Castle - motte and bailey

The National Monuments Service's description

Almost completely quarried out in 1965, it was sited on high ground close to the S bank of the Castletown River and is shown on the 1939 ed. of the OS 25-inch map with a crescentic bailey at the S defined by scarping, a fosse between the bailey and the motte, with a bank at its NW side. It is also illustrated by Wright (1758, bk I, pl. XIX) as having a high bailey and steep-sided motte, while Tempest (Morris 1906, opp. p. 40) has a photo taken of it in 1906 from almost the same position. In 1911 a small portion of the motte was cut away (Morris 1911, 440) on the river side and some large stones, which were apparently part of the foundations of the motte, were found during the course of this digging. (Wright 1758, bk. I, pl. XIX; Morris 1908, 43; 1911, 440)

The above description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 17 July 2007

References

Wright, T. 1748 Louthiana: or an introduction to the antiquities of Ireland. London. Thomas Payne.

Morris, H. 1911 Notes and Queries: Mount Bagnal Fort. County Louth Archaeological and Historical Society Journal, vol. 2, 4, 440.

Morris, H. 1905-07 Louthiana: ancient and modern. Mount Bagenal in Cooley. County Louth Archaeological and Historical Society Journal, vol. 1, 2, 17-22; 3, 38-45; 4, 57-61.