Construction work is to begin to install a new roof in the great tower of Carrickfergus Castle in Co Antrim.

The £1 million project will replace the existing 80-year-old roof.

The new roof will be in line with the late-medieval architecture of the Castle and will be made from Irish Oak used 'green' and oak-pegged without the use of nails or metal fixings. It will also be a series of open trusses and rafters carrying oak boards, with a Cumbrian stone slates and lead exterior.

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Work is to get underway on the project in autumn 2018.

The project will be managed by the Department for Communities Historic Environment Division. Its Director Iain Greenway said: "This is a major milestone in the history of Carrickfergus Castle, one of our best-known and most-visited historic monuments. The new roof will safeguard and enhance the castle so that its heritage will continue to have a lead role in the social and economic prosperity of the whole area.

"It is intended that public access to the site will be maintained throughout the works and that as far as is practicable visitors will be able to see the building work in progress. Visitors to the castle will get the opportunity to see the new roof unfold and archaeology that may reveal elements to the battlements that have not been seen for many years." 

(CM/MH)