Historic Places in County Antrim

Olderfleet Castle at Larne in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, is a ruined sixteenth-century tower house on the shore of Larne Lough, associated with the MacDonnell family who controlled the sea routes between northeast Ulster and the Hebrides and Kintyre in Scotland throughout the sixteenth century. The castle controlled the important harbour of Larne, one of the main landing points for the movement of Scottish troops and settlers into Ulster. The ruins stand on the harbour front and are visible from the ferry terminal that operates the modern Larne to Cairnryan sea crossing, one of the shortest routes between Northern Ireland and Scotland, providing a vivid illustration of the continuing strategic importance of this sea crossing across many centuries of Ulster and Scottish history.

Belfast City Hall is the civic heart of the Northern Irish capital and one of the most impressive examples of Baroque Revival architecture in the British Isles, a grand domed building in Portland stone that dominates Donegall Square in the centre of Belfast and serves as the most visible symbol of the city's late Victorian prosperity and civic ambition. The building was constructed between 1898 and 1906, at the height of Belfast's industrial and commercial power as one of the greatest linen and shipbuilding cities in the world, and its monumental scale and exuberant ornamentation reflect the confidence of a city that considered itself one of the engines of the British Empire. The architecture of the City Hall draws on the Baroque tradition of Christopher Wren and his successors, combining a symmetrical Portland stone facade with a central dome derived from St Paul's Cathedral with flanking towers and corner pavilions in a composition of considerable authority. The dome, which can be seen from many parts of the city, has become the recognised skyline symbol of Belfast and appears in virtually every panoramic view of the city centre. The interior, with its ornate marble staircases, stained glass windows and elaborately decorated council chamber, matches the exterior in ambition and quality. The grounds of the City Hall contain memorials to several significant moments in Belfast and Irish history, including a large memorial to the victims of the Titanic, which was built in the Belfast shipyards of Harland and Wolff and launched in 1912. The Titanic memorial predates the larger Titanic Belfast museum by many decades and represents the earlier, more understated phase of the city's commemoration of the disaster. The rotating programme of events and seasonal ice rinks in the square makes the grounds a gathering place year-round. The free tours of the City Hall provide excellent access to the building's interior and its history, and the building remains the working headquarters of Belfast City Council.

Belfast Castle stands on the slopes of Cave Hill overlooking Belfast Lough from a commanding position above the north of the city, a Scottish Baronial country house of the nineteenth century that combines handsome architecture with a dramatic hillside setting and panoramic views across Belfast and the lough beyond. The castle was built in its present form for the third Marquess of Donegall between 1862 and 1870, replacing an earlier structure on the Cave Hill estate, and was designed in the Scots Baronial style that was fashionable among the aristocracy and wealthy middle classes of Victorian Britain and Ireland. The style of the castle, with its turrets, corbelled bartizans, crow-stepped gables and romantic castellated roofline, was derived from the Scottish tower house and castle traditions filtered through the influence of Balmoral Castle and the broader Victorian Romantic movement associated with Sir Walter Scott. Belfast Castle belongs to the same tradition of Victorian Gothic and Baronial revivalism that produced numerous similar houses across Ireland and Scotland in the second half of the nineteenth century, and its confident deployment of this architectural vocabulary reflects the wealth and social ambitions of the Donegall family at the peak of their influence. The castle was gifted to Belfast Corporation in 1934 and has been used ever since as a public amenity. A major restoration programme in the 1980s brought the building back to good condition, and it now houses a restaurant and function rooms while remaining accessible to the public as a visitor attraction. The heritage centre within the building explores the history of the castle and the Cave Hill estate. Cave Hill itself, the basalt outcrop rising above the castle, provides one of the finest walking experiences available within Belfast's boundaries. The path to McArt's Fort at the summit, where Wolfe Tone and the United Irishmen are said to have made their pledge to establish an independent Irish republic in 1795, follows the escarpment above the city with spectacular views in both directions.

Glenarm Castle in Glenarm village on the Glens of Antrim coast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, has been the ancestral seat of the McDonnell family, Earls of Antrim, since the seventeenth century. The castle incorporates earlier fabric within a building substantially rebuilt in the nineteenth century in the Gothic Revival style. The walled garden at Glenarm Castle is one of the finest walled gardens in Northern Ireland, with extensive herbaceous borders, kitchen garden, woodland and formal areas accessible to visitors during the season. The town of Glenarm is the oldest planted town in Ulster. The Glens of Antrim coastline, with its series of beautiful glaciated glens running down to the sea, provides one of the most scenically dramatic landscapes in Northern Ireland.

Situated in the town of Carrickfergus the castle has wonderful views over Belfast Lough and is only 11 miles north of Belfast itself. The well preserved Norman castle is considered one the finest examples of its kind in Ireland. It has the remains of its original curtain wall along with a postern gate on the seaward side and an eastern tower. The eastern tower; believed to have housed the chapel, has a chamber on the first floor with a Romanesque double window and cross bow loops at basement level. Facilities The castle is open to the public daily all year round between Easter and September 10am to 6pm and from October to Easter between 10am and 4pm. There is a display of cannons from the 17th to the 19th centuries along with historical exhibits and information on castle's history inside the keep. The castle is licensed for civil wedding ceremonies to a maximum of 50 guests and it also possible to hire the castle for private events such as children's parties in the dungeons. Built in 1177 by John de Courcy, Carrickfergus Castle was used as his headquarters until 1204. The original castle site consisted of a bailey, inner wall and great hall as well as other buildings which were all surrounded by a high polygonal curtain wall to protect it from the sea. In 1204 de Courcy lost the castle to Hugh de Lacy. In 1210 the castle came under attack from the soldiers of King John and in 1217 a new larger curtain wall was built to protect the castle during low tide on the eastern side. Hugh de Lacy also added a huge portcullis at the gatehouse and a vault which were all completed in 1250. The castle remained in the hands of the crown throughout the 16th and 17th centuries with many more improvements and additions being made including embrasures for the cannon's and splayed gun ports. The castle's defences were still not sufficient to prevent it from being taken many times, most notably in 1690 by General Schomberg for King William III and in 1760 by Francois Thurot for the French. This was also the time when the middle curtain wall was taken down apart from a section on the seaward side. The Napoleonic Wars in 1797 saw the castle being used as a prison as well as an armory, in the First World War and Second World Wars the castle was used as a garrison and an air raid shelter. In 1928 ownership was granted to the state who declared it a National Monument and opened to the public.

Hillsborough Castle is a Georgian country house in the historic town of Hillsborough in County Down, Northern Ireland, serving as the official royal residence and Government House in Northern Ireland. The house was built in the 1770s for Wills Hill, first Marquess of Downshire, and has served as the official residence for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and for visits by the British royal family since the 1920s. The castle and its gardens were opened to visitors in 2019, allowing public access to the state rooms and the extensive walled gardens for the first time. The adjacent historic town of Hillsborough, with its Georgian architecture, fort and church, is one of the most attractive small towns in Northern Ireland.

Ballygally Castle is located 26 miles from Belfast in the village of Ballygally on the sandy beaches of the Antrim coast. The original stone castle is built in the style of a French Chateau with corner turrets and a steep roof. The castle adjoins the more recent addition of a modern white rendered building of three floors. Facilities Ballygally Castle is now a 4 star hotel. The hotel offers 44 bedrooms; some in the original part of the castle, with traditional furnishings, beamed ceilings and beautiful views. The hotel's garden restaurant overlooks the grounds and serves local produce in traditional and modern cuisine. The grand affair of Sunday lunch is served in the River Room with views over the beach and bay out towards Scotland. Visitors can also eat in the hotel's lounge bar, the dungeon or the '1625 Room' which is also used as a wedding venue. As a wedding venue the experienced management team is responsible for overseeing every detail of the special day. Receptions can be held in the River Room or the '1625 Room' which is smaller more intimate room with its fireplace and antique furniture. The wedding couple also gets one of the best rooms in the house, a luxury suite overlooking the bay or gardens for their first night. Ballygally Castle was built in 1625 by James Shaw a Scot who came to Ireland in 1606 in search of his fortune. He was granted a plot of land on which he built the original castle. The castle was used during the civil war as a place of refuge for the protestants and on a number of occasions a local garrison of soldiers tried to take it but without success. In the middle of the 18th century the castle was extended as four new residents came to live there; the squire Henry Shaw, his new wife and her two sisters. The castle remained in the Shaw family with the last squire of Ballygally being William Shaw in the early 1800's when the castle and lands were lost along with all the family's wealth. After this time the castle was first used as a coastguard station and then as a home to at least three other families until it was eventually sold in the 1950's to Cyril Lord a textile millionaire who refurbished the castle and opened it as a hotel. 1n 1966 the Hastings Hotel Group became the owners of the hotel since when it has undergone refurbishment a number of times. Legends Legend has it that on the birth of his first son and heir Lord Shaw took the child and locked him in a room at the top of the tower. Whilst looking for her child Lady Isobella accidentally fell (or was pushed) through the tower window to her death. Her spirit is reported to haunt the castle.

Stormont Castle is one of two great houses forming the Parliament Buildings complex at Stormont in east Belfast, providing the official residence of the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and serving as the primary working base of the Northern Ireland Executive. The castle, a Scottish Baronial house of the nineteenth century, is set within the extensive Stormont Estate alongside Parliament Buildings, the imposing neoclassical building that houses the Northern Ireland Assembly and which provides one of the most recognisable political landmarks in Northern Ireland. The Stormont Estate grounds are open to the public and provide extensive parkland walking with views over Belfast and the surrounding hills, making the estate one of the more surprisingly accessible political and heritage sites in the United Kingdom.