Castles · Northern Ireland
Portora Castle
Portora Castle — castle in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.
Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1.5 h–3 h
- Family-friendly
- Limited wheelchair access
About
Portora Castle is a castle in the United Kingdom — fortified architecture from the medieval, Tudor, or Victorian-revival period. Wikidata describes it as: "castle in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland". Coordinates: 54.3510°, -7.6550°.
Photo gallery
From the Wikipedia article
Portora Castle is a castle in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The castle was built for Sir William Cole who purchased the land in 1612. It is strategically positioned by the narrow exit of the River Erne into the Lower Lough Erne. It is a State Care Historic Monument sited in the townland of Portora, in Fermanagh District Council area, at grid ref: H2221 4531.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
Sir Michael Cole and his family moved to Portora Castle in 1710 when their previous residence, Enniskillen Castle, was hit by fire. They remained there until about 1716, when Sir Michael's son, John Cole (1680–1726), started building Florence Court. The ford at Portora was important in the Erne Waterways and must have seen considerable traffic in peace and war. In the course of the Erne Drainage Scheme (1951–1960) a bronze dirk and stone axes were recovered at this point. The castle is now in ruins, partly because a group of truanting school-boys from nearby Portora Royal School, now Enniskillen Royal Grammar School, experimenting with gunpowder they learnt how to create in chemistry class,…
Description
In 1619 Nicholas Pynnar described the castle as 'a bawn of lime and stone, 2.5m square, approximately 4m high, with four flankers and a stone house or castle three storeys high, strongly wrought'. Three of the flankers remain, the two on the west, flanking the walls of the castle. These round towers, about 3m in diameter, have several gun loops. Inside the castle can be seen proper fireplace chimneys in the north and west walls.
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 54.3510, -7.6550
- District
- Fermanagh and Omagh
- Postcode
- BT74 7EZ
- Parliamentary constituency
- Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Sources
- wikidata: Q7232211 (CC0)
- wikipedia: Portora Castle (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- commons: Portora Castle.jpg (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Portora Castle?
- Portora Castle is in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom (postcode BT74 7EZ).
- Does Portora Castle charge admission?
- Portora Castle typically charges admission. Check the official site for current ticket prices and opening hours.
- How do I get to Portora Castle?
- Drivers can navigate to postcode BT74 7EZ. It sits within the Fermanagh and South Tyrone parliamentary constituency.