Belvelly () is a small village on the northern end of the
Great Island of
Cork Harbour, about four miles north of the town of
Cobh
Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. With a population of around 13,000 inhabitants, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home to Ireland's ...
,
County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns ar ...
,
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 ...
. Belvelly is situated at the shortest crossing point between Great Island and the neighbouring
Fota Island
Fota (statutory spelling Foaty; ga, Fóite) is an island in Cork Harbour, Ireland, just north of the larger island of Great Island. Fota Island is host to Ireland's only wildlife park – as well as the historical Fota House and gardens and g ...
. Belvelly Bridge (built in 1803) connects Great Island to Fota Island, which is in turn connected to the mainland near
Carrigtwohill.
The village has a number of historic buildings;
Belvelly Castle, Belvelly
Martello Tower
Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts.
They stand u ...
and a nineteenth century red-brick school house. The castle was built by the Hodnett family around the 15th century to the annoyance of the more powerful
de Barry family, who later seized the castle.
The three primary buildings at Belvelly have now been converted into dwellings. The schoolhouse at Belvelly was converted into a dwelling in 1990s, while the castle and the Martello tower were converted into family homes during the early 21st century.
Because of the walls and its status as a historical monument, limited structural changes could be made to the Martello tower, with most light coming from the roof area. The restoration of Belvelly castle included the construction of new perimeter walls and a separate garage.
See also
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List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
External links
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{{coord, 51, 53, N, 8, 18, W, display=title, region:IE_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki
Towns and villages in County Cork