Town defences

The National Monuments Service's description

The coastal castle of Bullock (Blóic) (DU023-020001-) now in the grounds of Our Lady’s Manor nursing home run by the Carmelite order stands on a natural rise of ground overlooking Bullock Harbour and quay (DU023-020004-) to the NE, a turret (DU023-020006-) stood 135m to the SE which was a mural tower on the ‘Old Town Wall’ (DU023-020002-) of the medieval settlement or fishing town of Bullock.  Bullock Martello Tower (DU023-033----) stands 380m to the SE. The historic town of Dalkey (DU023-023----) lies 780m to the S.  Sandycove Martello Tower (DU023-019----) is visible 520m to the NW.  Bullock Castle stands in the parish of Monkstown, in the archdiocese of Dublin, barony of Rathdown, in Dun-Laoghaire Rathdown. 

Bullock castle consists of a gatehouse/gatetower with adjoining hall and solar or garedrobe tower which formed the northern perimeter of the bawn wall or town wall built to defend the medieval seaport and fishing village of Bullock.  The harbour and village of Bullock was protected by town defences described as an ‘Old Town Wall’ which had at least one angle tower located 135m to the S of the castle as shown on the 1837 edition of the Ordnance Survey six-inch map.  This stone wall was described by William Wakeman in 1848 as the castle of Bullock was ‘furnished with a bawn of this kind, but it is much larger than usual’ (Wakeman 1848, 141). The reference to the larger than usual bawn wall, is the description of the large walled area or masonry defences that protected the harbour, quay, castle and fishing village of Bullock.  The entrance to the fortified settlement and harbour was defended by the castle which stood on the N perimeter of the town/village defences. Today there are no surface remains visible of the ‘Old Town Wall’ which formed part of the defences of the ancient fishing town of Bullock

The 1654-56 Civil Survey of Dublin recorded that in Bullock there was ‘one Castle, slated, a Seaport, & a Bawne alsoe a good haven, the Buildings Valued by the Jury at one hundred poundes’ (Simington 1945, 268).   The 1655-59 Down Survey map of the parish of Kill and Monkstown depicted Bullock Castle as a small castellated tower with two dwellings and is annotated ‘Bullock Towne’ indicating a possible clustered settlement around the castle and harbour of Bullock (NLI, MS 714/52). On this map a line is depicted cutting off the headland/harbour of Bullock which may be the line of ‘Old Town Wall’ which enclosed the castle, harbour and settlement of Bullock. The terrier of the 1655-59 Down Survey map of Kill and Monkstown parish recorded that; ‘in Bullocke is a ffayre Antient Towne Fishing’ (NLI, MS 714/52).  

In 1781 Bullock Castle and settlement was described by the Tipperary antiquarian and artist Austin Cooper as; ‘the small maritime village of Bullock which has likewise been mentioned by Mr. Wilson with the former, he is equally accurate……..This place tho’[ugh] much decayed exhibits a complete Walled town in Miniature, from the Cas[tl]e. a Wall extends east, to a small tower, part whereof still remains; & thence turning north, at a proportionate distance where Cabbin now stands; (but formerly a tower) (Price 1942, 68). Bullock castle and town defences were described in 1820 as a; ‘village possessing a small quay upon the bay. It has also a Castle and Ramparts, the date of which is unknown; but these defences are with great probability supposed to have been intended for the protection of commerce, both from theTories of the mountains, and the pirates who in former times infested the neighbouring seas’ (Cromwell 1820, 3). 

Compiled by:  Caimin O'Brien

References

Wakeman, W.F. 1848 Archaeologia Hibernica. A hand-book of Irish antiquities. Dublin. James McGlashan, 21 D'Olier Street.

Simington, R.C. (ed.) 1945 The Civil Survey, AD 1654-1656. Vol. VII: County of Dublin. Dublin. Irish Manuscripts Commission.

Price, L. (ed.) 1942 An eighteenth-century antiquary: the sketches, notes and Diaries of Austin Cooper, 1759-1880. Dublin. Cromwell, T.K. 1820 Excursions through Ireland, vol. II, fascicle 7 (Louth), 89-90. London.

NLI, MS 714/52 – National Library of Ireland, The parrishes of Kill and Mouncktowne in the 1/2 Barony of Rathdowne By William Farrand, 1786. 

Harbison, P. 1998 Beranger's antique buildings of Ireland. Dublin. Four Courts Press in association with the National Library of Ireland.