What is recorded here

Kinsale’s town wall enclosed a forked-linear street pattern with about fifteen towers and four gates, yet its first charter in 1333-4 already called the walls ruinous. That admission sounds less like failure than a small town telling the truth: its people could barely keep the stone alive. The wall still matters because it shaped the town’s birth, even if most of it has vanished.

Town of Kinsale given 1st charter in 1333-4 which states that 'the walls are ruinous, and the burgesses not able to repair them'; possibly walled from mid-13th century; murage grant to repair walls in 1348 (Thomas 1992,138). Walls probably battlemented with internal rampart, external fosse, c.15 towers; 4 gates and internal gate Upper town, 2 in Base town (Thomas ibid). Damaged during Battle of Kinsale in 1601 (Mulcahy 1968, 17); according to Lewis (1837, vol. 2, 234), town walls largely destroyed during siege of 1690, though subject to some repairs in 18th century (McSwiney 1938, 82-5 & 92-3). Three remaining gates removed by 1805 (Lewis ibid). McSwiney (ibid., 81) traces layout of walls which enclosed what Bradley (1985, 452) describes as 'forked-linear' street pattern. Thomas (ibid) suggests that walling of Base town, which continues linear pattern to SE, may be later, possibly late 16th century. At most, only fragmentary remains of town's defences survive above ground level (McSwiney ibid, 92); according to Thomas (ibid., 137) 'much of N wall survives in reduced form as a field boundary ... no other remains'. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 2: East and South Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1994). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

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