Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
House - fortified house
Clarabricken, County Kilkenny, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Clarabricken
- County
- Kilkenny
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Clarabricken Castle (in ruins)
- Latest-edition OS map
- Clarabricken Castle (in Ruins)
- Coordinates
- 52.66009, -7.14465
- SMR number
- KK020-016----
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesUniversity Library, Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid 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)
- 1869 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1891 · Ireland 16 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1904 · Sheet 14, 1904 (University Library, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
On the brow of a W-facing slope, surrounded by farm buildings. The Down Survey (1655-6) barony map of Gowran depicts a castle in ‘Brickinclaragh’ townland, in the parish of Churchclara (Hibernia Regnum, courtesy of Trinity College Dublin). The castle is also depicted on the Down Survey (1655-6) parish map of 'Churchclaragh' and the accompanying terrier describes it as ‘on Brickinclaragh a ffaire Castle in repaire’ and Henry Archer is listed as the proprietor in 1640 (NLI MS720). According to Carrigan (1905, vol. 3, 357), ‘In 1659 it was occupied by a Cromwellian named Jacob Cornock. Richard Boyle paid 10s. hearth money for the house or castle of Bricken Claragh, in 1664. A considerable fragment of the castle still remains standing to a height of 30 ft. [c. 9m]. The walls are 5 ft. [1.5m] thick’.
A very ruined rectangular tower house (ext. dims. 17.27m N-S x 11.6m E-W; wall T c. 1m), presently standing to first-floor level. Built of roughly coursed limestone rubble with some large quoins visible at the SW angle. Most of the N wall is upstanding, breached at its E end, and a very short length of the W end of the S wall, and the N end of the W wall (H c. 4m). The entrance doorway was apparently located at the N end of the N wall but neither this entrance, nor any windows survive in situ. There is a projection at the N end of the W wall which contains a garderobe chute. There is no indication of the location of the staircase. The interior is filled with collapsed masonry and debris. There is some loose cut-stone masonry in the farmyard, including a window fragment. There is a shed built up against the W wall.
The dimensions of this castle suggest that this is not a typical tower house but, being more rectangular than square, it may be ‘a long, low stronghouse’ or fortified house (Salter 2004, 65).
See attached image:
KK020-016----_01 extract from Down Survey (1655-6) barony map of Gowran (Hib. Reg., courtesy of Trinity College Dublin).
Compiled by: Jean Farrelly
Date of upload: 17 November 2020
References
Salter, M. 2004 The castles of Leinster. Worcestershire. Folly Publications.
Carrigan, Rev. W. 1905 (Reprint 1981) The history and antiquities of the diocese of Ossory, 4 vols. Kilkenny. Roberts Books and Wellbrook Press.
Nearby in the register
- Castle - motteunder 1 mi
- Bullaun stoneunder 1 mi
- Ritual site - holy wellunder 1 mi
- Ogham stoneunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.