The village of Cloughey started out as a row of coastguard
cottages at the south end of the beach.
It gained popularity as a holiday destination in the 1920s, helped no
doubt by the presence of a golf course and a sandy beach fringing a gently curving bay. However, not all of this stretch of coast is
so benign. The North and South Rocks in
the sea off the village have long been considered one of the major hazards to
shipping in the area. In 1883 a ship
called the Wild Deer carrying 300 emigrants heading for New Zealand foundered
on the North Rocks in heavy seas.
Happily, the passengers were rescued with the help of the local fishing
boats. No doubt there would have been
loss of life were it not for the fact that the passengers were implored to stay
below deck, in fact the women were so panicked that the crew locked them in to
prevent them from rushing up to the deck.
Kirkistown Castle is about a mile to the north of Cloughey,
just outside the golf course bearing the same name. It is believed to have been built in 1622 by
Roland Savage, possibly on the site of an earlier construction. The castle is typical of the area, with a
three-storey tower house. The tower
house was threatened by subsidence, being built in a marshy area, necessitating
the later addition of buttresses and iron braces. There is also a motor racing circuit nearby,
which was built on the site of an airfield established during the Second World War
for the use of the American Air Force.
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| Cloughey Bay - geograph.org.uk - 837592. Photo by Albert Bridge, via Wikimedia Commons. |
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