Side A
Welcome to Dunluce Castle
Dunluce Castle, dramatically positioned on this sheer headland between the Giant's Causeway and Portrush, was built between the 15th and 17th centuries. At this time it was one of the finest . . . — — Map (db m70900) HM
Dunseverick Castle and its rocky peninsula were given to the National Trust in 1962 by farmer Jack McCurdy.
The term Dun (fort) indicates a royal site. This was the fort of Sobhairce. It may have been a royal stronghold in the Iron Age . . . — — Map (db m70859) HM
It was here that James II demanded entry to the city during the 1689 siege. The present gate was built at the suggestion of Bishop Hervey in 1789 to celebrate the centenary of the siege. The head facing Bishop Street represents the river Boyne . . . — — Map (db m71021) HM
Two million gallons of whisky
Smoke from illicit poteen whisky stills used to waft over the walls from the Bogside. Legal distilleries opened in the Waterside and in the Bogside in the 1820s. Watt's Abbey Street distillery became the . . . — — Map (db m70971) HM
This was one of the four original gates of 1617. It was initially called the 'Nugate' or King's Gate, later being renamed Butcher Gate after the nearby meat market and slaughterhouse. The gate was nearly destroyed by cannon fire during the 1689 . . . — — Map (db m70972) HM
Demolish the walls
The Maiden City withstood two sieges without its walls being breached. In the 18th century the city grew too big for its walls and increasingly houses and factories were built on the slopes below. Castle Gate (1803) was . . . — — Map (db m70960) HM
Constructed in 1803 this was the second of the three new gates into the city. Although originally named New Gate, by the mid 19th century it was known as Castle Gate after the medieval tower house built by the O'Doherty family. — — Map (db m70970) HM
The watchers and the watched
There have been watchers on the walls for centuries. In 1627 two watch towers were built near the Cathedral after the guards complained about having to do duty in the rain. In the 19th century the bastions . . . — — Map (db m71053) HM
Livery Companies of the
City of London
Demi-culverin (C3)
Bore 4.25" - Length 120"
Weight 3750lb
One of a pair sent to the city
in May-June 1642 by the
Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors.
Probably cast by John Browne at one . . . — — Map (db m71049) HM
Livery Companies of the
City of London
Demi-culverin (C11)
Bore 4.6" - Length 120"
Weight 3988lb
The second of a pair sent to the city
in May-June 1642 by the
Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors.
Probably cast by John Browne . . . — — Map (db m71052) HM
Demi-culverin with
Rose and Crown (C12)
Bore 4.5", Length 120"
Weight 3417lb
Cast in 1590 by Thomas Johnston
Founder of iron ordnance to
Queen Elizabeth I — — Map (db m71125) HM
The city has always expressed its soul in verse.
Derry mine! My small oak grove
Little cell, my home, my love!
Attributed to St. Colmcille
The saint's story is told as St Columb in the Cathedral and as St Colmcille in Long Tower . . . — — Map (db m71005) HM
Roaring Meg
Roaring Meg is the most famous of the city's cannon. She weighs a mighty 1794 kilograms. The Fishmongers' Company of London presented her to the city in 1642. She saw action in the 1689 siege, probably from this bastion. It . . . — — Map (db m71007) HM
Locking the gates
In 1688 James II proposed to replace the Protestant garrison in the city with Catholic troops. Rumours were rife that the citizens were to be massacred. Meeting in the Diamond, the city leaders could not make up their . . . — — Map (db m71097) HM
This gate was built in 1865 on the site of one of the four original entrances to the city. Like Bishop's Gate it had a drawbridge, which could be pulled up in times of troubles, to allow people to cross the dry moat. This was the gate that the . . . — — Map (db m71104) HM
Fourteen sycamores
There are 14 sycamore trees on the Grand Parade, one for each of the 13 Apprentice Boys and one for James Morrison, their look-out on Ferryquay Gate. The fruit of the sycamore are like bunches of keys. They represent the . . . — — Map (db m70984) HM
The roaring cannon
The city claims Europe's largest collection of cannon whose precise origins can be traced. These are the earliest surviving cannon. Some were shipped over for Sir Henry Docwra's campaign of 1600-3: others were sent to . . . — — Map (db m71131) HM
Bulwarks and bastions
When first built, the bastions were known as bulwarks, each called after a person associated with the city from King James I to the Governor of the Plantation. They were renamed during the 1689 siege. This is . . . — — Map (db m70957) HM
Magazine Gate is the city's newest gate, built in 1865. At the same time the wall between Magazine and Shipquay Gates was raised by two metres and ornamental battlements added. A line of stonework on the outside shows the height of the original . . . — — Map (db m70915) HM
Fire power
Magazine Gate takes its name from the Plantation city's gunpowder store. The mixture of saltpetre, sulphur and fine charcoal had to be kept very dry as it easily absorbed water. A barrel of gunpowder and a pile of shot was . . . — — Map (db m70956) HM
In 1787 the walls were breached for the first time to improve access to the city centre. It is said that the gate was built to cope with crowds flocking to the New Theatre in Artillery Street but was closed in 1799 due to complaints from the . . . — — Map (db m71085) HM
The first shot
On 13th April, 1689 the first shot of the siege was fired. Citizens on the walls spotted the vanguard of the Jacobite army approaching under Lieutenant General Richard Hamilton. To make his presence known, Hamilton fired a . . . — — Map (db m71098) HM
You are standing on the city walls. Newmarket Street slopes up and over the wall. The street was created in the mid 19th century on the site of the Smithfield Meat Market to allow carts to the new covered market. — — Map (db m71100) HM
The siege governors
The Royal Bastion is associated with the city's four governors during the 1689 siege. Professional soldier Robert Lundy was unconvinced that the city could be defended against Jacobite attack. His indecisiveness and . . . — — Map (db m70987) HM
This was one of the four original 17th century gates to the city. It had a watch tower, battlements and a portcullis. The carvings on the outside of the present gate, built between 1803-5, celebrate the city's wealth. The cornucopia is a symbol of . . . — — Map (db m70927) HM
'A city fit for war and merchandise'
In 1600 Elizabeth I of England instructed Sir Henry Docwra to establish and fortify a new settlement on the Foyle. An explosion in the cathedral in 1567 had largely destroyed the town. Docwra and his . . . — — Map (db m71123) HM
If 'stones could speak', what a story they would have to tell. Their voices still echo on the walls and in the city streets.
According to tradition St. Colm Cille chose the oak grove on top of the hill for his monastery in 546 AD. His . . . — — Map (db m70928) HM
[Keyed photo of Double Bastion overlook]
1. Lumen Christi College - co-educational school on the site of Bishop Hervey's casino.
2. The Windmill - the stump of the building fought over during the 1689 siege.
3. St Columba's, Long Tower . . . — — Map (db m71004) HM
If 'stones could speak', what a story they would have to tell. Their voices still echo on the walls and in the city streets.
According to tradition St. Colm Cille chose the oak grove on top of the hill for his monastery in 546 AD. His . . . — — Map (db m71026) HM
If 'stones could speak', what a story they would have to tell. Their voices still echo on the walls and in the city streets.
According to tradition St. Colm Cille chose the oak grove on top of the hill for his monastery in 546 AD. His . . . — — Map (db m71121) HM
Feabhail
The river Foyle lapped against the Water Bastion until the late 18th century. The name Foyle probably arose because English-speaking settlers had difficulty saying the Irish 'Feabhail', used traditionally to describe the stretch . . . — — Map (db m71122) HM
The Watergate
The Watergate is the name given to the twin turreted building added to the outer wall of the castle c. 1615. Scottish in style, it was almost certainly built by William Cole, constable of the castle and founder of Enniskillen . . . — — Map (db m72648) HM
Castle Balfour, built for Sir James Balfour of Glenawley by about 1620, was one of many castles designed to secure the plantation in Ulster during the 17th century. It is of the Scottish-style strong house type, identifiable by such . . . — — Map (db m71324) HM
