Castle Balfour Demesne
Castle Balfour Demesne is a townland of 201 acres in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the civil parish of Aghalurcher and the historic barony of Magherastephana.[1][2] It contains part of the small town of Lisnaskea, with the remainder in the townland of Lisoneill.[3]
| Castle Balfour | |
|---|---|
 Castle Balfour, Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland | |
  Castle Balfour Location within Northern Ireland | |
| Irish grid reference | H3634 |
| District | |
| County | |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | BT |
| Dialling code | 028, +44 28 |
| UK Parliament | |
| NI Assembly | |
The townland contains the 17th-century remains of Castle Balfour, just off the main street in Lisnaskea, built around 1618 by James, Lord Balfour of Glenawley.[4] The castle was altered in 1652 and damaged in 1689, but remained inhabited into the 19th century. It was restored and conserved in the 1960s and 1990s.[5]
There was also evidence of a very much earlier ringfort (with radiocarbon dates of 359-428 AD) in the townland [6] suggesting the area was inhabited from a very early date.
The listed Church of Ireland Holy Trinity Church is also situated in the townland.
References
- "Castle Balfour Demesne". Ire Atlas Townlands Database. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- "Castle Balfour Demesne". Place Names NI. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- "Lisnaskea". Place Names NI. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- Flanagan, Laurence (1992). A Dictionary of Irish Archaeology. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. pp. 50–51.
- "Castle Balfour" (PDF). Northern Ireland Environment Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- Stout, Matthew (1997). The Irish Ringfort. Dublin: Four Courts Press. pp. 18 and 28.