Bellaghy Bawn

About

Bellaghy Bawn is a fortified house and bawn in Bellaghy, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Construction began in c. 1614 under John Rowley. After Rowley's death in 1617, the bawn's construction was continued by Baptist Jones (died c. 1623). The original bawn burned down during the 1641 Irish Rebellion and was rebuilt in 1643. It has received extensions since. It became a museum in 1996.

Site: Bellaghy stands on basalt formed from Cretaceous-era olivine basalt lava. Bellaghy Bawn was built where an Early Christian ringfort stood, but it is unlikely those who built the bawn were aware of this.

The original bawn was square-shaped, 100 square feet (9.29 m2) in area, with two large towers diagonally opposite one another with two-story blocks extended from each. It consisted of mostly red incorporated diatomite-clay brick and limestone, with 3 ft stone footings. The modern-day bawn was constructed in the 18th century, incorporating the original south-east flanker tower. In the south-west, there is a brick tower, however it is thought that said tower was only built as a replacement of a timber structure. The bawn is a B+-listed monument.