On the east shore of Lough Erne, in Fermanagh, the remains of Old Castle Archdale bear witness to the presence of the English planters in Ulster. Built by a colonist from Suffolk, this fortified house knew, like so many others, the violence of the 1641 rebellion — but also a last-minute rescue.
An English planter from Suffolk
Old Castle Archdale was built in 1615 by John Archdale, a planter from Suffolk (England), granted 1,000 acres of land in 1612 as part of the Plantation. His house — a T-plan fortified house, in a lime-and-stone bawn with three flankers — belongs to the English model, but some details of the bawn gateway betray a Scottish influence, a sign of the mingling of traditions in colonial Ulster. A Latin inscription of 1615 surmounted the gateway, proudly marking the foundation date. Old Castle Archdale thus illustrates the English component of the Plantation, alongside the Scottish colonists.
The drama of 1641 and a child saved
Like Tully and so many others, Old Castle Archdale was struck by the rebellion of 1641: Rory Maguire burned it. Edward Archdale's wife and children perished there — except the heir, young William, saved by a desperate act: his nurse threw him from a window, and a servant caught him in flight, ensuring the survival of the line. This poignant episode, where a child was literally thrown out of the flames, sums up the drama lived by the planter families in 1641. The castle was rebuilt then abandoned in 1689. To see: the bawn gateway (Scottish influence), the post-1641 remains, the wooded setting of Castle Archdale park, the Latin inscription.
Did you know?
The survival of the Archdale family rests on a mad gesture: during the fire of 1641, the nurse of little William, the heir, threw him from a window of the burning castle, where a servant caught him in flight. Without this desperate plunge, the line would have died out that night. William Archdale grew up and the family prospered — the Archdales remained great landowners of Fermanagh for centuries, all descended from this child saved from the flames.
Notes
Old Castle Archdale lies on the east shore of Lough Erne, near Irvinestown, County Fermanagh, in Castle Archdale park; remains accessible. GPS to confirm. Hours to check.
Quiz
- Where did John Archdale, the castle's builder, come from?
- Suffolk, in England
- Scotland
- Gaelic Ireland
- What happened in 1641?
- Rory Maguire burned the castle
- A coronation
- A royal visit
- How was the heir William saved?
- Thrown from a window, caught by a servant
- Hidden in a barrel
- Taken to Spain