0:00:02 > 0:00:05The story of the buildings of Ulster is the story of the people
0:00:05 > 0:00:09who've lived on this land and left their mark on its history.
0:00:10 > 0:00:15And here, history has left us with a remarkable legacy of buildings.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18From ancient forts and mighty castles,
0:00:18 > 0:00:22to prestigious public buildings and grand country houses.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41These historic buildings are windows into our past.
0:00:41 > 0:00:46In this series, I'm going to explore some of the most remarkable architecture of Ulster,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49tell the stories of the people who created it
0:00:49 > 0:00:53and see how both buildings and people were shaped by history.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10GENTLE BIRDSONG
0:01:11 > 0:01:15From earliest times, the turbulent history of Ulster has left us
0:01:15 > 0:01:19a landscape altered by buildings, which tell of invasion,
0:01:19 > 0:01:21conquest and resistance.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26For centuries a stronghold has crowned this summit,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29overlooking Lough Swilly in County Donegal.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32This was once the Royal Fort of the Kingdom of Aileach,
0:01:32 > 0:01:37defended by the Ui Neill dynasty, the Gaelic lords of Ulster.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41The name means "fortress" or "stone palace of the sun."
0:01:41 > 0:01:45So surely originally this was a sacred site.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49The manipulation of the landscape by man, the earthworks,
0:01:49 > 0:01:53the creation of concentric rings of terraces and ramparts
0:01:53 > 0:01:56date from nearly 3,000 years ago.
0:01:58 > 0:02:03But the commanding site, the elevated location, makes this
0:02:03 > 0:02:09a perfect fortress, a wonderful defensive place, a place of refuge.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13It's utterly incredible here.
0:02:13 > 0:02:18As for the structure, this really is the most impressive monument
0:02:18 > 0:02:21to Gaelic society in Ulster.
0:02:36 > 0:02:37Extraordinary.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41Three tiers of walkways reached by the most wonderful, minimal,
0:02:41 > 0:02:46elegant staircases there, there and over there.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50This stonework is thought to date in its origin
0:02:50 > 0:02:54from the 5th, 6th century AD. About 1,500 years ago.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58Such massive stone buildings were of course very rare.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03This is a great statement of power on the path of the Northern O'Neill.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07One of the largest hillforts in Ireland
0:03:07 > 0:03:11is an imposing presence on this windblown crest.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15Three of the nine counties of Ulster can be seen from these walls.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23The Irish annals tell us that such was Aileach's political
0:03:23 > 0:03:27and strategic importance that it was attacked several times.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33These walls were mostly reconstructed in the 1870s.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37That's because in 1101,
0:03:37 > 0:03:41when the King of Munster, Muirchertach Ua Briain,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44attacked this place and took it by storm,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47he ordered the soldiers to destroy it.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51Each man was to carry off at least one stone and scatter them
0:03:51 > 0:03:52on the grounds around.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58The annals' description of the destruction of this site by raiders
0:03:58 > 0:04:02shows us how a need for defence shaped the landscape of Ulster
0:04:02 > 0:04:05from the earliest times.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Despite incursions by the Vikings,
0:04:07 > 0:04:10it wasn't until the late 12th century that a new threat
0:04:10 > 0:04:14to the traditional Gaelic order in Ulster would leave its mark.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29In February, 1177, the Anglo-Norman knight John de Courcy
0:04:29 > 0:04:32launched a daring invasion of Ulster.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36The Irish were no match for de Courcy's crossbowmen and archers.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40With only 22 knights and 300 foot soldiers,
0:04:40 > 0:04:44the eastern coastal province was soon largely under his control.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50It was here, at Carrickfergus, that de Courcy built his largest
0:04:50 > 0:04:53and most strategically-placed castle.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56And he built it out of stone.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59So the Anglo-Normans not only invaded Ulster,
0:04:59 > 0:05:02they brought with them a new style of building.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09With this mighty fortress, de Courcy sent a determined message
0:05:09 > 0:05:12to the native Irish outside the castle's walls,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16that he and his men were not just passing through,
0:05:16 > 0:05:18they were here to stay.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23When built, the sea would have almost completely surrounded the castle.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27The Anglo-Normans constructed a series of earthen mounds,
0:05:27 > 0:05:32known as mottes, topped with timber palisades to form strong castles.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34They were part of a system of defences
0:05:34 > 0:05:38with Carrickfergus at its strategic centre.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Well, the tower, the keep, completed about 1180,
0:05:41 > 0:05:45I must say it's one of the greatest bits of Anglo-Norman
0:05:45 > 0:05:48military architecture anywhere in the British Isles.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51That's a major architectural statement, saying we're here
0:05:51 > 0:05:54to stay, both in terms of defensive capabilities and also in status.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57The walls are roughly 90 feet high,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00- they're three to four metres thick. - Really, through here?- Yes.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03And of course, I suppose for the local people,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06when this was built it was terrifying, alien, foreign,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09- military, kind of oppressive architecture.- Absolutely.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11They had never seen anything like this.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13They wouldn't be used to attacking something like this.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16It would have dominated the skyline from out to sea,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19from the mountains, and they wouldn't have known how to deal with it.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22I mean, one can still see it just in one's mind's eye,
0:06:22 > 0:06:23maybe as people saw it.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27Looking up, it's sinister, daunting, huge, isn't it?
0:06:28 > 0:06:32So the towers stood in a high walled court or ward.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34So it really was defence in depth.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37It was and within this defended space it was really busy.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39There would have been a chapel,
0:06:39 > 0:06:41there was a great hall for entertaining,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44there were kitchens, storage for weapons and horses,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47accommodation for the soldiers that were here as well.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50It would have been a hive of activity.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54So the great hall behind you, that's the family, high status.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58But also they occupy the rooms in the tower.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01That's what I really want to see. How they lived there.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08This is the third floor, top floor of the tower.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12This was the family's apartments, the private part.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15This was the private space of the Lord and his family.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17You have to imagine that it would be more colourful,
0:07:17 > 0:07:20maybe with tapestries and paintings.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Their own fireplace, tables and chairs for eating.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27- Maybe screens to zone off the bed. - Yeah.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29A chest where their private belongings were in,
0:07:29 > 0:07:33and also a private staircase so they could come up here in private.
0:07:33 > 0:07:38As de Courcy's powerbase, this was it. From here he ruled.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40- Absolutely. - From this stronghold.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42Carrickfergus was his main base
0:07:42 > 0:07:45and his soldiers had mottes dotted around County Antrim and County Down.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48He also founded a castle at Dundrum.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51The thing to understand these castles,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54this was the centre of a system of defences
0:07:54 > 0:07:58reaching far out into the land controlled by him.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00You can really imagine standing here,
0:08:00 > 0:08:04de Courcy and his family, looking through these actual windows,
0:08:04 > 0:08:07surveying their domain, looking to the sea to ships coming in.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14But it was de Courcy's hunger for power which obsessed him
0:08:14 > 0:08:17for over a quarter of a century that was to bring about his downfall.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Suspicious of de Courcy's power in Ulster,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25where he ruled as a petty prince,
0:08:25 > 0:08:30King John in 1199 ordered another baron, Hugh de Lacy,
0:08:30 > 0:08:32to eject de Courcy.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36A five-year campaign followed which terminated with de Courcy
0:08:36 > 0:08:40losing this castle and being driven out of Ulster.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47By the start of the 14th century,
0:08:47 > 0:08:51the Anglo-Norman conquest in Ireland had ground to a halt.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Over time, these invaders would marry into
0:08:54 > 0:08:57and make alliances with the native Irish,
0:08:57 > 0:09:01in time, becoming more Irish than the Irish themselves.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05But for now, they were contained in their coastal strongholds.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08But other invaders were to follow.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11Next came the Scots, led by Edward,
0:09:11 > 0:09:14the brother of King Robert the Bruce.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16The Scots wanted to not only possess Ireland,
0:09:16 > 0:09:21but also to distract English forces away from the border with Scotland.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39Initially, the Scots swept all before them,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43and after a year-long siege, they took this castle.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47By 1316, their grip on Ulster was complete.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55'But such are the fortunes of war that just two years later
0:09:55 > 0:09:58'Edward the Bruce lay dead on a battlefield in County Louth,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01'killed in the decisive Battle of Faughart.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03'The Anglo-Normans had regained control,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06'and the Scottish invasion was finally halted.'
0:10:14 > 0:10:18The narrow sea between Scotland and Ireland was not so much a barrier
0:10:18 > 0:10:23as a channel of communication and kinship in the Middle Ages.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27These Gaelic-speaking kingdoms had cultural - if not political - unity.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31Scottish mercenaries were employed by Gaelic lords.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Among them were the MacDonnells,
0:10:33 > 0:10:37Hebridean Scots who established a foothold in Ulster.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44From the early 16th century,
0:10:44 > 0:10:48the Glens of Antrim formed part of a powerful Gaelic lordship that
0:10:48 > 0:10:52stretched from North Ulster to the Western Isles of Scotland.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16From Dunluce Castle, perched high on its rock above the ocean,
0:11:16 > 0:11:21the MacDonnell clan, led by Sorley Boy MacDonnell, plotted ways
0:11:21 > 0:11:23in which to retain their lands
0:11:23 > 0:11:25during the Elizabethan conquest of Ireland.
0:11:33 > 0:11:38In September 1584, an Elizabethan army laid siege to Dunluce.
0:11:38 > 0:11:442,000 soldiers subjected the castle's garrison to a fierce bombardment.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48It held out for two days before being forced to surrender,
0:11:48 > 0:11:52leaving Sorley Boy MacDonnell with no choice but to flee to Scotland.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57But retreat didn't sit easily with the MacDonnells' leader.
0:11:57 > 0:12:03On Halloween night 1585, 80 Scots, led by Sorley Boy MacDonnell,
0:12:03 > 0:12:07landed just about there, and then, in stealth,
0:12:07 > 0:12:11scaled the cliffs and ramparts and entered the castle.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13They used ropes, it is thought,
0:12:13 > 0:12:20that had been let down from here by the constable's mistress.
0:12:20 > 0:12:21She was also a Scot.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24The constable fought ferociously to defend himself.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Eventually, he was overpowered,
0:12:26 > 0:12:30and for his trouble was hanged from the castle walls.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Sorley Boy was a fearsome fighter,
0:12:36 > 0:12:38but he was also a skilled politician.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42In spite of the mask of his family and followers on Rathlin Island,
0:12:42 > 0:12:46he would later declare allegiance to Queen Elizabeth.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50This was a small price to pay for recognition of his family's rights
0:12:50 > 0:12:55to the Glens and the return of this castle to the MacDonnells' control.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59You get a whole series of MacDonnells being involved in this place
0:12:59 > 0:13:02- really since about 1555 onwards. - Yeah.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06Sorley Boy's probably the best known, for a whole variety of reasons.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08One of the reasons is that he's involved in a whole
0:13:08 > 0:13:13series of conflicts, his kids are killed, he's constantly fighting.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17But a very strong, a very dynamic and a very interesting character.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21How much is this building, this castle a monument to him?
0:13:22 > 0:13:24Maybe not so much a monument to him per se,
0:13:24 > 0:13:26but a monument to the broader family.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28The castle itself would have been originally
0:13:28 > 0:13:32built in about the year 1500 by a family called the McQuillans.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34When the MacDonnells come in in 1555,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37they essentially rebuild the whole of the castle, but the interesting
0:13:37 > 0:13:40thing is that they rebuild it in a classically Scottish style.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42It's really the gatehouse which is the primary
0:13:42 > 0:13:46manifestation of Scottish architecture on the castle itself.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49The external cobbling, the shape of it,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52very typical of Scottish architecture at this particular period.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54But what the MacDonnells do is rebuild
0:13:54 > 0:13:56the rest of the castle as well.
0:13:56 > 0:14:01This building we see in front of us, built in 1608 by Randal MacDonnell.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04But a really interesting change takes place here.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07What we see here is very typically Scottish architecture,
0:14:07 > 0:14:11but what we're looking at here is very typically English architecture.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14- Yes.- The MacDonnells had perceived themselves as Scottish,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17were showing themselves externally as being Scottish.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Now, with the changing fortunes, they've reorientated
0:14:20 > 0:14:23themselves towards London, and now they're English.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26Here, very typically early Jacobean house.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28All expressed in the architecture.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31So, Randal, who becomes the 1st Earl of Antrim,
0:14:31 > 0:14:35must have had great plans for the castle and the surrounding territory
0:14:35 > 0:14:38- to express his new status, power? - Absolutely.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42Randal becomes probably the most important player in this whole story.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44Randal invests heavily in this place,
0:14:44 > 0:14:47he invests heavily right across his whole estates.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50He begins to start rebuilding towns, re-establishing towns,
0:14:50 > 0:14:53and builds a whole new town around the outside of the castle wall.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57That's very pioneering for the Plantation system, isn't it?
0:14:57 > 0:15:00- So, 1608, 1609, he starts building here?- Absolutely.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04Our traditional view of the Ulster Plantation is that the vast majority
0:15:04 > 0:15:07of it is concentrated west of the River Bann,
0:15:07 > 0:15:12when the London Companies come in and build their towns and small villages.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15But what we have here in this part of Ulster is an "old Gaelic lord",
0:15:15 > 0:15:19beginning to invest in his own unofficial plantation,
0:15:19 > 0:15:21with the full approval of the king at the time.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25Does it have its own defensive wall or rampart, maybe earth?
0:15:25 > 0:15:27This again is one of the real interesting elements of it.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31Randal saw no need to build a wall around his town.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35Yet, 15km from this location, the London Companies
0:15:35 > 0:15:38build a very substantial rampart around Coleraine, for example.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42But remember, the MacDonnells had been here for 50 or 60 years.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46They weren't afraid of the locals per se. They were the locals.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50So they felt very secure in their place and their sense of place.
0:15:50 > 0:15:55So, just outside those walls, just beyond those walls, are the remains,
0:15:55 > 0:15:57the ghost remains, of a lost town,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00a town very important in the history of Ulster.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04When Queen Elizabeth died in 1603,
0:16:04 > 0:16:05the canny Catholic MacDonnells
0:16:05 > 0:16:09retained control of their lands in Ireland because they cultivated
0:16:09 > 0:16:13good relations with her successor, King James I.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17This king's grand design to plant Ulster with English
0:16:17 > 0:16:20and Scottish settlers was about to change everything.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26The Scots brought a different language, culture and faith,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29all of which transformed the society
0:16:29 > 0:16:33and appearance of the places in which they chose to settle.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42Into a hostile landscape, the next wave of Scots
0:16:42 > 0:16:46brought their craftsmen, their builders and architects.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49They've left us with striking reminders of the Plantation.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54One of the finest, the castle at Monea in County Fermanagh.
0:16:55 > 0:17:00The castle was completed in 1618 for the Reverend Malcolm Hamilton,
0:17:00 > 0:17:03a Scottish clergyman who was later appointed
0:17:03 > 0:17:05an archbishop here in Ireland.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Now, we know about the construction date
0:17:08 > 0:17:11because in 1690, the newly-built castle
0:17:11 > 0:17:15was inspected by Captain Nicholas Pinner,
0:17:15 > 0:17:18a government-appointed surveyor of the Plantation.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22Pinner came here, saw the castle, approved it,
0:17:22 > 0:17:24thought it strong,
0:17:24 > 0:17:28its wall built of stone and lime in a splendid manner,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31but he recommended that it be made stronger still
0:17:31 > 0:17:34by the addition of a bawn, a fortified wall -
0:17:34 > 0:17:38the remains of which we can still see over there.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Ah. Now, here's the front door.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52Lovely thing.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57It was defended by murder holes up there underneath the arch.
0:17:57 > 0:17:58Horrible things being dropped
0:17:58 > 0:18:00through those holes on the attackers -
0:18:00 > 0:18:02boiling oil or something filthier -
0:18:02 > 0:18:04and I've also seen here...
0:18:04 > 0:18:06Look at this. ..a little loop hole for musketry.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10So anyone trying to attack the front door being shot in the back
0:18:10 > 0:18:12by a musket coming through here.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15The main door opening was originally rather grand -
0:18:15 > 0:18:18lovely mouldings here framing the opening
0:18:18 > 0:18:21and the door itself would have been secured by some sort of bolts,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24I suppose, into these recesses. And then...
0:18:24 > 0:18:25Ah, here in front of me.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28..the remains of a great spiral staircase
0:18:28 > 0:18:31with stone treads leading upwards.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37And here... Well, the castle was three storeys high.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41This floor, the ground floor, would have been sort of storage,
0:18:41 > 0:18:45I suppose, supplies, to sustain the garrison and family
0:18:45 > 0:18:48in case of siege, maybe a well somewhere.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50And up here, of course, the main kitchen.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53And we can see that because there's the remains here
0:18:53 > 0:18:56of the great arch above the fireplace
0:18:56 > 0:18:59where the cooking would have taken place.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01And here in one corner of the kitchen,
0:19:01 > 0:19:05a little staircase connecting to the great hall above,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08the reception rooms on the first floor.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11There would have been a great big fireplace there, wood logs blazing.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15Wonderful. A big window there throwing light onto a glorious room.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17Strangely, I suppose -
0:19:17 > 0:19:21strange if we think of the Scottish as a model this building -
0:19:21 > 0:19:24this castle was thatched.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27The family here would have lived in comfort and some style.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30Colourful tapestries, painted furniture,
0:19:30 > 0:19:35presumably whitewashed walls - bright, airy, colourful, and gay.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38It would have been a very lovely and cosy home.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Now, sadly, a gaunt ruin.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50When tensions between the native Irish and planters finally erupted
0:19:50 > 0:19:55in the rebellion of 1641, panic spread through the new settlers.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59They retreated behind the walls of their strong houses
0:19:59 > 0:20:04as the old Gaelic order attempted to reclaim those confiscated lands.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06Here in Fermanagh,
0:20:06 > 0:20:09the Maguires attacked all the Plantation settlements.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13The castle was defended in depth.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16The outer defence was this bawn wall here.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20So attackers coming from the open ground over there
0:20:20 > 0:20:24would have been fired upon from the higher castle behind
0:20:24 > 0:20:28and then here, men, musketeers, standing on top of the bawn,
0:20:28 > 0:20:31would have fired through loop holes on the attackers
0:20:31 > 0:20:34just about over there. And when they're very near,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37men in this tower that projects forward off the bawn wall
0:20:37 > 0:20:40would have fired along the base of the wall,
0:20:40 > 0:20:45offering a deadly fusillade enfilading fire.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48That area would have been a frightful killing ground.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57The records of the time were sketchy at best.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01One account claimed over 100 people died here.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04But another suggests that when Monea was attacked by the Maguires,
0:21:04 > 0:21:07only eight of its defenders were killed.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10The castle itself seems to have been taken,
0:21:10 > 0:21:12but then recaptured not long afterwards.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17Not far from Monea, on the shores of Loch Erne,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20is the beautifully-sited Tully Castle.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23Tully was also assessed by the government inspector,
0:21:23 > 0:21:24Captain Nicholas Pinner,
0:21:24 > 0:21:29who tells us that Sir John Hume had built a fair strong castle,
0:21:29 > 0:21:33a bawn, and a village for 24 families.
0:21:33 > 0:21:34Strong houses like these
0:21:34 > 0:21:36are wonderful sort of documents in stone.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38They tell us so much about the people that built them,
0:21:38 > 0:21:41who occupied them in the early years, they're big statements
0:21:41 > 0:21:44in the landscape, proclaiming the presence of these people.
0:21:44 > 0:21:45But also in their fortifications,
0:21:45 > 0:21:48they seem to suggest the people here were, to a certain degree,
0:21:48 > 0:21:52fearful, felt themselves to be interlopers in an alien land.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55I would always point out defence is not the primary aspect of these.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59These are houses, strong houses, which is a better term.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03One has to think of them as that, with security built-in.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05- And they could be seen from long distances.- Yeah.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08Don't forget, at that time, in the early 17th century,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11they had no such roads as we understand, they had track roads.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14So you would approach the house like this going across the hills
0:22:14 > 0:22:17and you would have seen the house as a silhouette in the background,
0:22:17 > 0:22:20you know, against the sky, and you would have followed it.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22Yes. Of course, that's very important.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24The other thing they proclaim is where people came from.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28They came from Scotland. They're very Scottish, aren't they, in their detail?
0:22:28 > 0:22:30Absolutely. And they're exactly the same.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32I mean, essentially, these Scottish settlers,
0:22:32 > 0:22:35the Humes here, from Berwick,
0:22:35 > 0:22:39came in here and they came here with all their tenants, of course,
0:22:39 > 0:22:40and they came with their workers,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43they came here with all their equipment, don't forget,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46and this area here we know from the records was largely forest and bog.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49So they came here with everything, you know.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51They had to do everything from scratch.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54I mean, the whole big difference of the early 17th century
0:22:54 > 0:22:57is this bringing in new ideas, rooms for different functions...
0:22:57 > 0:23:00- apartments, in a sense, within the one house.- Right.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03- So you have a lot of different functional rooms.- Yes.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07And this outwork here, the bawn very much a fortification.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11When the Plantations took place here in the early 17th century,
0:23:11 > 0:23:15they were given their lands on the condition that they had to do, fulfil various things.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17They had to plant the land with people and so forth,
0:23:17 > 0:23:21and build a house or a strong house, and they have to build a bawn.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25- As it turned out, in 1641, it was a good idea.- Yeah.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39On Christmas Eve, 1641,
0:23:39 > 0:23:44Rory Maguire, with around 800 armed men, arrived outside the castle.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47Inside were Lady Hume,
0:23:47 > 0:23:50her son and her Protestant tenants from the nearby village.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53Maguire demanded the castle yield.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56A parlay took place and terms were agreed.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00Years later, Lady Hume said the terms agreed under oath
0:24:00 > 0:24:03were that in return for the surrender of the castle,
0:24:03 > 0:24:07the lives of its occupants would be spared,
0:24:07 > 0:24:10they would be left in possession of their property
0:24:10 > 0:24:13and guaranteed safe conduct to places of their own choosing.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23But during that terrible winter of 1641,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26promises made proved hard to keep.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34As soon as Maguire's men were inside the castle,
0:24:34 > 0:24:38they rounded up the villagers, took away their arms
0:24:38 > 0:24:43and bunged them into this room, this vaulted room, the kitchen.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47And then, after a night, I suppose, of terror, that door opened,
0:24:47 > 0:24:51the morning of Christmas Day, and in came some of Maguire's men.
0:24:51 > 0:24:57And they set upon the villagers sleeping and cowering in this room.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01Nearly 70 women and children were killed and 16 men,
0:25:01 > 0:25:05some in here, some dragged outside and butchered in the courtyard,
0:25:05 > 0:25:08left to die in the freezing conditions.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12And then the castle was set on fire.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15Lady Hume, her son and the agent were spared.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17They had not been imprisoned in here but elsewhere
0:25:17 > 0:25:19and they went on their way.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24They, the Humes, never returned to this castle, the scene of massacre.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26Quite understandable.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30So from that day until now it's remained a ruin,
0:25:30 > 0:25:32a haunted place indeed.
0:25:47 > 0:25:5258 years later, it was the memory of the 1641 massacres
0:25:52 > 0:25:55that motivated the Protestant settlers of Londonderry
0:25:55 > 0:25:58to take refuge behind the walls of their city
0:25:58 > 0:26:02from James II's advancing Catholic army.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06The walls are the enduring symbol of the Plantation.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10They were completed in 1618 and are, indeed, the last city walls
0:26:10 > 0:26:13constructed in the British Isles.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17They are magnificent, although, it must be said,
0:26:17 > 0:26:22not really the latest word in military technology when completed.
0:26:22 > 0:26:27But then, they were not intended to defend the city from attack
0:26:27 > 0:26:30from a modern army equipped with massive guns,
0:26:30 > 0:26:34but really to protect the citizens from raiding Gaelic lords.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40Although Derry's walls were considered vulnerable,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43they had survived sieges in the past.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46Now they were put to the test as never before,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49during the great siege of 1689.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56The walls were the ultimate defensive bulwark
0:26:56 > 0:27:01of the Williamite garrison against the army of James II.
0:27:01 > 0:27:06The fact the town withstood a siege of 105 days is a testimony,
0:27:06 > 0:27:08of course, to the defenders
0:27:08 > 0:27:12but also to the robust construction of the walls.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21The successful defence of Derry
0:27:21 > 0:27:23and the battles that followed, notably the Boyne,
0:27:23 > 0:27:27mark a decisive moment in the history of Ireland,
0:27:27 > 0:27:31of the British Isles, indeed, of Europe.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35These walls, these strong defensive walls,
0:27:35 > 0:27:39are indeed the pivot of history.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51The end of Williamite Wars brought relative peace to Ireland
0:27:51 > 0:27:54and removed the need for castles and walls,
0:27:54 > 0:27:58defensive structures motivated by fear.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01The 18th century saw the growth of the political power
0:28:01 > 0:28:04of the Protestant Ascendancy.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07The wealth of this elite fuelled the creation
0:28:07 > 0:28:09of a building type new in Ulster -
0:28:09 > 0:28:11the lavish country house.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd