This
is the ancient motte in Antrim Castle grounds and the castle used to be next
to it. From here on the top of the motte a cannon was mounted during the 'Battle
of Antrim' and fired over the heads of the defenders and into the insurgents
up High Street. The last shot fired from the cannon which was called 'Roaring
Tatty' sailed over the town and crashed through All Saints' Parish Church
which then was made of thatch. To imagine what it must have looked like from
up there, place your curosr over the photograph.
The
photograph and illustration above show what is like in days gone by.
This
is only part of the Parterre Garden which was recently restored to its former
glory. You can see more in the Flowers Section and it is looked after by the
gardeners of Antrim Borough Council who do a great job. During the plantation
Antrim Castle was the estate of Sir Hugh Clotworthy It is believed that the
castle gardens were laid out in the 17th century by Le Notre who created the
gardens of Versailles for Louis XIV the king of France. The extensive gardens
included the ornamental canals, water gardens, a round pond, the ancient Motte
and of course the Parterre Gardens.
This
is Clotworthy House built in 1849 and was the coach house and stables. The
grooms and stable lads had their living quarters here as well. When the
Antrim Castle was burned down, Lord and Lady Massereene & Ferrard stayed
at Hall's Hotel in High Street until Clotworthy was refurbished for them
to live in. They eventually moved to England.
On
either side of the facing walls on clotworthy house are the sculptered heads
of a a God-fearing blind tennant and his wife as seen in this photograph.
There is a sermon recorded in the stone from the stone-mason which reads as
follows: "The Almighty rewarded the pious man's
craving for the gift of sight to behold the stunning beauty of his wife which,
hitherto, he could only imagine from her graphic descriptions of herself;
however, one look at his shrewish wife and the good man promptly prayed for
the restoration of his blindness !"
The
grounds will be closed to the public while extensive work is carried out so
that you may enjoy the beauty much more easily.
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