Nendrum Castle, Mahee Island, Killinchy, Co Down, BT23 6EP is a Grade Record Only listed building in the Ards and North Down local planning authority area, Northern Ireland.

Nendrum Castle, Mahee Island, Killinchy, Co Down, BT23 6EP

WRENN ID
unlit-bonework-sable
Grade
Record Only
Local Planning Authority
Ards and North Down
Constituency
Strangford MP: Jim Shannon (DUP)
Country
Northern Ireland
Address
Nendrum Castle, Mahee Island, Killinchy, Co Down, BT23 6EP, BT23 6EP
Irish grid reference
J 523 639
Coordinates
54.50106, -5.64856
Source
NI Environment Agency listing

Also on this page: radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The ruins of a tower house, probably built around 1570, stand at the northern edge of Mahee Island, facing the causeway from Reagh Island, approximately 2.5 miles northeast of Killinchy. The remains are three storeys high, constructed from split stone rubble and boulders. The original plan was likely rectangular, with surviving walls measuring roughly 13 meters by 6.5 meters. Significant portions of the northeast wall are missing, with only a corner section remaining on the right side. Much of the southwest wall survives and contains six openings of varying sizes, featuring splayed reveals. There are two openings at ground floor level, three on the first floor, and one on the second floor to the left, which appears to have been a doorway. Above one of the first-floor openings are niches that once held the second floor joists. At ground level, remnants of two rooms with barrel vaulting are visible; the room to the southwest extends through a wide doorway on the southwest side, though the northeast end has collapsed. The first floor appears to have contained a single chamber, and the remains of the stairway are located in the southeast corner, rising through the thickness of the southeast wall.

The castle is thought to have been built around 1570 by Thomas Browne, an English soldier who leased Mahee Island from Bishop Merriman. In 1572, Captain Browne requested resources from Lord Burghley to cover the cost of construction on the island, reported to be 400 marks (£266-4-0). The structure is considered a monument.

Local climate

Nendrum Castle, Mahee Island, Killinchy, Co Down, BT23 6EP sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 1,130 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 88% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 94% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 1 freeze-thaw cycle a year, fewer than 99% of listed buildings. Of these, 1 follows at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.2°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

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  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
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  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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Nearby listed buildings

  1. Nendrum monastic site, Mahee Island, Killinchy, Co Down, BT23 6EP Grade Record Only 325 m
  2. 5 Reagh Island, Comber, Newtownards, BT23 6EN Grade Record Only 1.0 km
  3. 43 Ballydorn Road, Ballydorn, Killinchy, Co Down, BT23 6QB Grade Record Only 1.0 km
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  7. 93 Ballydorn Road, Ballydorn, Killinchy, Co Down, BT23 6QV Grade Record Only 1.8 km
  8. Ardmillan House, 80 Ardmillan Road and 8 The Oyster Yard, Ardmillan, Ballymartin, Killinchy, Co. Down, BT23 6QN Grade D1 Record Only 1.9 km
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  10. Ardmillan Bridge, Ardmillan Road, Ballymartin/Craigarusky, Killinchy, Co Down, BT23 6QW, BT23 Grade Record Only 2.0 km