Northern Ireland Sites & Monuments

Carrickfergus Castle

The core of this castle - the inner ward & keep - was built by John de Courcy in the 1180s. The keep is a 4 storey tower, 90ft high, with a 2nd storey entrance.

Following its capture by the crown in 1210, constables were appointed to command the place & in 1217, £100 was assigned to build a new curtain wall, so the approach to the castle promontory could be protected. This middle ward wall was later reduced to ground level in C18th, save along the sea-ward side, where it survives with a postern gate, & the E tower.

Built Heritage maintains the Northern Ireland SMR Sites & Monuments Record for the six counties of Northern Ireland, holding information on approx. 15,000 sites. These range from Mesolithic camp sites, Bronze age landscapes preserved under bog, through the Early Christian monasteries, the castles of the Norman conquest and the defended houses of the Plantation settlers.

Each site is stored individually on the NISMR database, with a unique reference number which ties together all the information on the site. This information includes geographical details, such as grid references and which townland & parish the site is in as well as typological details - what the site is, what time period it belongs to, any known site names etc. and there is a brief description of each site, taken from historical sources and field visits. There is also a list of available references for each site.  

All the sites listed in the NISMR database can be located geographically using the Map Viewer. 


More detailed information, including details of sites, plans and photographs, is also available from the Monuments and Buildings Record held in Waterman House, Belfast.