August 28, 2012

Giant's Ring

Giant's Ring

We saw this marked on the map a little out of our way and had no idea what to expect, but decided to explore anyway. One of those places to stumble onto, see briefly and then move on, only to discover later that we may have enjoyed more time to really learn about it. The Giant's Ring is a henge monument at Ballynahatty, near Shaw's Bridge, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Giant's Ring, Ballynahatty, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Baile na hÁite Tí, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f8, 1/250 second, ISO 200.

Dolmen

The Giant's Ring site is a State Care Historic Monument and has ASAI (Area of Significant Archaeological Interest) status. Giant's Ring, Ballynahatty, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Baile na hÁite Tí, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f8, 1/250 second, ISO 200.

Passage Tomb

When we arrived, there was an Irish family attempting to pose for a photo on top of the dolmen. The battery in their camera was dead, so we offered to take their photo and email it to them. The Giant's Ring dates from the Neolithic period and was built around 2700BC, meaning that it predates the Egyptian pyramids. The site has had some sort of public use throughout its history. It is near the Shaw's Bridge crossing of the River Lagan, a point which has been used as a crossing of the river since at least the Stone Age. The original purpose of the monument was most likely as a meeting place or as a memorial to the dead. Giant's Ring, Ballynahatty, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Baile na hÁite Tí, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f8, 1/250 second, ISO 200.

Passage Tomb

Archaeologist Michael J. O'Kelly believed that the Giant's Ring, like hundreds of other passage tombs built in Ireland during the Neolithic period, such as Newgrange, showed evidence for a religion which venerated the dead as one of its core principles. He believed that this "cult of the dead" was just one particular form of European Neolithic religion, and that other megalithic monuments displayed evidence for different religious beliefs which were solar, rather than death-orientated. Giant's Ring, Ballynahatty, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Baile na hÁite Tí, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f8, 1/250 second, ISO 200.

Oak Tree on the Ring

In the 18th century the site was used for horse racing. Giant's Ring, Ballynahatty, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Baile na hÁite Tí, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f8, 1/250 second, ISO 200.

Giant's Ring

The site consists of a circular enclosure,590 ft in diameter and 6.9 acres in area, surrounded by a circular earthwork bank 11 ft high. At least three of the five irregularly spaced gaps in the bank are intentional and possibly original. East of the center of the enclosure is a small passage tomb with a vestigial passage facing west. There were reports of other tombs outside the enclosure, but there is no trace of these. Giant's Ring, Ballynahatty, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Baile na hÁite Tí, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f9, 1/320 second, ISO 200.

Newtownards

What is that Tower?

As we came into Newtownards, we were looking for the abbey. Unfortunately, we never did find it and after driving around a while, we set off to explore this large tower on a prominent hill. Scrabo Tower, Newtownards, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Baile Nua na hArda, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f/10, 1/400 second, ISO 200.

Down Countryside

The view of the beautiful pastoral countryside of rural Down County south of Newtownards from the car park at Scrabo Tower. Scrabo Tower, Newtownards, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Baile Nua na hArda, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f/8, 1/250 second, ISO 200.

Scrabo Tower

As you climb the paved path from the car park, the tower rises from the crest of the hill as more and more of its height is revealed. Scrabo Tower, Newtownards, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Baile Nua na hArda, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f/8, 1/250 second, ISO 200.

Scrabo Tower

The landmark, which is visible from most of north Down, was built above the town in 1857 as a memorial to Charles Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry who was one of the Duke of Wellington's generals during the Napoleonic Wars. Scrabo Tower, Newtownards, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Baile Nua na hArda, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f/8, 1/250 second, ISO 200.

Scrabo Tower

The 3rd Marquis, or "Warring Charlie" as he was also known, inherited the title and family seat of Mount Stewart after his brother, the 2nd Marquis, committed suicide. The 2nd Marquis is better known as Viscount Castlereagh, the politician who served a term as Britain's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Scrabo Tower, Newtownards, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Baile Nua na hArda, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f/10, 1/400 second, ISO 200.

A Matter of Perspective

The view from a wide angle lens located near the base of the tower gives a closer rendering to how the tower actually seems from close-up. How we see the world around us is always a matter of perspective. The real question is whether we are flexible enough to see a new and different perspective. This trip has certainly shown us that! Scrabo Tower, Newtownards, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Baile Nua na hArda, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f/9, 1/320 second, ISO 200.

Tower Entrance

I find it interesting that arrowslits would be incorporated into a tower built in the mid-1800s, especially since the tower is a memorial rather than a home or fortress. I guess that is in keeping with the memorial to "Warring Charlie." Scrabo Tower, Newtownards, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Baile Nua na hArda, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f/6.3, 1/160 second, ISO 200.

Seeking Roots

In the far distance across Strangford Lough on the near shore of the Ards Peninsula right at the center of this photo is Kircubbin, where my Irish ancestor David Stevenson, along with his brother Andrew, left their homeland and family and emigrated to America around the same time this tower was built. Tomorrow we will attempt to find his father's grave in Ballywalter. Scrabo Tower, Newtownards, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Baile Nua na hArda, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f/9, 1/320 second, ISO 200.

We took a lot of photos that could be pasted together to form panoramic shots of the countryside from the base of the tower. We would have liked to go up, but we were late in the day and it was closed. The view from the hill and the summit of the tower extends across Strangford Lough, scattered with its many islands, to the Mountains of Mourne and the Scottish coast. Scrabo Tower, Newtownards, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Baile Nua na hArda, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f/10, 1/400 second, ISO 200.



Modern Farm

As we were getting ready to leave the car park, I couldn't resist taking a couple of photos of the pretty farm situated at the base of the hill. Scrabo Tower, Newtownards, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Baile Nua na hArda, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f/5.6, 1/500 second, ISO 200.

Farmhouse

Nice place to call home. Nice to still see farmers prospering. Scrabo Tower, Newtownards, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Baile Nua na hArda, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f/5.6, 1/500 second, ISO 280.

Killyleagh

Killyleagh Castle

Killyleagh Castle from Church Hill. Late in the day as we were driving from Newtownards toward Downpatrick to find our B&B for the evening, we came around a curve in the road and one of the most picturesque castles we saw on the trip was off to our right. Unfortunately, the road was narrow with no shoulders or turnouts and traffic was heavy, so we did not get a photo from that angle. It would have been much better than we were able to get in the little town of Killyleagh.

In 1602 Gaelic chieftain Con O'Neill of Clandeboye owned large tracts of North Down, including Killyleagh. O'Neill sent his men to attack English soldiers after a quarrel and was consequently imprisoned. O'Neill's wife made a deal with Scots aristocrat Hugh Montgomery to give him half of O'Neill's lands if Montgomery could get a royal pardon for O'Neill. Montgomery obtained the pardon but King James I divided the land in three, with the area from Killyleagh to Bangor going to another Scot, James Hamilton, later 1st Viscount Claneboye. A map of Killyleagh from 1625 showed the castle as having a single tower on the south side of a residence. In about 1625 Hamilton moved from Bangor to Killyleagh Castle, where he built the courtyard walls. It has been the home of the Hamilton family ever since. Killyleagh Castle, Killyleagh, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Cill Uí Laoch, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f/8,1/250 second, ISO 200.

Killyleagh Castle & Gatehouse

Viscount Claneboye's son, James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Clanbrassil, built the second tower. He supported the Stuart monarch Charles I of England and the castle was besieged in 1649 by Oliver Cromwell's forces who sailed gunboats into Strangford Lough and blew up the gatehouse. The Earl fled, leaving behind his wife and children. Parliament fined him for the return of the castle and his land.

The 1st Earl's son, Henry Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Clanbrassil, rebuilt the castle in 1666. He erected the north tower and built (or perhaps restored) the long fortified bawn (wall) in the front of the castle. The 2nd Earl's castle is mostly what remains today. Killyleagh Castle, Killyleagh, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Cill Uí Laoch, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f/7.1,1/200 second, ISO 200.

Gatehouse

In 1667 the 2nd Earl married Lady Alice Moore, daughter of the Earl of Drogheda, and their only child died in infancy. Lady Alice discovered that her father-in-law, the 1st Earl of Clanbrassil, had stated in his will that should Henry die without issue the estate should be divided between five Hamilton cousins, the eldest sons of his five uncles. She destroyed the will and had her husband make his own will in 1674, leaving the estate to her. Henry died of poisoning in 1675, then Lady Alice died in 1677, leaving the estate to her brother. The cousins, however, were aware of the 1st Earl's will and pursued their rights as inheritors. The matter was concluded 20 years later when a copy of the original will was discovered. By then, the cousins were all dead. The last to die was James Hamilton of Neilsbrook, County Antrim, son of Archibald Hamilton, the next brother of James Hamilton, 1st Viscount Claneboye. James Hamilton of Neilsbrook had been confident of a settlement in his favor and had bequeathed the estate to be divided in two, with one half going to his daughter Anne Stevenson, née Hamilton, and the other half to his younger brothers Gawn and William Hamilton. In 1697 the probate court divided the castle, with Gawn and William gaining the main house and the two towers and their niece Anne receiving the bawn and gate house. Gawn and William had to open a new entrance on the north side in order to enter their castle.

William died without children in 1716 and the castle passed to successive generations of Gawn Hamilton's descendants. Gawn's great-grandson Archibald Hamilton Rowan, an Irish nationalist of the United Irishmen, lived in the castle as one of his homes between 1806 and 1834 after his return from exile in America.

Hamilton Rowan's grandson, Archibald Rowan-Hamilton, and his wife employed architect Sir Charles Lanyon from 1850 to renovate the castle, creating its romantic silhouette with the addition of the turrets.

James Hamilton of Neilsbrook's daughter Anne married Hans Stevenson and her estate passed to her son James Stevenson, then to his daughter Dorcas, later Dorcas Blackwood, 1st Baroness Dufferin and Claneboye (1726–1807), and on to Dorcas's great-grandson Frederick Temple Blackwood, 5th Baron Dufferin and Claneboye (1826–1902). In 1860 the 5th Baron gave the bawn and gate house to the Hamiltons and commissioned a replacement gate house to better match the main castle. The Baron added Hamilton to his surname just before marrying his distant cousin Hariot Georgina Rowan-Hamilton, daughter of Archibald Rowan-Hamilton, in 1862. Killyleagh Castle, Killyleagh, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Cill Uí Laoch, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f/5.6, 1/320 second, ISO 400.

Killyleagh Castle

The castle came under attack by the Irish Republican Army during the troubles of the 1920s. Gawn Rowan Hamilton has said: "I have a cutting from the Belfast Telegraph which tells the story of my great-great uncle being woken at 2 am and exchanging gunfire from the battlements, which was terribly exciting." And there you have it, the history of Downton Abbey! Killyleagh Castle, Killyleagh, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Cill Uí Laoch, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f/7.1, 1/200 second, ISO 400.

Killyleagh Castle

Killyleagh Castle is a riot of turrets and battlements rising like a fairytale vision above Killyleagh as this amazing Loire-style chateau completely dominates the small village. It is a private family home, claimed to be the oldest inhabited castle in Ireland. It has been the home of the Hamilton family since the 17th century Plantation of Ulster and acquired its fairy-tale silhouette in the 1850s when the turrets were added, but it is mostly the same castle that the second Earl of Clanbrassil rebuilt in 1666. Killyleagh Castle, Killyleagh, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Cill Uí Laoch, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f/5.6, 1/500 second, ISO 320.

Saul

Paddy's Barn Bar & Restaurant

As had become our custom, we asked the landlady for directions to a pub or restaurant for our dinner and she told us how to get to Paddy's Barn. We are so glad she did, because as we were beginning to eat, a group of musicians began to assemble for their once monthly Tuesday evening Traditional Irish music session in Paddy's Barn Bar & Restaurant. We had a great time and nearly got locked out of the house because we stayed so late listening and singing along. Saul, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Sabhall Phádraig, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f/5.3, 1/60 second, ISO 800.

Singing in the Pub

Traditional Irish music in Paddy's Barn Bar & Restaurant. Saul, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Sabhall Phádraig, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012. f/5.3, 1/8 second, ISO 1600.

Traditional Irish music in Paddy's Barn Bar & Restaurant. It started out as instrumental, but as more musicians joined in, the singing started and it got better and better. Saul, County Down, Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Sabhall Phádraig, Contae an Dúin, Ulaidh, Tuaisceart Éireann), August 28, 2012.