E side of the bawn and to its E a fish-pond (LF017-009005-). Another trapezoidal-shaped walled area is shown to the S of the bawn and there is an orchard to its SE. A late 18th-century illustration of the fortified house and bawn by Daniel Grose (Stalley 1991, 76) indicates that the bawn walls were crenallated. The ruins of another house (LF017-009009-), built against the external face of the W wall, are shown to the S of the NW angle tower. The bawn, which is fairly well preserved, consists of a rubble-built curtain wall (average H c. 3.5m; T 0.95m). Remains of the gateway in the E wall and the gatehouses in the S and W walls, as well as the four square-shaped angle towers survive. The extant remains indicate that the bawn is of multi-period construction. It may be contemporary with the tower house but it may have been modified when Thomas Dutton built his fortified house in the early 17th century (Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Chas I, 251) - as the lower courses of its N wall are keyed into the NW angle of the E wing of the house. Wall-footings running across the W gateway indicate that it was subsequently inserted into the original bawn wall, probably when the house was remodelled by Sir George Lane c. 1667 (Brown 1784, vol. 3, 227). It was modified again in the late 17th century/18th century when the crenellations shown on the N wall on Groses’s illustration (Stalley 1991, 76) were filled in when the wall was raised to the height of the string course on the first floor of the NW angle of the E wing of the fortified house. The outline of the crenellations is visible on the external wall face where ivy has fallen off the wall. Remains of a possible wall-walk are evident as an offset (H 1.7-2m; D 0.45-1.1m) on the internal face of this wall to the W of the E wing as far as a centrally located, modern gateway. A section of the W wall has collapsed to the N of the W gatehouse. To the S of this gatehouse a blocked-up embrasure (int. Wth 2.24m) is visible. The E gateway is located to the S of the tower house, only its wall-footings are now visible. It was replaced by the present gateway (Wth 2.8m), which is of 18th/19th century date. The S gatehouse (ext. dims. 6.2m E–W; 2.25m N–S) is located near the E end of the S bawn wall. It was two-storeys high and was the main entrance into the bawn in the late 17th century. It consists of a classical style cut-stone round-arched surround (Wth 2.63m; H 3.15m) with a scroll-shaped keystone supporting a moulded entablature flanked on either side by Doric columns, now missing, and decorated jambstones. An armorial plaque (LF017-009007-) bearing the Lane family coat of arms, formerly located above it, dated 1667, is now missing (SMR file). The first floor was accessed from the wall-walk. The gate-passage (L 2.5m; Wth 3.3m) projects into the bawn courtyard. A double row of corbels in the E wall of the passage indicate that it was covered by a stone vault. The first floor is inaccessible and overgrown with ivy. The W gatehouse (ext. dims. 6.2m N–S; 1.85m E–W; Wth of entrance 2.85m) is centrally located in the W wall and projects into the interior; the gate-passage (L 2.45m; Wth 3.55m; H 4.15m) is covered by a stone-vaulted arch. This entrance, which was partially blocked in the 18th or 19th century, consists of a cut-stone round-arched surround with moulded jambstones with a hood-moulding. Unusually the capital of this archway is decorated with dogtooth ornament carved in relief with cable moulding immediately below. This capital does not appear to sit comfortably within the archway; it may be reused from an earlier doorway or window of the tower house. Dogtooth moulding is typically used as a decorative motif in the 13th and 14th centuries (Yarwood 1985, 199), although the heavy nature of the carving of the motif would suggest a possible 15th-century date (pers. comm. Con Manning). The NE angle tower, which is three-storeys high, also functioned as the service tower of the fortified house and it was accessed through broken-out doorways in the NE angle of the E wing of the house, on the ground, first and second floors. On the ground floor narrow slit opes in the S and W walls provided flanking fire along the external face of the E and N walls of the bawn. However, that in the W wall subsequently became redundant when external wooden stairs were built against the N gable of the E wing in order to access a doorway in the NW angle of the tower at first-floor level. The stairs cut across this ope. All the floors were wooden and were carried in the thickness of the wall. The SE angle tower (int. dims. 3.3m E–W; 3.07m N–S; wall T 0.95m), two storeys high, was partially rebuilt in the 18th or 19th century when a two-storey house was built onto its E side. It is accessed through a doorway (Wth 1.15m), facing into the bawn, in its W wall that was also rebuilt in the 18th/19th century as indicated by the segmental arch of cut-stone voussoirs. When the house was built brick-lined fireplaces were inserted into its E wall. New larger windows, replacing the earlier slit opes, were inserted into the N and S walls at first-floor level. Originally the ground floor had two slit opes, possibly gun loops, set into square-headed embrasures (Wth 0.58m; H 0.45m) in the N, E and S walls, with one possible ope in the W wall. One of the slit opes in the E wall has been partially destroyed by the inserted brick fireplace while the ope in the S wall has been replaced by a larger window. The ope in the W wall is now blocked up. The hammer-dressed stone visible in the embrasures of the opening would appear to date from the 16th century, however, this stone may have been reused from an earlier building phase. Narrow vertical joist holes are visible in the N and S walls of the tower 1.9m high above the present ground level. At first-floor level there is a single-light window in the centre of the N wall and an inserted fireplace in the centre of the E wall that feeds a tall chimney stack rising above the walls of the tower. A possible wall niche or blocked-up ope is located to the S of this fireplace. A doorway in the centre of the W wall gives access to an external flight of stairs leading up from the interior of the bawn. These stairs are 18th or 19th century in date and replaced the earlier external stairs shown on the late 17th-century plan ((NLI, MS 8646 (6)). No visible trace of the two-storey house survives. Only the lower walls of the SW angle tower (ext. dims. c. 4.1m N–S; 3.9m E–W; wall T 0.8m) survive, while the NW angle tower (int. dims. 3.3m N-S; 2.95m E-W; wall T 0.9m) stands one-storey high. The W wall has collapsed and the interior