School: Baile na hEaglaise (Chapeltown)

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1. Fenit Castle (continued)

   

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   The castle a squarely built, standing on the verge of the sea about half a mile inside the mouth of the inlet to Chapeltown strand. The corners are all built of cut stone and the windows are V shaped in the interior and built also of cut stone. There are still three corners standing and the castle is at present 50 feet in height. The walls are about 4 feet thick and a stone stairs leads to the top storey. Only half one arch which upheld the lower floor is still intact. It originally seemed to have had 4 apartments in height as projections in the wall would indicate. It was built of stone of the land on which it stands.
   One corner - the South East - is gone from about 3 feet from the ground - the masonry is still lying where it fell, large pieces of it still intact showing it was well built. Local tradition says it was fired at by Cromwell's guns - but there is no record of this. It was always an English garrison + why should Cromwell attack it. The most likely is that an explosion occurred or it was tried to blow it up as no other part of the Castle is injured save that corner. The explosive must have been placed where the stairs began as three feet of the bottom wall is still standing. The mortar used was lime and sand in the construction.

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. objects
      1. man-made structures
         1. historical and commemorative structures (~6,794)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Mícheál Ó hAinféin

   Gender

   Male

   Occupation

   Múinteoir

   Address

   Tralee, Co. Kerry