About
To celebrate European Heritage Open Days 2025, The Barbican in Glenarm will be open on Sunday 14th September from 10:00 to 16:00. This is a free event and an opportunity to explore a miniature medieval-style castle that once guarded the entrance to Glenarm Castle Estate. Visitors can enjoy a self-guided tour of this unique structure, including its dramatic turreted rooftop with views over the village and sea.
Irish Landmark Trust is a non-profit organisation that finds interesting and unusual properties that are in need of conservation, and gives them a sustainable new life. Since 1992, we’ve been turning historic buildings into truly special self-catering holiday accommodation. Our properties range from lighthouses and schoolhouses to castles and gate lodges.
Built in 1825, this imposing fortified gatelodge has battlements and turrets with the Barbican gateway at its centre. It is positioned beyond an old stone bridge over the Glenarm River and is of such historic and architectural significance that it is listed as a Grade ‘A’ building. The Barbican marks the entrance into the Glenarm Estate giving a taste of the imposing castle beyond. The ‘Barbican’, as the entrance gate was named, had previously been a fairly simple one storey Palladian building overlooking the old bridge to the village, with a simple wall on either side running along the edge of the river. The famous architect William Morrison transformed this building into a battlemented fortification with towers at regular intervals and the Barbican gateway at its centre.
Walkways were made behind the battlements to create romantic walks for the inhabitants, and local basalt was used throughout to give the walls and towers an appropriately somber appearance, though red sandstone dressings were used for the finer detailing of the Barbican. Over the gate, looking out over the bridge, an ancient sandstone coat of arms was inserted. This had originally graced the front of Glenarm Castle when it was built by the first earl in 1636, while the other side of the Barbican was also given a commemorative plaque: THIS GATEWAY WAS BUILT AND THE CASTLE RESTORED BY EDMUND M’DONNELL, ESQUIRE, AND HIS WIFE ANNE KATHERINE, IN HER OWN RIGHT COUNTESS OF ANTRIM AND VISCOUNTESS DUNLUCE A.D. 1825
The local House Manager will be at the property all day to answer questions and provide information on the building. There will also be a free leaflet available that will provide information on the history of the building and the restoration process.
Book Tickets
Guide Prices
| Ticket Type | Ticket Tariff |
|---|---|
| EHOD | Free |
Note: Prices are a guide only and may change on a daily basis.
