Bastioned fort

The National Monuments Service's description

Cromwell's Fort: This site is located at Fort Point, the NE end of Valencia Island, from which it commands the N entrance into Valencia Harbour. It comprises a well-preserved blockhouse at the rocky tip of the point, within which a nineteenth-century lighthouse stands, and is defended by an earthen bank and fosse of bastioned outline on its landward side. Like KE087-034----, this fortification was probably built in 1653. It is referred to as 'Fort Fleetwood' in the Ormond MSS. After its disestablishment in 1669 most of its ordnance was shipped to other Munster forts, though the Ormond MSS record that four guns remained buried at the site in 1684 (Pochin Mould 1978, 50). Pococke noted two cannon here in 1758 (Ó Maidin 1959, 39), and these are now located in the lighthouse enclosure.
The blockhouse is a strong masonry enclosure of apsidal plan. Its walls average 2m thick. Eight gun-embrasures survive, with three in each of the seaward facets. Each has a wide external splay. Incorporated into the main structure of the blockhouse on its landward side are two buildings. The NW building contains a small vaulted room which probably served as a magazine. The SE building contains two gunports, now serving as windows, both of which have a slight splay towards the interior. The SW wall of the blockhouse follows an almost demi-bastion shaped outline. A small window in the W flank of its gateway may have been so placed to provide musketry defence (Gowen 1979, 272-6).
On the landward approach to the blockhouse, and situated about 200m from it, is a defence comprising a bank and external fosse of bastioned outline. The bank appears to have originally had four bastions, three of which seem to have been demi-bastions with a complete bastion in the centre, at S. Only the latter and traces of two of the former survive. The external fosse runs to a modern masonry wall which, for most of its length, appears to delimit its outer edge. The bank and fosse survive best at E. The bank is flat-topped and fairly steep-sided, and survives to an average height of 1.2m. It measures 4.5m in average basal width. The external fosse averages 4m wide. The complete bastion is approximately lozenge-shaped in internal plan; 9.3m x 9.9m. The former existence of two demi-bastions to the W and NW of this is suggested by the angular outline of the nineteenth-century enclosing wall at these points. A third demi-bastion, to the NE of the complete bastion, is poorly preserved though its outline is indicated on the OS maps. Apart from a standing stone there are no apparent internal features to this site.
The standing stone (KE079-055002-) is of approximately rectangular elevation and stands 3.43m in maximum height. It is roughly trapezoidal in plan at base, measuring 1.43m x .34m; NE-SW. It averages .4m thick. A number of packing stones are visible around its base, and a slab, 1.5m long, leans against its SE face. At present the monument is upright, though Chatterton noted that it was then 'very easily shaken' (1839, 265), an observation which may explain the presence of the supporting slab.
Monument described by Casey (2003, 28) as 'A defended promontory occupied in the 17th century and built at the same time as the nearby fort [KE087-034----] on the far side of Valencia. The lowlying north-facing headland, now with lighthouse and enclosure, was defended by a diamond-shaped bastion flanked by two demi-bastions. These were earth with external fosse and a wall outside. Later field boundaries can be seen outside the complex. Save for a possible rock-cut fosse between the defences and the lighthouse, there is nothing to suggest earlier defence of the headland'.
According to Westropp; 'The name Cromwell as in eastern Limerick and elsewhere, may have originally referred to a "sloping wood," Crom-choill, as the map made by Baptist Boazio, in the reign of Elizabeth, about 1590, marks "Cromcoel," near the fort' (Westropp 1912, 305-6).

See attached plan of fortification and blockhouse taken from O'Sullivan and Sheehan 1996, Figs. 249, 250, 422-3.

The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 1454. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Updated by: Olive Alcock

Revised by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of revised upload: 29 March 2022

References

O'Sullivan, A. and Sheehan, J. 1996 The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry. Cork University press.

Ó Maidín, P. 1959a Pococke's tour of south and south-west Ireland in 1758. Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society 64, 35-56.

Mould, D. Pochin 1978 Valentia: portrait of an island. Dublin. Blackwater.

Chatterton, Lady G. 1839 Rambles in the south of Ireland in the year 1838, 2 vols. London. Saunders and Otley.

Gowen, M. 1979 Irish artillery fortifications 1550-1700. Unpublished MA thesis, University College, Cork.

Westropp, T.J. 1912 Notes on the promontory forts and similar structures of County Kerry. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 42, 285-315.

Casey, M. 2003 The coastal promontory forts of Ireland: interim report for the Heritage Council. Unpublished specialist report, National Monuments Service, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.