Audley's Castle

Downpatrick, United Kingdom

Audley's Castle is a three-storey tower house named after its 16th century owner, John Audley.

There are thousands of small stone towers similar to Audley's Castle in the Irish countryside. They are one of the commonest of archaeological sites, which indicates these were not buildings put up for the higher aristocracy, but for lesser lords and gentry. Most were built in the late Middle Ages (roughly 1350–1550). Audley's was built towards the end of this period.

There is very little historical information about the buildings in the small courtyard around Audley's. Only a minority of towers had courtyard walls at all, and their buildings were clearly less important than the tower. The towers in different parts of the country vary, with distinct regional patterns. Audley's with its two turrets linked by an arch is one of a type found in County Down only.

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Address

Park Road 4, Downpatrick, United Kingdom
See all sites in Downpatrick

Details

Founded: 15th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in United Kingdom

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Portaferry Castle (1,5 km)
Strangford Castle (1,3 km)
Castle Ward (1,4 km)
Killyleagh Castle (5,9 km)
Kilclief Castle (5,2 km)
Audleystown Court Cairn (1,6 km)
Quintin Castle (5,4 km)


Belfast City Hall (33,4 km)
St. Anne's Cathedral (33,9 km)
Albert Memorial Clock (33,5 km)
Grand Opera House (33,5 km)
Carrickfergus Castle (40,1 km)
Ulster Museum (32,5 km)
Belfast Castle (37,8 km)
Botanic Gardens of Belfast (32,3 km)
Parliament Building of Belfast (30,2 km)

User Reviews

Jason Conradt (2 years ago)
Another cool stop on the GoT tour. Lovely views too bad you can't go into the castle .
Kathy Ward (2 years ago)
Great historic site,part of a fantastic walk. There are fabulous views of Strangford Lough. Great spot for a photo opportunity.
Jarrett Momberger (2 years ago)
Very pleasent and peaceful, has a great view
Matt Janaway (3 years ago)
My partner and I absolutely loved this place. We visited during a Game of Thrones tour and the views were spectacular. I highly recommend visiting. If you can, go with a tour guide. We were lucky enough to have an extra in the show as our guide, which made it extra special.
Chris Wilson (3 years ago)
A big old castle with a fantastic view. Whilst not readily accessible, requires walking through a field, it offers some truly spectacular views of the local countryside. Whilst not able to ourselves, we did hear that you are able to get into the castle during Summer afternoons.
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Historic Site of the week

Glimmingehus

Glimmingehus, is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499-1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denmark, and contains many defensive arrangements of the era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, moats, drawbridges and various other forms of death traps to surprise trespassers and protect the nobles against peasant uprisings. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters (94 inches) thick and the upper part 1.8 meters (71 inches).

Construction was started in 1499 by the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand and stone-cutter-mason and architect Adam van Düren, a North German master who also worked on Lund Cathedral. Construction was completed in 1506.

Ulfstand was a councillor, nobleman and admiral serving under John I of Denmark and many objects have been uncovered during archeological excavations that demonstrate the extravagant lifestyle of the knight's family at Glimmingehus up until Ulfstand's death in 1523. Some of the most expensive objects for sale in Europe during this period, such as Venetian glass, painted glass from the Rhine district and Spanish ceramics have been found here. Evidence of the family's wealth can also be seen inside the stone fortress, where everyday comforts for the knight's family included hot air channels in the walls and bench seats in the window recesses. Although considered comfortable for its period, it has also been argued that Glimmingehus was an expression of "Knighthood nostalgia" and not considered opulent or progressive enough even to the knight's contemporaries and especially not to later generations of the Scanian nobility. Glimmingehus is thought to have served as a residential castle for only a few generations before being transformed into a storage facility for grain.

An order from Charles XI to the administrators of the Swedish dominion of Scania in 1676 to demolish the castle, in order to ensure that it would not fall into the hands of the Danish king during the Scanian War, could not be executed. A first attempt, in which 20 Scanian farmers were ordered to assist, proved unsuccessful. An additional force of 130 men were sent to Glimmingehus to execute the order in a second attempt. However, before they could carry out the order, a Danish-Dutch naval division arrived in Ystad, and the Swedes had to abandon the demolition attempts. Throughout the 18th century the castle was used as deposit for agricultural produce and in 1924 it was donated to the Swedish state. Today it is administered by the Swedish National Heritage Board.

On site there is a museum, medieval kitchen, shop and restaurant and coffee house. During summer time there are several guided tours daily. In local folklore, the castle is described as haunted by multiple ghosts and the tradition of storytelling inspired by the castle is continued in the summer events at the castle called "Strange stories and terrifying tales".

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