knees, and would therefore be entirely at the mercy of any one within.[1] This is the case as well in the temples and tombs, as in the magnificent tumulus or cairn at New Grange, where the interior is richly ornamented with incised patterns; in the Hill of Dowth in the same immediate neighbourhood; in the subterranean habitation near Athenry; and I believe in all the early structures, whether intended merely for dwellings or for any other purpose.
Throughout the Middle Ages every house of any importance was a castle, that is to say, it was built in the form of a tower and fortified; but it was not the less a dwelling-house, since every manor-house throughout the country was built after the same fashion, and there were no other houses of any considerable size.
In consequence of the influence of these two great causes, the material and the character of the people, the architecture of Ireland has a very marked national character, different from that of any other people, yet bearing a certain resemblance in some points to that of Scotland, Wales, and Britany, though still distinct from all of them. Notwithstanding the strong national character, which no other country possesses in a more marked degree, though all countries and large provinces have to a certain extent a national or provincial peculiarity, the different styles of each century of the Middle Ages can be distinguished in Ireland as well as in other countries of Europe, though it is often difficult to make them out, in consequence of the extreme plainness and rudeness of the work. The square towers, which wore the usual habitations of the gentry in Ireland throughout the Middle Ages, whether English or Irish, are generally so very plain, especially on the exterior, that on a mere cursory observation they are commonly said to be all alike. This is, however, entirely a mistake; on examination no two of them are found exactly alike; the internal arrangements differ constantly; there is generally some little bit of ornament in cut stone somewhere, just enough to indicate the date; usually this is the tracery, or the arch in the head of the upper windows; but, besides this, the vault is sometimes over the ground floor, and sometimes nearly at the top of the tower, with wooden floors only under it; occasionally there are two vaults, or even three. In some instances the bed-rooms are numerous, occupying a third part of the tower, excepting at the top, where the state apartment usually occupies the whole space above the upper vault, having arrangements at one end for the servants, commonly near the top of the stairs, with recesses in the walls
- ↑ For an account of bee-hive houses in the county of Kerry, see Mr. Dunoyer's memoir, Archæological Journal, vol. xv. p. 1.
