Charles Fort ( ga, Dún Chathail) is a ''trace italien'' fortification, a

bastion fort A bastion fort or ''trace italienne'' (a phrase derived from non-standard French, literally meaning ''Italian outline'') is a fortification in a style that evolved during the early modern period of gunpowder when the cannon came to domin ...

with one section of the outer wall built in star fashion. It is located on the water's edge, at the southern end of the village of

Summer Cove Summer Cove is part of Kinsale town on the Kinsale harbour, on the south coast of Ireland; it faces westwards across the entrance of the harbour to the Castlepark The Castlepark peninsula in Kinsale harbour on the coast of County Cork, on t ...

, on

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a population of 5,281 (a ...

harbour,

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. First completed in 1682, Charles Fort was sometimes historically referred to as the "new fort" - to contrast with

James' Fort James Fort ( ga, Dún Rí Shéamuis) is an early 17th-century pentagonal bastion fort located on Castlepark peninsula in Kinsale harbour, County Cork, Ireland. Situated downstream from Kinsale on the River Bandon, the fort was built to defend ...

(the "old fort") which had been built on the other side of Kinsale harbour before 1607. The fort is now operated as a

heritage tourism Cultural heritage tourism (or just heritage tourism) is a branch of tourism oriented towards the cultural heritage of the location where tourism is occurring. The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States defines heritage t ...

site by the Heritage Ireland arm of the Office of Public Works.

History

Charles Fort was built on the site of the ruins of an earlier

stronghold A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

known as Barry Óg Castle, at Rincurran. The Ringcurran defences had featured prominently during the

Siege of Kinsale The siege of Kinsale, or Battle of Kinsale ( ga, Léigear/Cath Chionn tSáile), was the ultimate battle in England's conquest of Gaelic Ireland, commencing in October 1601, near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and at the climax of t ...

in 1601. The new fort, which is named after Charles II, was designed by the

Surveyor-general A surveyor general is an official responsible for government surveying in a specific country or territory. Historically, this would often have been a military appointment, but it is now more likely to be a civilian post. The following surveyor gen ...

Sir William Robinson - architect of the

Royal Hospital Kilmainham The Royal Hospital Kilmainham ( ga, Ospidéal Ríochta Chill Mhaighneann) in Kilmainham, Dublin, is a former 17th-century hospital at Kilmainham in Ireland. The structure now houses the Irish Museum of Modern Art. History A priory, founded in 11 ...

. Additional site structures are attributed to engineer Captain Thomas Philips. The fort was built between 1677 and 1682 to a design which included elements similar to

star fort A bastion fort or ''trace italienne'' (a phrase derived from non-standard French, literally meaning ''Italian outline'') is a fortification in a style that evolved during the early modern period of gunpowder when the cannon came to domin ...

ifications; a layout specifically designed to resist attack by cannon. It became known as the "new fort" - to contrast with

(the "old fort") which had been built on the other side of Kinsale harbour between 1602 and 1607. Charles Fort, Kinsale, Co

An early lighthouse was established here in the 17th century by

Robert Reading Sir Robert Reading, first and last Baronet Reading, (c. 1640 – c. March 1689) built several privately owned lighthouses in Ireland under letters patent from Charles II of England. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, receiving a BA i ...

, and additional works (including the development of internal "

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

" defences) were added through the 18th and 19th centuries. The fort remained in use as a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

for two hundred years afterwards, before being relinquished by British forces following the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

of 1921. The fort fell out of use after being burned by retreating anti-Treaty forces during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

in 1922.

Architecture

Charles Fort is an example of a pentagonally bastioned fort. The five bastions are named, in turn, the "Kinsale" (also known as the "Devil's"), the "Charles", the "Cockpit", the "Flagstaff" and the "North". The "Kinsale" and the "Charles" - the seaward bastions - are more substantial than the other three, as it was expected that the fort would be attacked from sea. With a focus on seaward defence, the landward and inland bastions of the fort are overlooked by higher ground. This weakness was of critical importance when the fort was subject to a 13-day siege in 1690 during the

Williamite War in Ireland 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 ...

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...

(then 1st Earl) besieged Cork and captured Kinsale and its forts. Repairs were made following the siege.

Tourism development

The complex remained largely derelict for some time, but was named a National Monument of Ireland in 1971. Over the coming decades several sections of the fort were restored by

Dúchas Dúchas, sometimes Dúchas: The Heritage Service, was an executive agency of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands of the Government of Ireland responsible for Heritage management, including: * natural heritage (including ...

, the Irish heritage service. Restoration and development of the complex was later taken-over by the

Office of Public Works The Office of Public Works (OPW) ( ga, Oifig na nOibreacha Poiblí) (legally the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland) is a major Irish Government agency, which manages most of the Irish State's property portfolio, including hundreds of ow ...

(OPW) - including the development of an exhibition space in the former commander's quarters. Charles Fort is one of the most visited OPW sites in the region, attracting in excess of 86,000 visitors in 2015.

Gallery

File:Kinsale-fortress.panorama.jpg, Fortifications File:Charlesfort (201000489).jpeg, Entrance File:CharlesFortCannon20041204Blorg.JPG, Carronades in the fort File:View from Guard House in Charles Fort.jpg, View from guard house File:Digital Eye-2014-Charles Fort-5.jpg, View of officer's house

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in County Cork Forts in the Republic of Ireland Tourist attractions in County Cork National Monuments in County Cork Kinsale

History

Architecture

Tourism development

Gallery

See also

References