Castle Archdale in

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

is a former estate on the shores of Lough Erne Lower, the key feature of which today is Castle Archdale Country Park. There is also a caravan park. The former estate is situated near Lisnarick and

Irvinestown Irvinestown is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. In 2011 it had a population of 2,267 people. The most notable buildings are Necarne Castle, formerly known as Castle Irvine, and Castle Archdale. Irvinestown is situated within Ferman ...

, in the broader hinterland of

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , 'Cethlenn, Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of ...

, and the park is owned and run by the

Northern Ireland Environment Agency The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is an executive agency within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). It is responsible for conservation of Northern Ireland's environment and natural heritage. Origi ...

History

The park was once an estate owned by the Archdale family, who arrived in 1614 during the

Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the sett ...

. The castle was built in 1615 by John Archdale (died 1621), a

Plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

undertaker from

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. The castle was built on a T-plan with a defensive bawn 66 ft by 64 ft and 15 ft high with flankers at each corner. He was succeeded by his son, Edward. The castle was destroyed again in 1689, during the

Williamite wars The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...

. In the 18th century, a mansion was built, but all that now remains is a huge cobbled courtyard surrounded by white outbuildings, housing an information centre and tearooms. The ruins of the old castle itself are situated in the old area of the park.

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

RAF Castle Archdale Royal Air Force Castle Archdale or more simply RAF Castle Archdale, also known for a while as RAF Lough Erne is a former Royal Air Force station used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force station in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. His ...

housed up to 2,500 people and was a major base for

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

PBY Catalina The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served wit ...

s and

Short Sunderland The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of Sunderland in North East ...

s flew from Castle Archdale to protect

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

shipping from German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s. Today's caravan site sits on the concrete maintenance area where aircraft were serviced, and a museum in the park holds exhibits from the World War II period.

Transport

* There is a ferry to

White Island White Island may refer to: Places Oceania *Whakaari / White Island, volcanic island in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand **2019 Whakaari / White Island eruption *White Island (Otago), Dunedin, New Zealand North America *White Island, Paget, Bermuda ...

which leaves from Castle Archdale marina. * Castle Archdale private railway station opened on 13 June 1866, but finally closed on 3 July 1950.

Sport

A range of water and land based activities are available from a commercial outlet located in the marina car park.

References

Links

Culture Northern Ireland
* {{coord, 54, 28, 40, N, 7, 43, 56, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Northern Ireland coast and countryside Northern Ireland Environment Agency properties Nature reserves in Northern Ireland Protected areas of County Fermanagh Museums in County Fermanagh World War II museums in the United Kingdom Military and war museums in Northern Ireland Register of Parks, Gardens and Demesnes of Special Historic Interest