The Drumbo round tower ( ga, Cloigtheach Druim Bó) is a truncated

Irish round tower Irish round towers ( ga, Cloigtheach (singular), (plural); literally 'bell house') are early mediaeval stone towers of a type found mainly in Ireland, with two in Scotland and one on the Isle of Man. As their name indicates, they were origin ...

Drumbo Drumbo () is a small village, townland and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is about south of Belfast city centre, east of Lisburn and west of Carryduff. It is in the historic barony of Castlereagh Upper. The townland has an ...

, County Down, Northern Ireland.

Overview

The tower survives to a height of 10.7 metres. It is 5 metres in diameter, with an internal diameter of 2.75 metres. The wall is about 1.2 metres thick. The entrance in the east is 1.5 metres above ground level and is 1.68 metres high and about 0.56 metres wide. Inside there are beam holes indicating that the internal floors were of timber and there are six surviving levels including the basement. Today the tower lies within the grounds of the local

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

church. Historically the tower was attached to a medieval parish church and

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

, the foundations of which can be seen in the modern day graveyard on the site.

History

The tower dates from around the

early medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

period and is a

scheduled historic monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. The original structure was severely damaged when the site was plundered by Connor, son of Artgal McLochlin in 1130. The site of the Drumbo round tower and medieval monastery is one of the oldest religious foundations in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In the life of Saint Patrick, which is contained in the

Book of Armagh The ''Book of Armagh'' or Codex Ardmachanus (ar or 61) ( ga, Leabhar Ard Mhacha), also known as the ''Canon of Patrick'' and the ''Liber Ar(d)machanus'', is a 9th-century Irish illuminated manuscript written mainly in Latin. It is held by the L ...

, the name Drumbo signifies "the long hill of the cow," which was translated into Collum Bovis, a name by which the ancient church was known. The round tower was originally built here to take advantage of the panoramic views over the

Lagan Valley The Lagan Valley (, Ulster Scots: ''Glen Lagan'') is an area of Northern Ireland between Belfast and Lisburn. The River Lagan rises on Slieve Croob in County Down and flows generally northward discharging into Belfast Lough. For a section, the ...

. At the time of the tower's construction, these views would have been useful in spotting incoming

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

raids.

References

{{coord, 54, 30, 59, N, 5, 57, 36, W, type:landmark, display=title Archaeological sites in County Down Geography of County Down Tourist attractions in County Down

Overview

History

See also

References