Crevenish Castle | |
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![]() The ruins of Crevenish Castle | |
Type | Tower house |
Location | Near Kesh, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland |
Nearest city | Derry |
Founder | Thomas Blenerhasset |
Built | c. 1618 |
Owner | Privately owned |
Crevenish Castle is a ruined castle and bawn in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, 3k south-west of Kesh [1] at grid ref: H165626. [2] It is privately owned. [3]
The castle was built about 1618 by Thomas Blenerhasset (died 1624) of Norfolk, whose brother built Castle Caldwell. [1] He was a writer, and published a pamphlet Directions for the Plantation of Ulster. [4] [5] He was succeeded by his eldest son Sir Leonard Blennerhassett (died 1639). [6] The castle moved to local Maguire hands when his widow, Deborah, married Rory Maguire, a leader of the Irish Rebellion of 1641 in Fermanagh, who died in 1648. [3] The castle subsequently returned to Blennerhassett hands, to Henry, son of Sir Leonard, who became MP for County Fermanagh in 1664, and High sheriff for the county. [6] However, by 1697 the house was being reported as ruinous. [3]
In 1618/19 Captain Nicholas Pynnar reported the castle as being 'a house of stone and lime, slated, two and a half storeys high'. A church was also begun and a small village of six houses. [3] Two and a half storeys remain standing, with a square tower and loopholed windows. [1] It is built of limestone with, on the north side, an inset centre section with a tower-like projection on either. [7] The tombstones of the Blennerhassetts are in the grounds. [3]
54°30′42″N 7°44′43″W / 54.51176°N 7.74520°W