Portora Castle
54°21′04″N7°39′18″W/ 54.351°N 7.655°W
Portora Castleis a castle inEnniskillen,County Fermanagh,Northern Ireland. The castle was built forSir William Colewho purchased the land in 1612. It is strategically positioned by the narrow exit of theRiver Erneinto theLower Lough Erne.It is a State Care Historic Monument sited in thetownlandof Portora, inFermanagh District Councilarea, at grid ref: H2221 4531.[1]
Features
In 1619 Nicholas Pynnar described the castle as 'a bawn of lime and stone, 2.5m square, approximately 4m high, with four flankers and a stone house or castle three storeys high, strongly wrought'. Three of the flankers remain, the two on the west, flanking the walls of the castle. These round towers, about 3m in diameter, have several gun loops. Inside the castle can be seen proper fireplace chimneys in the north and west walls.
History
Sir Michael Cole and his family moved to Portora Castle in 1710 when their previous residence,Enniskillen Castle,was hit by fire. They remained there until about 1716, when Sir Michael's son, John Cole (1680–1726), started buildingFlorence Court.
The ford at Portora was important in the Erne Waterways and must have seen considerable traffic in peace and war. In the course of theErne Drainage Scheme(1951–1960) a bronze dirk and stone axes were recovered at this point. The castle is now in ruins, partly because a group of truanting school-boys from nearbyPortora Royal School,nowEnniskillen Royal Grammar School,experimenting with gunpowder they learnt how to create in chemistry class, blew up a section in the latter part of the 19th century. They also tried digging under the building which added to its dereliction.
See also
References
- ^"Portora Castle"(PDF).Environment and Heritage Service NI – State Care Historic Monuments.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 22 July 2012.Retrieved3 December2007.
External links
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