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Castle of Anagh is a tower-house, a type of medieval fortification built across Ireland and Scotland from the 13th century onwards. These stone-built structures served as both defensive strongholds and residences for landowners, typically comprising a tall rectangular tower with battlements and narrow windows designed to withstand attack. They became the dominant form of fortification in less densely settled regions where the cost and manpower required for larger castles could not be sustained.
Situated in Derry, Northern Ireland, Castle of Anagh stands on bedrock composed of psammite and pelite of the Southern Highland Group, sedimentary rocks formed during the Middle Cambrian period over 500 million years ago. This ancient geology underpins the landscape of the wider region and would have provided a stable foundation for the tower's construction.
The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Northern Ireland Executive under reference 11851, acknowledging its significance as a surviving example of medieval fortified architecture. Tower-houses of this period represent an important phase in the settlement and defence of the Irish landscape during the medieval and early modern eras.
Castle of anagh. tower-house is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 11851. View the official record →
Castle of Anagh is a tower-house, a type of medieval fortification built across Ireland and Scotland from the 13th century onwards. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 11851.
Castle of anagh. tower-house dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a fortification. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Castle of anagh. tower-house is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Ni. The official designation reference is 11851.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Green island. crannog (0 km), St. columb's stone. inauguration stone (3.5 km), Rath (motte & bailey?) (3.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Castle of anagh. tower-house's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Castle of anagh. tower-house stands on Southern Highland Group, bedrock that formed in the Middle Cambrian. The rock here is psammite and pelite.