Tower on The Motte

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Styled as a picturesque castle, this two and three storey tower of 1821 is prominently perched on top of a steep 12th-13th century motte. This dramatic structure surmounting the motte dominates the harbour and shorefront below.The building was originally constructed to act as a gunpowder store during the construction of the nearby harbour. The motte, (a scheduled site), is located to the N of Moat Street, on the N side of Donaghadee town centre.

The building consists of two connected cube-like sections with slim square and octagonal corner turrets and a cylindrical round tower rising from the taller section to N. The shorter (roughly two storey) section to S contains a tall, semicircular headed doorway to its W face with bevelled reveal and a panelled bronze door reached via three stone steps. To both the S and E faces there is a tall semicircular arch headed blind window, both also with bevelled reveals. To SW and NE corners of this section there are square turrets with corbelled castellated parapets and two long slit recesses (or blind windows) to each fully exposed outer face. The rest of the building has castellated parapets also. Constructed of rubble masonry and rendered brick façade with castellated parapets and blind slit windows adding much drama to the composition.

To the N façade of the S section is a short recessed ‘corridor’ connecting to the taller section. Security railings have been placed on top of this corridor.

The taller section to N has a blind window to its E, W and N façades as those to S and E of lower section. To the W façade, to immediate right of the blind window is a marble plaque (recording the hand over of the building to the town of Donaghadee in 1945). There is an octagonal turret to each corner of this section with three long slit recesses two of the outer faces of each turret. Rising from the centre of the roof of this section is a round tower (just over half the height of the N section itself) with four window openings (as the blind windows to both main sections) and parapet as rest of building. A tall flag pole rises from within the tower (the tower appears to have no roof).

The building is largely cement rendered but with significant sections of the construction with rubble masonry exposed (mainly to S end). The bevelled base is in rubble. Small sections of render have fallen off the parapet revealing brick construction.

Relatively short section of tall rubble walling to immediate N of building, with castellations and turret-like piers, slit recesses etc. This wall has a ruined appearance as if it were the last remaining section of a bailey wall, but there never appears to have been any other section of walling apart from this and one gets the impression that it was deliberately constructed to look like a ruin.

The tower is approached along a path to the SW, whose lower section passes over a single arched rubble-built bridge which spans the ditch at the base of the motte.

Historical information

This tower was built in c.1821 as a gunpowder store, (for use in blasting rock), during the building of Donaghadee’s new harbour. It stands on a motte of 12th or 13th century origin. The building was handed over to the town of Donaghadee in 1945 by then landlord, George Delacherois.

References- Primary sources
1 Map of Donaghadee c.1700. [In possession of Mrs. Stone / Mr Day of the Manor House, Donaghadee.]
2 ‘A map of the town of Donaghadee...’, c.1771-90.
3 PRONI VAL 1B/32 p.3 1st valuation, Donaghadee, c.1835-38
4 PRONI VAL/1D/3/16 First valuation town plan of Donaghadee, c.1838
5 ‘OS memoirs of Ireland’ vol.7, ed Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1991), p.47
6 PRONI OS/8/8/1/1-9 OS town plan of Donaghadee, 1859
7 PRONI 2nd (‘Griffith’s’) valuation Donaghadee parish, Donaghadee, 1863.
8 PRONI VAL/12E/121/1/1-9 Valuation town plan of Donaghadee, 1864-1908
9 PRONI OS/8/8/2//1-3 OS town plan of Donaghadee, 1901
10 PRONI VAL/12E/121/2/1-3 Valuation town plan of Donaghadee, 1908-35
11 PRONI VAL/3G/69/2/1-3 Valuation town plan of Donaghadee, 1932-56
12 PRONI VAL/3G/69/1/1-3 Valuation town plan of Donaghadee, 1934-43

Secondary sources
1 ‘Archaeological survey of County Down’ (Belfast HMSO, 1966), p.193 [Description etc of the motte itself.]
2 W.G. Pollock, ‘Six miles from Bangor- The story of Donaghadee’ (Belfast 1975)
3 Hugh Dixon, Ken Kenmuir and Jill Kennett, ‘Historic buildings…Donaghadee and Portpatrick (Belfast, 1977), p.9

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Styled as a picturesque castle, this two and three storey tower of 1821 is prominently perched on top of a steep 12th-13th century motte. This dramatic structure surmounting the motte dominates the harbour and shorefront below.The building was originally constructed to act as a gunpowder store during the construction of the nearby harbour. The motte, (a scheduled site), is located to the N of Moat Street, on the N side of Donaghadee town centre.