Ballygally Castle is in the village of

Ballygally Ballygally or Ballygalley (, IPA: �bˠalʲəˈɟɛhlʲiː is a village and holiday resort in County Antrim, Northern Ireland which lies on the Antrim coast, approximately north of Larne. It is also a townland of and is situated in the civil p ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, located approximately north of

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...

. The

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

overlooks the sea at the head of Ballygally Bay. It is now run as a hotel and is reputed to be one of the most haunted places in

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

History

The castle was built in 1625 by James Shaw of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, who had come to the area and rented the land from Randal MacDonnell, the Catholic

Earl of Antrim Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

for £24 a year. Although it is sometimes claimed to be the oldest occupied building in Ireland, Castle Upton is somewhat older. Over the main entrance door to the castle, leading to the tower, is the

Middle Scots Middle Scots was the Anglic language of Lowland Scotland in the period from 1450 to 1700. By the end of the 15th century, its phonology, orthography, accidence, syntax and vocabulary had diverged markedly from Early Scots, which was virtual ...

inscription "Godis Providens is my Inheritans". The

bawn A bawn is the defensive wall surrounding an Irish tower house. It is the anglicised version of the Irish word ''bábhún'' (sometimes spelt ''badhún''), possibly meaning "cattle-stronghold" or "cattle-enclosure".See alternative traditional s ...

and walled garden are registered as Scheduled Historic Monuments at grid ref: D3725 0781. During the Great Rebellion of 1641, the Irish garrison stationed at

Glenarm Glenarm () is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies on the North Channel coast north of the town of Larne and the village of Ballygalley, and south of the village of Carnlough. It is situated in the civil parish of Tickmac ...

tried to take the castle, then more fortified than today, several times but without success. In the late 1730s, the Shaw children were tutored by the later pioneering educator and master of a Belfast "play school", David Manson. For many years, one of the apartments in the castle was known as the "Manson room". Coast Road with Ballygally Castle Hotel - geograph

Coast Road with Ballygally Castle Hotel - geograph

Around 1760, the castle buildings were extended as the squire, Henry Shaw, married a Miss Hamilton, who had two sisters and who all came to live within the castle. In 1799, the castle passed to William Shaw, the last squire of Ballygally. The family's wealth was exhausted, and within a few years he sold the property. It then passed through several hands, including use as a coastguard station, before being purchased in the early 1950s by

Cyril Lord Cyril Lord (12 July 1911 – 29 May 1984) was a British entrepreneur, known principally for the manufacture of carpets during the 1960s. Born in Droylsden in Lancashire, Lord spent his early years living in a community of textile mill-workers. His ...

. The textile millionaire refurbished the castle as the hotel seen today. Paranormal enthusiasts, such as Jeff Belanger, suggest that the castle is haunted.

Architecture

The rectangular Scottish baronial-style castle has four storeys, walls of about 1.5 metres thick, four corner turrets and a flanking tower at the northeast side with an entrance and stone spiral stairs. Originally it was enclosed by a

with four corner turrets. In the 1840s, the side nearest the sea was removed to accommodate the new coast road. File:Ballygally Castle Turret Room.jpg, Turret Room File:Ballygally Castle staircase.jpg, Staircase File:Ballgally Castle Ghost Room.jpg, Ghost Room File:Ballgally Castle Plaque.jpg, Plaque

References

{{Reflist Castles in County Antrim Grade A listed buildings Buildings and structures in Larne 1625 establishments in Ireland Houses completed in 1625 Reportedly haunted locations in Northern Ireland Hotels in Northern Ireland Tower houses in Northern Ireland

History

Architecture

See also

References