Prince's Trust holds working groups over Kilwaughter Castle's future

The move comes two months after a planning application was lodged to take down parts of the listed Kilwaughter Castle to prevent their “uncontrolled collapse.”

Co-owner of the castle Anne Ferguson said that there had been “ a lot of interest” in the castle.

“We are in the very early stages of developing plans for Kilwaughter Castle with the Prince’s Trust,” she revealed.

“We are exploring ideas for the future, the Prince’s Regeneration Trust supports heritage buildings that are at risk of decay and assists communities to find ways to rescue the buildings.

“It took a long time for the castle to get into the state it’s in and it will take a lot of planning and hard work to see what the future holds.”

The original part of Kilwaughter Castle was built by the Agnew family in the seventeenth century, and extended in 1803 by architect John Nash.

Since the creation of the Kilwaughter Castle Restoration Group, Anne says that a growing number of volunteers have become involved in safeguarding the building’s future.

“We have had support not only from the Prince’s Trust and the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society but also from the public,” she continued.

“We are at a turning point for Kilwaughter Castle due to local enthusiasm.”

For more information, visit the ‘Save Kilwaughter Castle and Graveyard’ Facebook page.