Normans in Trim

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In 1172 when Hugh de Lacy was granted the liberty of Meath, he occupied this site bounded by the river Boyne to the north and marshy ground to the south. By 1175 his origanal wooden fortification had been replaced with this unusual keep, later surrounded by curtain walls with a simple gate to the north and a bridge across the moat. The south curtain wall with its D-shaped towers was completed by 1220, when new siege tactics forced a change in the design of castles. Later the fore-buildings and the plinth were built, protecting the entrance and the base of the keep. As the town and approach roads developed, the barbican gate provided a new entrance from the south. 

After the siege of 1224, the north curtain walls, towers and Trim gate required major repairs. During a period of prosperityin the second half of the 13th century, the great hall and solar were constructed on the site of the north curtain wall and tower. Trim and its abbeys and the cathedral and borough of Newtown developed in the security of the castle. The Boyne was used for the transport of goods to the river gate and stores, workshops and kitchens were built in the castle yard. Though the castle buildings were often adapted to suit changing military and domestic needs, much of the fabric of Trim castle has remained unchanged since the height of Anglo- Norman power in Ireland.

 

 

Copyright St. Michael's National School, Trim, Ireland, 2001