Shane's Castle ruins, Shane's Castle Park, Antrim, Co Antrim

Shane's Castle Ruins

The remains of a three-storey castellated house dating from the 18th century but incorporating earlier phases of building. The structure now consists of two ruinous shells forming the wings of the house, standing approximately north and south of each other and approximately 23 metres apart. Built of random rubble basalt and brick, partly harled, each wing has a circular western end and a rectangular eastern end. Almost all of the original long connecting walls running east to west between the wings is now missing.

North Wing

The west elevation is formed by a circular bay of three storeys, open at the rear, built of galletted random rubble basalt and partly harled, with crenellations to the parapet rising from a slightly projecting brick corbel course. A cut sandstone open doorway in the ground floor consists of a semi-circular arch flanked by panelled pilasters rising to a broken triangular pediment, with moulded cornices. Each floor has a window with a semi-circular arch in brick and a moulded sandstone cill projecting outward. Similar semi-circular arched openings appear in the north and south sides of the circular bay. At the base of the circular tower on the north side is a red brick segmental relieving arch positioned directly over an underground service tunnel. There is no relieving arch on the south side where flues rise within the tower.

The north elevation to the left of the circular end bay consists of a slightly battered wall built in two sections with a visibly open vertical joint at the top. The portion to the right of the join, forming the return wall of the circular bay, is one window wide with flat arched openings in brick and projecting cills. The portion to the left is two windows wide with segmental arched openings in brick and similar cills. The east elevation is one window wide with segmental arched openings in brick.

Inside, the north wing has rubble masonry faces to the east end wall and to the eastern two bays of the north wall, with red brick lining to the bay of the north wall next to the circular tower. The circular tower is also lined with brick, and some plaster remains on the brick lining. The circular tower contains three semi-circular arched niches inside with doorways between them, and a stack of three fireplaces at the south corner of the tower.

South Wing

The south wing consists of a complete circular tower rising from basement level on the south side and part of the west, with open rectangular walling of what appears to be different periods of building connected to the east. The rectangular section rises from basement level on the south and east sides, forming a square tower-like bay to the east.

The west elevation of the circular tower is of three storeys, built of random rubble basalt and partly harled, with a crenellated parapet similar to that of the north wing. Semi-circular brick arched window openings are of similar size to those of the north wing but with brick jambs. Some remnants of cut-stone cills remain, but there is no cut-stone doorway. On the north side of the circular tower, scant and featureless remains of a storey-high wing wall of basalt rubble project to the north, with a detached lower portion standing north of that. At the rear of the circular tower, the outer layer of rubble stonework reveals a later pair of twin stilted semi-circular arches in red brick with basalt rubble to the common pier, probably a later repair to prevent collapse. Brick lining is continuous around the interior. Inner surfaces of the tower contain a fireplace at each level, with that at the first floor retaining a damaged rectangular cut-stone surround.

The south elevation shows the circular tower abutted to the right at the right-hand jamb of the window openings by a short straight return wall linked to a rectangular bay projecting forward at the east end of the wing. The return wall is of basalt rubble, crenellated at the top, one window wide, and contains four small windows with roughly segmental arches and rough stone voussoirs. A basement doorway off-centre below is segmental arched with rough stone voussoirs and has a later segmental brick arch immediately below it; the doorway is blocked up and finished with smooth cement render. The rectangular tower-like bay to the east is of basalt rubble, of three storeys and a basement, harled to the short projecting west side, with crenellations now missing. Openings are brick segmental arched with remnants of moulded sandstone cills, centrally placed except for the ground floor opening which is off-centre and partly blocked up with rubble. The base of the wall is abutted by a later brick vaulted compartment dating from early 19th-century additions.

The east elevation consists of the rectangular tower-like bay to the left with a portion of blank walling set back to the right. The right-hand corner of the projecting bay is battered. The east face of the rectangular tower-like bay is of similar walling to its south side except it retains remnants of crenellations, is partly harled, and incorporates some sandstone quoins to the right-hand corner. One of these quoins bears a carved human head known as Edenduffcarrick or 'the black face of stone'. One window opening appears on each floor, similar to those of the south side, and a flat arched off-centre basement opening is now blocked and smooth cement rendered. The blank walling set back to the right is of basalt rubble, partly harled, with crenellations now missing. It is built in two phases with a visible junction where the portion extending to the north retains dressed sandstone quoins now abutted by later walling on the left. The junction inclines to the north showing the batter of the wall to that end. The end wall at the north is comparatively thick, of masonry throughout except for later internal brick lining in parts. Inner faces of the rectangular walls are of basalt rubble with some brick lining and some modern red brick repairs, including angled brickwork supported on timber beams between the circular tower and its short linking return wall to the projecting rectangular bay. The interior basement area is much filled with masonry debris and scrub.

Setting

The building stands in a rural area within its own well-wooded demesne, on sloping grassland close to the shore of Lough Neagh. To the south and connected to it stands a complex of other important architectural structures: a battery and terrace, unfinished castle-style additions to the house, and a conservatory known as the Camellia House. Immediately to the south-west of the south wing is an open basement area containing the remains of angled walls, probably the kitchen area of the original house. At the base of the circular tower of the south wing is an arched underground entrance leading from this open basement court into a vaulted service tunnel which follows the curve of the tower until it branches off along the outside of what was the west face of the house and continues directly underneath the circular bay of the north wing to emerge alongside the old private burial ground. The tunnel is lit by metal-barred light wells at intervals along its length.