Castle - tower house

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on the S side of Castle Street next to the RC Church of the Assumption. Known as 'Archibold's Castle', it comprises a rectangular tower house which rises to three storeys with a parapet level. It is built of roughly coursed granite masonry with dressed granite quoins. Entrance is in the W through a round-headed doorway, which is protected by machicolation at parapet level. This opens onto a stone spiral staircase.
To the right of the entrance is a long chamber (int. dims. L 8.5m; Wth 4m) lit by later inserted windows in S and E wall. A large recess along the W wall is probably a blocked doorway. There are wall presses in the E and W walls. A lintel over the first floor doorway is a reused graveslab (DU023-023015-). There is a barrel-vault over this floor.
The second floor was the main chamber, with a fireplace in the E wall and a garderobe in the NE corner. The interior is lit by narrow, round-headed windows in the W wall and N wall and square opes in the S and E wall. There are slit opes in the NE and SE corners. Wall presses are present either side of the fireplace and in the S wall (O'Flanagan 1941-41, 41-57; Turner 1983, 76-7; Harbison 1998, 79).

This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 181/1947).

Compiled by: Geraldine Stout and Padraig Clancy
Revised upload on: 18 June 2018

References

Harbison, P. 1998 Beranger's antique buildings of Ireland. Dublin. Four Courts Press in association with the National Library of Ireland.

Turner, K. 1983 If you seek monuments: a guide to the antiquities of the barony of Rathdown. Rathmichael Historical Society.