The Mound of Down and Clough Castle

 The Mound of Down

The County of Down includes a very small part of Belfast City, Downpatrick (burial place of Saint Patrick), the Ards Peninsula, Mourne mountains and a host of inland and Seaside towns and villages.

Visiting several other sites of interest in the area I noticed a sign for the "mound of Down" and curiosity got the better of me.

First off though I'll mention Clough Castle, a fine example of Anglo-Norman Motte and Bailey defensive construction.

These consisted of the Motte, usually a large grassy hemisphere atop of which (in Ireland) were often built wooden Castles or fortified Anglo-Norman wodden homes.

Beneath the Motte was to be found the Bailey which was often but not always, rectangular in shape and also fenced or fortified.

Within the safe environs of the Bailey various types of domesticated livestock could be housed or alternatively rounded up into during times of danger or uncertainty or at night perhaps.

Here they would be relatively safe from predators or rustlers.

The Baily at times could also contain the homes of serfs or soldiery.

The Baily, in certain unusual circumstances might occasionally consist of concentric rings of earthen banking and ditches, such as the style at Granard Motte and Bailey in County Longford.

The Motte and Baily at Clough is very well preserved and it's well worth stopping up at the garage beside it and taking time out to go up to see it properly.

Unusually it has a stone structure on top which you don't often come across in Ireland as most of the Motte fortifications were, as previously mentioned, constructed in a hurry by the new arrivals and made of wood.

The Stone you see on top are the remnants of a later "Tower house", probably 17th Cty.

However, sub-surface there are the remains of some 13th Cty stone foundations indicating a stone built building which only was slightly subsequent to the original wooden Castle.

On continental Europe these Mottes can be extremly massive and often they house large scale stone built Castles on top.

Ireland's examples are generally smaller, more numerous and devoid of stone built fortifications, the Motte at Clough being a quite delightful exception to the usual rules.

The Baily here at Clough is also of an irregular shape and not at all rectangular.

Returning now to the 

mound of Down.

From what I gather the mound of Down originally predates any Norman or Anglo-Norman construction.

There is a steep outer bank and once past that, lying in an egg shaped enclosure, a further ditch and U shaped mound.

This has been postulated as either an unfinished or a damaged work of some type.

It is also posited as a possible Hill Fort. These were Bronze age constructions.

There is a further possibility in that it may have been an Iron age Ring Fort.

And finally, to my untrained eye, it looks decidedly like a badly damaged Bronze age Bowl Barrow but much bigger.

Who knows ?

I've not visited any specific monument before that was listed simply as a "mound".

I am quite sure though that if you are a fan of mounds, the mound of Down should probably be on your list of must see'.

As mounds go, despite not being an expert I'd imagine it easily makes it into the top ten list.

There are quite a lot of things to see and do in County Down including ;

Drumena Cashel

Saint Patrick's Grave 

An "almost" Séan na Gig.

The Silent Valley

......and the Newry Canal,  Newcastle and the 

Mournes, and a limitless amount of places of further interest.

Keep the wheels 🛞 turning.

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