Bellaghy Bawn
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This 17th-century Vintners Company fortified house and bawn, was opened to the public in 1996. There are exhibitions on local natural history and history, and on poetry by local Nobel Laureate, Seamus Heaney and other contemporary Irish writers.
When this area was granted to the Vintners' Company of London in 1619, Sir Baptist Jones rented the land and built the bawn and the accompanying village to secure the region. This is now a complex, multi-period monument. The main house was lived in until as recently as 1987, and excavation in 1989-90 clarified the site's complicated development
The N bawn wall with the entrance has disappeared, but parts of the other walls survive. The house is probably of the 18th century, on the site of an original early17th-century house, and the excavated foundations of another 17th-century house can be seen against the W bawn wall. A 1622 drawing shows two large round towers at opposed NW and SE corners of the bawn, the SE one surviving, attached to the house. A gateway in the W wall leads to the outside of the bawn, where the recent brick buttresses are the latest in a long series of attempts to prop the leaning wall. Excavation showed it had been built over the ditch of a rath of the Early Christian period, also exploiting this eminence, and explaining the instability. In the house are historical and other displays featuring the work of Ulster poets, especially Seamus Heaney, who comes from this area. The resources include a film made for the bawn and a collection of Seamus Heaney's broadcasts.
Facilities
- Guided tours available
- Visitor CentreExhibition
- Audio Visual Room
- Toilets / Disabled Toilets
- Limited Wheelchair Acces
- Picnic Area
- Parking
Access & Booking
WINTER OPENING HOURS (1st September - Easter)
Monday to Saturday (incl.) open 9am to 5pm
House closed Sunday
The House will also be open on Public and Bank Holidays throughout the year with the exception of Christmas/New Year week.
Admission: Adult - £2.00, Ch/OAP - £1.00, Ch under 11yrs - 50p, Family Rate - £5.00 (2 Adults & 4 Children
SUMMER OPENING HOURS (Easter - 31sth August)
Sunday to Saturday (incl.) open 10.00am to 6.00pm
House open seven days per week
The House will also be open on Public and Bank Holidays throughout the year
Admission: Adult - £2.00, Ch/OAP - £1.00, Ch under 11yrs - 50p, Family Rate - £5.00 (2 Adults & 4 Children)
Booking and queries: For information on visits to Bellaghy Bawn, please
Tel: 028 7938 6812 0r 028 90 546552.
Getting Here
Bellaghy Bawn is situated two miles off the main Belfast to Londonderry road (A4),taking the B182 Road midway between Toome and Castledawson. The Bawn is just into the village from Toome Road at the end of Castle street.