tower houses

The Oxford Companion to Irish History | 2007 | 586 words | Copyright

tower houses were the distinctive fortified stone dwellings built by the rising gentry and rich patricians between 1400 and 1650. Square or rectangular, with four storeys in style known as Irish Gothic, they were commodious and ostentatious. Thick walls, machicolations, murder holes, arrow slits, and later gun loops provided defence. Up to 2,900 were built, mainly in Anglo‐Irish and marcher lordships and surrounded by bawns in the countryside, most are now ruinous or demolished. Kilclief, Co. Down, dating from the early 15th century, is an exquisite example.

Hiram Morgan

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"tower houses." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"tower houses." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-towerhouses.html

"tower houses." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-towerhouses.html

Learn more about citation styles