House - 17th century

The National Monuments Service's description

It is likely that there was a castle (KK026-002----), perhaps a tower house and bawn, at Westcourt Demesne. According to Carrigan (1905, vol. 3, 317), ‘Westcourt Castle, of which some traces remain at Westcourt Ho., was the old manor house of Callan. It passed from the descendants of Earl Marshall to the Earl of Ormond in 1391; from the Ormond family to Lord Desart, about 1700; and from Lord Desart to George Agar, Lord Callan, during the second half of the 18th century. Mr. Thomas Shelly believes that this castle of Westcourt was the strong Butler castle of Callan, mentioned in connection with the siege of Callan by the Cromwellians in 1650’.
A large house (KK026-023----), which appears to be Westcourt House, is indicated on the Down Survey (1655-6) parish map of ‘A Survey of the Liberties of Callan by George Marshall an exact copy by Dan[ie]l O Brien Surv[eyo]r’ within the 17th-century townland of ‘Whitescourte’ (Hibernia Regnum, courtesy of Trinity College Dublin). This house possibly incorporated the earlier castle.
Carrigan notes that, ‘Following the death of the owner, John Galwey, in 1793, ‘Lord Callan threw down the old Westcourt manor Ho. Or Castle, and replaced it by the present handsome mansion known as Westcourt Ho.’ (1905, vol. 3, 318).
In c. 1940 there was a catastrophic fire at West Court house and the house was abandoned and later knocked (Ó Drisceoil 2014, 6). Ó Drisceoil noted that the, ‘rubble heap to the west of the walled garden marks the location of the house. Its foundations, perhaps cellars, and related structures probably survive below ground level’ (ibid.).
Archaeological excavations (00E0786) in the vicinity of the house in 2000 revealed scorched mortar and slab flooring which were interpreted as possibly associated with the medieval phase of the building (Pollock 2000, 8). Also uncovered was a wall-footing (Wth c. 1.5m) with a batter and an adjacent fosse, which the excavator suggested may have been part of a bawn associated with the medieval castle (Pollock 2002, 185-6).

See attached:
KK026-023----_01 extract from Down Survey (1655-6) parish map of ‘A Survey of the Liberties of Callan by George Marshall an exact copy by Dan[ie]l O Brien Surv[eyo]r’ (Hib. Reg., courtesy of Trinity College Dublin)
KK026-023----_02 plan of the excavations carried out by Pollock (2002, 186).

Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Date of upload: 11 May 2022

References

Carrigan, Rev. W. 1905 (Reprint 1981) The history and antiquities of the diocese of Ossory, 4 vols. Kilkenny. Roberts Books and Wellbrook Press.

Ó Drisceoil, C. 2014 Historic landscape assessement report: Westcourt House, Callan, Co. Kilkenny. Kilkenny Archaeology. Unpublished report.

Pollock, D. 2000 Archaeological impact assessment of proposed development at Westcourt House, Callan, Co. Kilkenny. Excavation licence no. 00E0786. Archaeolgrafix. Unpublished report.

Pollock, D. 2002 Westcourt House, Westcourt Demesne: medieval/post-medieval 00E0786. In I. Bennett (ed.) Excavations 2000: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 185-6, no. 557. Bray. Wordwell.