Elizabeth Fort, Cork City
Located right in the heart of the city, Elizabeth Fort has played a pivotal role in the story of Cork since it was first constructed in the early-17th century. Throughout its history, the fort has been altered, adapted and changed to suit various needs and roles. The first fortification was built here in 1601, during the reign of the English Queen Elizabeth I, and the fort was named in her honour. The first fort was hurriedly built from earth, timber and stone as a response to the events at nearby Kinsale. The Siege and Battle of Kinsale was fought in late 1601, after 3,500 Spanish soldiers landed there to support Irish forces under the Earl of Tyrone in their war against the English. Although the English won the day, that the Spanish could land a significant force so close, highlighted the vulnerability of Cork City. A map commissioned by Sir George Carew, President of Munster, gives us an insight into how Cork looked at the turn of the 17th century (you can view the map here). The map shows two islands in a marsh in the River Lee, connected by a bridge and surrounded by a stone wall. The city was overlooked by hills to the north and south, and this left the city vulnerable when cannons and artillery became more common. Sir George Carew described Cork as “one of the weakest places to defend from an enemy that I ever saw”. His remedy was to build a fort to the south of the city to hold the higher ground. Though Elizabeth Fort had been constructed in a rush, George Carew was confident enough to say that Elizabeth Fort “is now raised to a great height equal or above all the grounds about it, and so reinforced with a strong rampart as a powerful enemy will not carry it in haste”.
Carew’s assessment would prove to be rather over-optimistic. In 1603, just two years after the fort was built, Queen Elizabeth died and James I became King. The Catholic merchants of Cork, harbouring a number of religious and political grievances, took this opportunity to join with some other Munster towns in launching what became known as the Recusant Revolt. A group of 800 men from the city stormed Elizabeth Fort, caused damage to the entrance and took the guns back to the walled city. The English soon reasserted their authority and took back control. They forced the people of Cork to pay for the repair of the damage to the fort. It was at this time that the fort we see today began to take shape, as the earlier timber and earth fortification was replaced by stone by 1626. This also coincided with the outbreak of war between England and Spain, and the English invested greatly in fortifications in Ireland at this time, following the lessons of Kinsale twenty-five years earlier.
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Located right in the heart of the city, Elizabeth Fort has played a pivotal role in the story of Cork since it was first constructed in the early-17th century. Throughout its history, the fort has been altered, adapted and changed to suit various needs and roles. The first fortification was built here in 1601, during the reign of the English Queen Elizabeth I, and the fort was named in her honour. The first fort was hurriedly built from earth, timber and stone as a response to the events at nearby Kinsale. The Siege and Battle of Kinsale was fought in late 1601, after 3,500 Spanish soldiers landed there to support Irish forces under the Earl of Tyrone in their war against the English. Although the English won the day, that the Spanish could land a significant force so close, highlighted the vulnerability of Cork City. A map commissioned by Sir George Carew, President of Munster, gives us an insight into how Cork looked at the turn of the 17th century (you can view the map here). The map shows two islands in a marsh in the River Lee, connected by a bridge and surrounded by a stone wall. The city was overlooked by hills to the north and south, and this left the city vulnerable when cannons and artillery became more common. Sir George Carew described Cork as “one of the weakest places to defend from an enemy that I ever saw”. His remedy was to build a fort to the south of the city to hold the higher ground. Though Elizabeth Fort had been constructed in a rush, George Carew was confident enough to say that Elizabeth Fort “is now raised to a great height equal or above all the grounds about it, and so reinforced with a strong rampart as a powerful enemy will not carry it in haste”.
Carew’s assessment would prove to be rather over-optimistic. In 1603, just two years after the fort was built, Queen Elizabeth died and James I became King. The Catholic merchants of Cork, harbouring a number of religious and political grievances, took this opportunity to join with some other Munster towns in launching what became known as the Recusant Revolt. A group of 800 men from the city stormed Elizabeth Fort, caused damage to the entrance and took the guns back to the walled city. The English soon reasserted their authority and took back control. They forced the people of Cork to pay for the repair of the damage to the fort. It was at this time that the fort we see today began to take shape, as the earlier timber and earth fortification was replaced by stone by 1626. This also coincided with the outbreak of war between England and Spain, and the English invested greatly in fortifications in Ireland at this time, following the lessons of Kinsale twenty-five years earlier.
For practical information about visiting this site Click Here
An Irish soldier wielding a halberd battles with an English musketeer in Elizabeth Fort in 1603 • Cork City
The Sieges and History of Elizabeth Fort
The new design followed the model of the bastion forts that had originated in Italy in the 15th century. As heavy artillery, cannon and muskets developed and improved, large towns and cities were forced to put in place stronger defences. Instead of a simple rectangular walled structure, the bastions projected outwards from the four corners. Bastions had a number of advantages. Those defending the fort could fire upon all areas around the fort right up to the base of the walls meaning there were no blind spots around the fort. If the walls were overrun by attackers, each individual bastion could be defended by itself, providing a safe position to fall back and regroup. Due to their shape, bastioned forts also became known as ‘star-shaped forts’.
The limestone used to build the walls of the fort was probably quarried locally. This gave the fort a solid foundation on the underlying bedrock, as well as a more imposing setting overlooking the city. High banks of earth known as ramparts were built up inside the stone walls. These were 6 metres thick and gave those inside the fort a platform to fire out over the walls. A report from 1626 describes the fort as follows:
“the walls towards the city being in some places 30 foot high founded upon an extreme hard Rocke and 16 foot high at the low part of the wall of good lime and stone. The foundation of the wall is 10 foote and at the top 6 foot thick where the rampart must be made”.
One of the bastions overlooking Cork City • Elizabeth Fort
One of the bastions overlooking Cork City • Elizabeth Fort
Elizabeth Fort was one of several such forts constructed around Cork during the late 16th and 17th centuries. Bastioned forts were built in Cork Harbour at Carlisle Fort and on Haulbowline Island. Charles Fort and James Fort guarded the entrance to Kinsale Harbour. These new defences indicated Cork’s growing importance as a centre of maritime trade and commerce.
The defences were tested in the middle of the 17th century. Cork was the scene of further military unrest in 1649. The previous eight years had seen brutal civil warfare across Britain and Ireland between Irish, Royalist and Parliamentary forces. Oliver Cromwell came to Ireland in August to crush any remaining resistance to his Parliamentary army. His bloody conquest of several Irish towns spread fear before him, so it is unsurprising that the citizens of Cork surrendered with little resistance. It is said that Cromwell ordered improvements to Elizabeth Fort, and that the walls were increased in height by over 4 metres at the time. Local folklore says that one of the many biting insects that lived in the marshy surrounding land bit Cromwell, infecting him with the suspected malaria that so afflicted his later life and eventually led to his death. He complained of having contracted ‘Cork Fever’ in a letter to his wife. Although the city may have surrendered without a fight, Cork left its mark on Cromwell.
The 17th century was one of the most turbulent, violent and chaotic eras in Irish history. In the 1690s, the Williamite Wars raged across the land. Following the defeat of the Jacobites at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690, their forces retreated to the south and west of Ireland. They took control of Cork, but in September, 5,000 Williamite soldiers arrived by ship to lay siege to the city. They came ashore at Passage West about six miles south-east of Cork and were joined from the north by reinforcements of another 5,000 men. The siege exposed the defensive weaknesses of Elizabeth Fort. Although it dominated the city, the fort itself was exposed to the south and east. A smaller fortification known as the Catt Fort guarded the high ground to the south-east of Elizabeth Fort. This small fort was quickly taken by the Williamites after the Jacobite soldiers abandoned it. From this vantage point the Williamites bombarded Elizabeth Fort with cannon fire, inflicting considerable damage on the south wall and the gateway. While the fort was under bombardment, Williamite snipers climbed the bell tower of a church that stood where St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral stands today. The tower overlooked the north-west bastion of the fort. From this position, the sharpshooters were able to lay down murderous fire into the fort, and they succeeded in killing the Jacobite commander of the fort, Lieutenant-Colonel Bousquet.
In response, the Jacobites aimed their cannons at the church tower and opened fire. A cannonball fired during the siege was discovered when the new St Fin Barre’s Cathedral was being built and it is still on display inside the cathedral. The siege of Cork lasted about five days. It came to a conclusion when the Williamites brought artillery up the river and began firing at the eastern walls of the city. When they breached the walls and prepared to storm the city, the Jacobites decided to surrender. The terms of surrender of the city of Cork included that Elizabeth Fort would also be surrendered, despite the fact that the fort had withstood the siege. When the Williamite General Scravemoer entered the fort afterwards, he is quoted as saying that Elizabeth Fort “on my word is almost impregnable”.
A member of Cromwell’s New Model Army • Elizabeth Fort
By 1719, Elizabeth Fort had become primarily used as a barracks, and the old ramparts were reduced to make additional space. This was known as the ‘New Barracks’ – because the Old Barracks had stood on the other side of Barrack Street since 1698. Together, this pair of buildings accommodated 700 troops. The soldiers left Elizabeth Fort in 1806 and moved to new quarters on a hilltop on the north side of the city (now known as Collins Barracks today). Following the closure of the barracks, Elizabeth Fort was used as a depot for convicts awaiting transportation to New South Wales in Australia. Transportation to this British colony on the other side of the world was used to deal with every sort of criminal offence from very minor offences to capital crimes, from murder to stealing a loaf of bread. There was accommodation for 250 inmates (both male and female) who came from all over Ireland. They were held in Elizabeth Fort for short periods until the next ship was leaving Cork Harbour for New South Wales. The convict depot was in operation from 1817 until 1837.
From 1822, the fort was used almost entirely for females. The able-bodied male prisoners were held on a hulk (a ship which was no longer seaworthy and was modified as a floating prison) in Cork Harbour, near Rafeen. Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary of 1837 describes life for the inmates housed in the Female Penitentiary or Convict Depot at the time:
‘During their residence here they are employed in needle-work, washing and knitting, so as to supply not only themselves but all the convicts sent out of Ireland with clothing: the number of suits thus made annually is about 1,000’.
When the fort was converted to a barracks in the early 1700s, the ramparts inside the walls were thinned out. This increased the space inside the fort from half an acre to three quarters of an acre and opened up ground for new buildings. After they were used as army barracks and a prison, these became home to the police force of the time; the Royal Irish Constabulary.
In March 1847, during the height of the Great Famine, an order was given “that the police barracks at Elizabeth Fort and the Orphan Asylum, Friars Walk, be declared fever hospitals of the Cork Union”. It was later decided that the fort was unsuitable for use as a hospital and instead it was used as a food depot. This was one of ten such food depots across the city. Collectively, they fed up to 20,000 people per day at the height of the Famine.
After the Famine, Elizabeth Fort reverted to use as a police barracks. During the following decades it was used as a police or militia barracks up until and including the Irish War of Independence, which broke out in 1919. During this conflict, the notorious Black and Tans were stationed here. They developed a feared and hated reputation for their brutality and attacks on civilians. In a notorious event, the Black and Tans looted and burned Cork City in December 1920. In retaliation, they became key targets for the active Cork City brigades of the Irish Republican Army.
The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 brought the War of Independence to an end, but disagreements over the Treaty sparked a Civil War in Ireland, and once again Elizabeth Fort found itself as a theatre of conflict. Elizabeth Fort was occupied by Anti-Treaty forces. Opposing Pro-Treaty forces made a daring sea-borne assault on Cork in August 1922, landing 800 troops at Passage West, where the Williamites had landed over 230 years earlier. Following intense fighting in the south-eastern suburbs, Pro-Treaty soldiers gained the upper hand and the Anti-Treaty forces retreated from the city centre. As they departed, they burned the buildings inside Elizabeth Fort. Their decision to quickly withdraw probably spared Cork City from more severe destruction. Most of the buildings visible inside Elizabeth Fort today date to 1929, and the fort served as a Garda Barracks until 2013. Today you can enjoy a tour that tells the many stories of Elizabeth Fort, with an exhibition that details its chronology and development over the centuries.
Upper left: one of Elizabeth Fort’s cannon • Lower left: the walls • Right: the walkway along the top of the walls
Top: one of Elizabeth Fort’s cannons • Middle: the walkway along the top of the walls • Bottom: the walls
Elizabeth Fort Visitor Information
A defensive redoubt that has been at the centre of the story of Cork City for centuries.