Terence Reeves-Smith explores the complex history of Glenarm Castle, County Antrim, one of Ireland’s most romantic great houses
However many times one visits Glenarm Castle in the Glens of Antrim, and whatever the season, it never fails to provide a special thrill, both through the drama of its location and the intensely romantic quality of its architecture (Fig 1). Standing close to the sea at the bottom of the valley, it is particularly magical on a late summer’s day, when there is a hint of autumn, or in the depths of winter, with a scattering of snow on the enclosing hills. It’s a house that combines cheerfulness and melancholy, whose splendid Gothic finery of lofty cupolas, gilded vanes, chimneys and finials tower above the tree canopy “like the enchanted keep of a fairy tale”. On one side, beyond a sparkling river, lies a small harbour and picturesque village, its distinctive Scottish-style houses clinging to the hillside, while to the south, lush demesne parkland and bounding woods stretch for miles deep into the glen.
