Walled City: Derry in the Siege Period

The Walled City, Handcrafted plasterwork. dimensions: 9″ length, 6.5″wide, 2.5″high. Price £60. The city of Derry/Londonderry is one of the finest examples of a walled city in Europe, and the most complete example in Ireland. The defensive walls were built between 1613-1618 by The Honourable the Irish Society to segregate and protect English and Scottish settlers from the surrounding native Irish following the Plantation of Ulster. The walls proved their purpose during the Williamite Wars in Ireland, when the four city gates were shut to King James II by the 13 Apprentice Boys in 1688, and held out Jacobite forces during 105 days of siege in 1689. The term ‘Maiden City’ was borne out of this unbreachable defense. The walls, with a circumference of approx. one mile, encircle the first planned town in Ireland, designed in a typical fortification layout common during the period. The Siege of Derry would not be the last experience the walls would encounter with conflict, however, as the British Army commandeered segments of the fortifications during ‘The Troubles’ for surveillance purposes. This representation of the 17th century city exhibits the topography of the town, street plans, major buildings, and the bastion defensive structures that shielded the city.