The second group of minor castles consists of enclosures surrounded by polygonal stone walls (Fig. 100). They, or some of them (for it may well be that their relatively inconspicuous remains have led to their having been missed in the field), have been described elsewhere (McNeill, forthcoming) and can be quickly summarised. With the exception of Seafin castle, Co. Down, they seem to lack any towers, and consist simply of a stone wall. They enclose areas of about 30 m (100 ft) or less across. The walls are neither thick nor well built, so that they do not look capable of supporting much in the way of wall-walks. They are not to be found at manorial centres but are associated with the frontiers of lordship and areas of military tension, rather like the mottes with baileys (see Fig. 99).
Figure 99 Map of hall-houses, polygonal enclosure castles and Irish stone castles of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries
For dates, we rely on the evidence from two Ulster examples: Seafin (Waterman, 1955) and Doonbought in Co. Antrim. Seafin may be identified with the castle of Maycove from Magh Cobha (Lawlor, 1938). It was built first (replacing Ballyroney motte) in 1252 (GDI, I, 32, 124; Annals of Ulster, 1252) by the Justiciar, when the Earldom of Ulster was in the king’s hands. It was destroyed in 1253, but rebuilt again in 1254-5 (Annals of Loch Key, 1253; Analecta Hibernica, II, 262). The dating of Doonbought to the thirteenth century is based on the finds of artefacts from an immediately preceding phase of the site; indeed, the stone wall of the enclosure was probably never finished (McNeill, 1977). The function of these small castles was to provide a base for troops
Stationed during times of tension. They were there to defend the area from raids by Irish while forces were prepared for counterraids by the English.
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