Castle
Gardens
www.laganvalleylearning.co.uk
The Lisburn Coat of Arms
Do you know what all the
elements of the Coat of
Arms represent? What is
Lisburn’s motto? Why?
Lisburn Castle
The original castle belonged to a clan named the O’Neill’s. King
James I gave it to Sir Fulke Conway in 1611. The church on the
site is now known as Lisburn Cathedral
Sir Fulke died in an accidental fire at his home in March 1624.
Succeeded by his elder brother, Sir Edward Conway who died
1630. Succeeded by son, also called Edward.
Fire !
Lisnagarvey was burnt by a
fire during the Great
Rebellion of 1641 but the the
castle remained unharmed. It
was then that the name of
Lisnagarvey began to change
to that of ‘Lisburn’.
In 1707, a great fire halted the growth of Lisburn. Once again it
was reduced to ashes, this time even the great castle fell to the
flames. The castle was never rebuilt, but its gardens remained to
become the property of the people of Lisburn in the 19th century.
Things to see
Wallace House
Sir Richard Wallace (18801890) was Landlord of Lisburn.
This was originally Sir Wallace’s
house Costing £20,000 to build.
It was given to the town in 1914
& is now the technical college..
War memorial
Unveiled in 1923 to commemorate the
people from Lisburn who died in the First
World War. Names of people who died in
World War 2 were added later. The
bronze statue of ‘Victory’ is by Henry C.
Fehr.
Lord Robert’s Oak
Named after under General
John Nicholson in India in the
late 1800’s, Lord Robert came
to Lisburn in 1903 to view
Nicholson’s memorial in Lisburn
Cathedral.
Air Raid Shelter
Used as shelter from bomb
debris during the World Wars.
It was never used, as Lisburn
was never bombed.
Egret Fountain
This decorative metal
sculpture depicts 3 egrets. An
egret is a small heron.
Crimean Cannon
A trophy of the Crimean War (1856-56),
the Russian cannon was captured at the
Battle of Sebastopol. Admiral Meynel
presented it to the people of Lisburn in
1858.
Wallace Drinking Fountains
Sir Richard Wallace commissioned these
fountains to be made in Paris. They were made
by Charles-Auguste Lebourge. The four
caryatids represent kindness, charity, sobriety
and simplicity.
Wallace Memorial
In 1870 Sir Richard Wallace
became the landlord of Lisburn.
After his death in 1890, Lady
Wallace’s heir, Sir John Murray
Scott, gave Castle Gardens to
the people of Lisburn on behalf
of Sir Wallace.
Musket Loops
Castle Gardens is the original
site of Lisburn Castle. The
manor house was built in the
early 1600’s and surrounded by
castle walls as defensive
fortification.
The East Gateway
The Castle Gate was the
former entrance to the 17th
Century Conway Castle.
The Perron
This grand double staircase leads
from the centre of a bowling green
above down to the first terrace of
the walled garden. What could the
main vault have been used for?
Garden Terraces
The 17th century terrace
garden was used for
recreation by residents and
guests of the castle. It
also had an orchard and a
pond stocked with fish.
The Gazebo
This may have been a
summerhouse for guests or
residents. A basement
room survives below ground
containing an oven, fireplace
and tiled floor.
The Turret
This semi-circular lookout tower was
probably used as a garden structure and for
defences.
Only one turret survived, but there may
have been more.
www.laganvalleylearning.co.uk