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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Castle - motte

Hortland, County Kildare, Ireland

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915) covering the location of Castle - motte, Hortland, County Kildare, with a pin at the register's coordinates
Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915), covering this location. Courtesy of the National Library of Scotland. The pin is ours, placed from the register's coordinates.

The record

Townland
Hortland
County
Kildare
Country
Ireland
First-edition OS map
Hachured
Latest-edition OS map
Moat
Coordinates
53.37444, -6.77983
SMR number
KD004-017----

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

4 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1790 map "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).

Historical maps covering this location

  • 1790 · Composite: Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1799 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1830 · V.3:11-15:XV. Britisches Reich. C. Kon: Ireland. a. Prov: Leinster. Counties: 1-12 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1891 · Ireland 16 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗

The National Monuments Service's description

In tillage, at the top of a moderately steep W-facing slope overlooking the River Blackwater c. 200m to the W, and with excellent views in all directions. An ecclesiastical site (KD004-018----) lies c. 40m to the S. A tall, fairly steep-sided, oval shaped, grass and beech tree covered, earthen mound (H 4.7m at S-8m at N; ext. diams. 36m E-W; 31.5m N-S) has a dished, sub circular-shaped upper surface (diams. 8.3m E-W; 7m N-S) which is retained by a dry-stone revetment, two courses of which survive at W (H 0.35m; traceable L 2m). A fairly broad berm (Wth1.8-2.5m), mid-way up the side of the site, girdles the monument from N-E-S. In 1986 a shallow fosse (D 0.1m; Wth 2m) was noted around the base (SMR file), but it is no longer visible because of the passage of farm machinery across this area. The OSL (Herity 2002, 30) recorded the former existence of 'an old castle (KD004-019----) beside the moat ...'.

Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy

Date of upload: 10 June 2011

References

Herity, M. (ed.) 2002 Ordnance Survey Letters Kildare. Dublin. Four Masters Press.

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Sites and Monuments Record data: National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Record text is reproduced unchanged. National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland · CC BY 4.0
All Castle - motte in Kildare All County Kildare records All Ireland Heritage registers Historical markers (US)National Register of Historic Places (US)
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