LATE-MED · FORTIFICATION

Tower-house

Down, Northern Ireland
NISMR MonID 8377
Period
LATE-MED
Site type
FORTIFICATION
Nation
Northern Ireland
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)

Overview

History & significance

Tower-house is a late medieval fortification located in County Down, Northern Ireland. These structures, characteristic of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, served as fortified residences for the Anglo-Norman gentry and Irish lords across Ulster and the wider province. The tower-house form typically comprised a compact, multi-storey rectangular or square stone tower designed to provide both domestic accommodation and defensive capability, with defensive features concentrated at the upper levels. Such structures were built in significant numbers during the late medieval period as territorial markers and as practical responses to the unstable political conditions of late medieval Ireland.

Tower-house is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 8377. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Tower-house?

Tower-house is a late medieval fortification located in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 8377.

What period does Tower-house date from?

Tower-house dates from the late-med period, and is classified as a fortification. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Tower-house?

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 8377.

What other scheduled monuments are near Tower-house?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Corbelled pig crew (0.5 km), Raised rath (1.5 km), Clachan (2.4 km).

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