Eadie, G. 2015 'Identifying functions in castles: a study of tower houses in Ireland', in Oram R. (ed) 'A house such as thieves might knock at'..... Donington: Shaun Tyas. 2-18 (original) (raw)

The Tower-house in Ireland: Origins, Dating & Function

Irish tower-houses, which are typically dated between c.1400 and c.1600 , are amongst the most common of upstanding archaeological monuments in Ireland, yet many points of contention persist amongst scholars as to their origin, date and function. One particular definition describes the tower-house as ‘a compact fortified house in which the hall is raised above the ground with one or more storeys above it’ . On a considerably smaller scale than the large curtain-walled castles of the thirteenth century, the tower-house was to provide the typical abode of the Gaelic and Anglo-Irish gentry of the fifteenth and sixteenth century . In construction the tower-house, in its simplest guise, was rectangular in plan and was up to six storeys in height with various defensive features including a vaulted roof over the ground floor, which was to theoretically guard against fire spreading to the upper reaches of castle. The ground floor was typically used for storing supplies and was often the first line of defence should the main door be breached, while the second storey provided the main hall, with the remaining storeys usually consisting of the private quarters. For further protection murder-holes were often present between the ground and first floors. The tower-house was sometimes protected by a walled-courtyard (Figs. 2 and 3), though this latter feature does not appear to have been universally constructed of stone and does not often survive into modern times. The study of bawn walls is very limited, as very little archaeological excavation has taken place outside of tower-houses. Significantly, the Civil Survey of the 1650’s mentions bawn walls at only 20% of the towers it lists . Although often regarded, not as true castles but rather as mere fortified houses, the type also includes examples on a very large scale such as those great tower-houses found in Counties Limerick, Clare, Galway and Cork . However, as Colm Donnelly points out, the term ‘tower-house’ is itself of nineteenth century origin and that contemporary historical sources regard these structures simply as ‘castles’ Although the subjects of demographic ethnicity and typology by regional distribution are touched upon in places, they are not specifically treated in this study.

AN EXAMINATION OF THE ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES OF TOWER HOUSES IN THE GOWRAN BARONY

Old Kilkenny Review, 2018

In their simplest form tower houses can be described as self-contained buildings, generally rectilinear in plan, extending to four or five storeys, with a battered base. Tower houses have distinct features, such as machicolations, garderobes and crenellated parapets. Despite sharing an assemblage of features no two tower houses replicate each other. Yet some researchers maintain that some tower houses are more similar than others, and often local traditions in tower house construction can be identified. This study seeks to investigate this claim with regards the tower houses in the barony of Gowran, Co. Kilkenny, and determines if a distinct typology can be discerned. The study is based on both fieldwork, where feasible, and archival research.

The Courtyard and The Tower: Contexts and Symbols in the Development of Late Medieval Great Houses

Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 1993

The final two centuries of the Middle Ages are conventionally considered a period in which castles and castle-building were in decline. 'The Decline of the Castle'and 'Decline 3 are the titles of chapters dealing with this period in books written by Allen Brown. 1 In each case the contrast with what went before is strongly emphasised: the previous chapters are named 'The Perfected Castle 3 and 'Apogee 3. 2 In the same vein, these final centuries after c. 1300 have been described as 'the period of decline in use but survival in fantasy 3 in a recent authoritative account, significantly entitled The Decline of the Castle. 3 Our view of this period is different. We consider that the castles of the later Middle Ages show a steady development, not a decline, and the main elements of that development can already be traced in buildings of the'Golden Age 3. 4 OUR THEMES, the symbols of the courtyard and the tower, are visible in the arrangements of 1283 at Caernarvon. 5 The King's Gate of this castle was a novel and complex affair placed to divide the interior of the castle into two halves. The entrance passageway beyond the central polygonal chamber directed traffic at right angles westwards into a lower courtyard. 6 This contained the principal hall and its services, and a series of accommodation lodges in mural towers. All this is a conventional arrangement: what is much odder is that this lower courtyard contained also the visual focus of the castle, the Eagle Tower, emphasised particularly from the outside by its greater size and by its termination in a triple crown of turrets, originally given additional importance by the placing of sculptures of eagles on its battlements. The purpose of this striking design is a strong statement of the fulfilment of the Dream of Macsen Wledig in the person of Edward I and his son, a statement whose propaganda must have been obvious to the defeated Welsh aristocrats. The symbolism of all this has been examined by Dr Arnold Taylor, 7 who further identified the Eagle Tower as the intended residence of the king's Justiciar of Wales and first constable of the castle, Edward's loyal supporter Otto de Grandson, and his conclusions seem now to be accepted. However, what has not been explained is why this significant element of the symbolism of the castle was placed in the lower ward, and not (where one might expect) in the inner bailey. While the Justiciar was provided for in the Eagle Tower, accommodation for the constable or his military deputy was arranged around the hall on the top floor of the King's Gate. 8 The two royal officials-keeper of Caernarvon and viceroy of the principality-were thus catered for at the main entrance and in the lower courtyard. The third household, to be accommodated in the unfinished ranges in the upper ward, must thus be that of the king himself. The arrangement closely resembles the bipartite design of Conway. 9 Here the hall and lodgings occupy the lower courtyard entered from the town, while the more remote eastern bailey formed a tiny courtyard house for the king and queen, with an external gate to the waterside similar to the placing of the Queen's Gate at Caernarvon. The additional element in this comparison is the placing of the Eagle Tower in the lower bailey at Caernarvon.

Tower Houses in the Netherlands

The common perception of the tower house in the Netherlands has until recently been associated with the reconstructed castle of Lunenburg, or with a drawing of five tower houses in the southeast of the province of Utrecht as they might have looked like in theMiddle Ages: a square tower of about 10 × 10 metres in plan with a height of about 12 metres. Lunenburg castle is one of that five. The drawing suggests that there are just five tower houses in that area and that they all look alike. First of all, there are more than 35 tower houses in that area and they do not all look alike. Furthermore, they are not representative of the tower house in The Netherlands more generally. This paper offers a report on the investigation of these – and other – tower houses in the past 10 years.