Ruins & Archaeological Sites in County Down

An Dún · Ulster · 15 places

County Down (An Dún) in Ulster features 15 mapped ruins & archaeological sites, led by Giants Ring, Struell Wells, and Movilla Abbey. Across these 15 listings, 13 feature verified photography and 15 include mapped nearby public parking. Notable ruins, monuments, historic churches, and towers.

Showing 15 of 15 places

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Giants Ring

The Giant's Ring is a henge monument at Ballynahatty, near Shaw's Bridge, Belfast, Northern Ireland. The site is a State Care Historic Monument and also a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The site consists of a circular enclosure, 180 m (590 ft) in diameter and 2.8 hectares (6.9 acres) in area, surrounded by a circular earthwork bank 3.5 m (11 ft) high. At least three of the five irregularly spaced gaps in the bank are intentional and possibly original. East of the centre of the enclosure is a small passage tomb with a vestigial passage facing west. There were reports of other tombs outside the enclosure, but there is no trace of these. A wall to protect the site was constructed under the supervision of local landowner Arthur Hill-Trevor, 3rd Viscount Dungannon in 1837. An inscribed stone tablet on the wall surrounding the site, which details Viscount Dungannon's interest, was carved by Belfast stone-carver Charles A Thompson c. 1919.

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Struell Wells

Struell Wells (Irish: Toibreacha an tSruthail; Ulster-Scots: Struell Waals) are a set of four holy wells in the townland of Struell, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland (grid ref: J513442). The wells date from before the time of Saint Patrick, and even today are used for people seeking cures. On Mid-Summer Eve (Saint John's Eve) and the Friday before Lammas, hundreds of pilgrims used to visit Struell. The earliest written reference to the wells is in 1306 when a chapel was recorded on the site, but none of the surviving buildings is earlier than about 1600. Pilgrimages to the site are well documented from the 16th century to the 19th century. The site is managed by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.

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Movilla Abbey

Movilla Abbey (Irish: Mainistir Mhaigh Bhile "Monastery of the Plain of the Notable Tree") in Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland, is believed to have been one of Ulster's and Ireland's most important monasteries. Movilla should not be confused with Moville in County Donegal.

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Nendrum Church

Nendrum Monastery (Irish: Naondroim) was a Christian monastery on Mahee Island in Strangford Lough, County Down, Northern Ireland. Medieval records say it was founded in the 5th century, but this is uncertain. The monastery came to an end at some time between 974 and 1178, but its church served a parish until the site was abandoned in the 15th century. Some remains of the monastery can still be seen.

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Annadorn Dolmen

Annadorn Dolmen is a dolmen sited at the Buck's Head near Loughinisland, in the townland of Annadorn. Nearby you can find the old Annadorn school and post office in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the north-east shore of Loughinisland Lake, on a hillock overlooking Loughinisland Churches, a group of three ruined churches. The site is a State Care Historic Monument at grid ref: J4289 4591. Co-ordinates: Latitude: 54° 20' 29.97" N Longitude: 5° 48' 8.72" W

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Audleystown Cairn

The Audleystown Court Tomb is a Neolithic dual court tomb located in Ballyculter parish, near the southern shore of Strangford Lough in County Down, Northern Ireland. The tomb was built around 3900–3500 BCE. It was first excavated by archaeologist A.E. Collins in 1952. The Audleystown court tomb has a double courtyard-double burial chamber layout, which is unique to Ireland.

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Loughbrickland Crannóg

Loughbrickland Crannóg is a Bronze Age human-made island known as a crannóg, 4 miles (6.4 km) south west of Banbridge, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the middle of the lough, 1 mile (1.6 km) from the village of Loughbrickland. The crannóg in Loughbrickland is a Scheduled Historic Monument in the townland of Drumnahare, in Banbridge District, at grid reference J1113 4118. It is easily visible from the south-bound carriageway of the trunk A1 Belfast-Dublin route, just past the B3 Rathfriland exit.

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McKee Clock

The McKee Clock is a clock tower in the City of Bangor, Northern Ireland. Situated at the foot of High Street in the marina's sunken gardens in an area known as the "McKee Clock Arena", the clock is named for its benefactor James McKee, a local rates collector who donated £200 (a very large sum of money at the time) towards its construction. The clock was designed by Mr Bell, the town's surveyor, and built in 1915 by John McNeilly from stone quarried at Ballycullen, near Newtownards. On the base of the clock, a black granite slab is engraved with the inscription "8 July 1915. This stone records the appreciation of the Bangor Urban District Council for the generous gift of this clock to his native town by James McKee. The above James McKee died on 28th April 1919". During World War II the Luftwaffe dropped a bomb that landed on the top of the clock. Fortunately little damage resulted. The clock tower is a familiar sight to Bangor natives and visitors alike, and is a popular meeting place in the town.

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Helen's Tower

Helen's Tower is a 19th-century folly and lookout tower in Conlig, County Down, Northern Ireland. It was built by 5th Lord Dufferin and Clandeboye and named for his mother, Helen. He intended it as a shrine for poems, first of all a poem by his mother and then others that he solicited from famous poets over the years. Tennyson's Helen's Tower is the best known of them. The tower is an example of Scottish Baronial architecture. Helen's Tower inspired the design of the Ulster Tower, a war memorial at Thiepval, France.

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Lisnagade

Lisnagade (from Irish Lios na gCéad 'ringfort of the hundred') is a large multivallate earthen ringfort, three miles west of Banbridge, County Down, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, just off the Scarva road. Lisnagade Fort rath and annex are State Care Historic Monuments in the townland of Lisnagade, in Banbridge District.

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Tide Mill

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Holywood Priory

Holywood Priory is a medieval monastic ruin in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. Built in the late 12th or early 13th century on the site of an earlier monastery, it was later used by the Franciscans and dissolved in 1541 during the reign of Henry VIII.

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St Patrick's Statue

St Patrick's Statue is a historic monument located in County Down. It depicts the prominent saint associated with Irish history.

Archaeological SiteLoughinisland Churches

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Loughinisland Churches

Loughinisland Churches is a historic archaeological site located in County Down. The site features ancient ecclesiastical ruins for visitors to explore.

MonumentSt. Patrick's Grave

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St. Patrick's Grave

St. Patrick's Grave is a historic monument located in County Down. Visitors can find this monument in the county.

Other categories in County Down

Mountains & National Parks (99) Family Attractions & Zoos (39) Castles (34) Sea Cliffs & Rock Formations (32) Museums & Galleries (23) Scenic Viewpoints (12) Beaches & Coves (9) Historic Houses & Forts (9) Abbeys & Monasteries (7) Megalithic Sites (6) Waterfalls (3) Round Towers & High Crosses (2)

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