House – 16th/17th century at Donegal, Co. Donegal (DG093-013007)

Zone of notification 20.52 ha

A zone of notification is the area around a recorded monument where the council normally refers a planning application to the National Monuments Service, which can ask for an archaeological assessment or conditions before permission is granted. Recorded monuments and planning permission: the guide.

The record DG093-013007

SMR number

DG093-013007

Class

House – 16th/17th century

Townland

Donegal, Co. Donegal

National record

National Monuments Service record for DG093-013007

Donegal Castle: Hugh Roe O'Donnell, who died in 1505, is credited with having first erected a castle at Donegal (AFM 1505). The 'old castle' and a 'new tower' at Donegal are mentioned in a domestic conflict of 1564 (AFM 1564); the nature of this tower is uncertain. Two years later, the Lord Deputy, Sir Henry Sidney, described the castle as 'one of the greatest that ever I saw in Ireland in any Irishman's lands, and would appear in good keeping one of the fairest. . .' (Caulfield 1870-1, 22). Though burned in 1589, and partly demolished, possibly in 1595, to prevent it being garrisoned by English forces (CSPI 1588-92, 123; O'Rahilly 1927, 208), it must, soon after, have been repaired; it fell into the possession of the English in 1601 (Murphy Ed., 1895, 261, 281, 291). Whether or not it was subsequently repaired by Rory O'Donnell is unknown. Captain Basil Brooke, knighted in 1616, received a grant of the castle in 1611, had it renewed in 1620 and made permanent in 1623 (Hill 1877, 324; Petrie 1840, 186). He is described in 1611 as having 'a fair bawn built with flankers' within which was 'a strong house of stone' (Hill 1877, 514). The Coats of Arms on the over-mantel of the fireplace confirm that it was he who converted the whole, with the addition of a gabled wing, into a Jacobean manor-house. During the 1641 rebellion it was held by Sir Basil's heir, Henry Brooke, though Clanrickarde took it for a short period in 1651. Henry Brooke subsequently resided there (de Breffny and ffolliott 1975, 44-5). It fell to decay in the 18th century and was placed in the guardianship of the Office of Public Works in 1898 (Leask 1932, 12). It is now a National Monument (no. 174). For the purposes of clarity and to aid the description, the manor-house is taken as attached to the W wall of the keep. The remains consist of a much altered tower-house (DG093-013001-) and adjoining early 17th century manor-house (DG093-013007-) at the NE end of a bawn (DG093-013006-). They are protected by the River Eske on the N and E. Two distinct building periods are evident. The Brooke manor-house (DG093-013007-) is essentially a three storey T-shaped addition of five gabled bays, having a wide shaft and small arms adjoining the keep. Some skew-corbels and coping remain on the gables. It is markedly less defensive than the altered keep, in having mullioned windows of many lights at ground-floor level. Only the shell of the manor-house remains. There are two entrances in the ground floor; both are older work than the 17th century manor and might well have been taken from the nearby Franciscan Friary (DG093-013002-). The short S arm adjoining the keep may have housed the staircase and the entrance door has chamfered jambs and a round head. The door to the W is of two orders and has multi-moulded stop-chamfered jambs and a pointed head; beside it on the W, a jamb and sill of a single-light window have been incorporated in the wall fabric. The blocked-up opening in the W gable probably indicates the position of a window. There is a large kitchen fireplace with adjoining oven in the N wall. The W wall of the N arm of the house has a chamfered two-fight ogee-headed window; the mullion is missing and the jambs and sills are 17th century in date. The heads are earlier and may also have been removed from the Friary. The upper storeys of this arm each contains a small room; that on the second floor has a small fireplace in the N gable. The main entrance to the manor-house is at first-floor level in the S wall, the steps to which have entirely disappeared. The architrave of the round-headed doorway is carved with a strapwork pattern. To the W of the door is a single-light window, on the E a four-light transomed window and opposite the latter a large fireplace with tudor-arch in the N wall; this was undoubtedly the main entrance hall. There is another fireplace in the N wall to the W and a similar example in the W gable; these indicate the position of two other rooms on this floor. The second floor had a five-gable frontage each with a two-light window. The entrance to the first floor of the keep was from this level. W of the manor-house are the NW fragmentary remains of a building with battered lower courses incorporating a blocked-up discharge shaft. The masonry and construction are very similar to that in the O'Donnell keep and they are possibly coeval. Some lengths of the bawn wall with splayed loops survive on the E, S and W, which together with the SW gatehouse-tower are probably not earlier than the 17th century. The other sections of enclosing wall, particularly on the W and S, probably stand on original foundations. The two-storey gate-tower has a bartizan above the SE corner. The present external entrance is possibly modern, the original access being from the parapet walk on the E where there is a pointed doorway; it is fitted with numerous loops. The above description was derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century.' Compiled by: Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated. Between 30 April and 27 November 2002 a number of narrow trenches were archaeologically excavated (02E0496) in advance of the laying of service pipes and cables. Two trenches were excavated within the 17th-century manor house (DG093-013007-). Roof slates were found which may be from the original roof of the manor house, and a yellow clay layer, which may represent the original floor level or a working level when the manor house was being built. A trench excavated along the E side and SW corner of the manor house produced 17th-century pottery and the bowl of a 17th-century clay pipe, and another trench which extended close to the walls of the tower-house (DG093-013001-) and the E end of the manor house at its eastern end, also produced 17th-century pottery. Evidence for an early medieval burial ground (DG093-013008-), which had been disturbed during the construction of the castle, was found in the area to NW of the tower house on sloping ground that runs down to the River Eske. (Moore 2004, No 0416). Date of upload: 22 September 2008

Other records in the same zone

• DG093-013 Historic town · DONEGAL,GLEBE (Donegal ED)
• DG093-013001 Castle – tower house · Donegal
• DG093-013002 Religious house – Franciscan friars · GLEBE (Donegal ED)
• DG093-013003 Church · GLEBE (Donegal ED)
• DG093-013005 Graveyard · GLEBE (Donegal ED)
• DG093-013006 Bawn · Donegal
• DG093-013008 Burial ground · Donegal
• DG093-013009 Bridge · DONEGAL,DRUMCLIFF,MULLANS (Donegal ED)

Buildings of Ireland (NIAH) within 100 m

• 40843010 Donegal Courthouse · Regional rating · 45 m
• 40843008 Tyrconnell Bridge · Regional rating · 59 m
• 40843009 Donegal Church · Regional rating · 70 m
• 40843011 Eske Bridge · Regional rating · 70 m
• 40843005 Donegal Methodist Church · Regional rating · 85 m
• 40843006 Ancient Donegal Masonic Hall No. 588 · Regional rating · 87 m
• 40843013 outbuilding · Regional rating · 95 m
• 40843014 store/warehouse · Regional rating · 99 m