Situated at the foot of Castle Street in the village of Glenarm is an imposing gateway, the entrance to Glenarm Castle.
Up until the 1820’s the bridge at Castle Street was the only crossing point for the Glenarm river. An original bridge at that place had been swept away in a flood in the early 1700’s and the present structure dates from that time. When the new bridge on the coast road was constructed in 1823 the occupiers of the castle built the Barbican and walls separating their demense from the rest of the village.
The inscription on the building reads:
” This gateway was built and the castle restored by Edmund McDonnell Esquire and his wife Anne Katherine, in her own right Countess of Antrim and Viscountess Dunluce A.D. 1825”
Barbican is from an old French word barbacane which is a fortified outpost or gateway for the defence of a city or castle. The Barbican in Glenarm has all the trappings of a defensive structure even if it was an anachronism by the 1820’s. Beside the substantial doors there are the menacing teeth of the portcullis looking down on any intruder. There are also a number of boiling oil holes to greet unwelcomed guests! To facilitate the opening and locking of the massive doors, keepers were lodged in the Barbican. The last guardian in residence was Billy Charlie McAuley.
Despite these features the building now welcomes strangers as a unique holiday let.
This post is part of the What’s That? Project. Funded by The Community Arts, Culture and Heritage Fund & The Community Foundation for NI. The aim of the project is to highlight local historical sites and give people a short history of what is there. Photos by John Healy.
