Castle - unclassified

The National Monuments Service's description

The Everard family is associated with Randalstown from the fifteenth century when a John Everard married Joan Cardy, who was the heiress of Olive Rendill of Rendillstown, although the history is obscure (Everard 2000, 171). A castle is represented at Randalstown on the Down Survey (1656-8) barony and parish maps, and according to the terrier or commentary of the maps John Everard, described as an Irish Papist, held 447 acres and a castle there. However, in the Civil Survey (1655-7) the acreage is recorded as 290 (Simington 1940, 295).
The Everards survived the Cromwellian settlement and after the Restoration Thomas Everard returned to his property at Randalstown in 1661. Although a Catholic, Mathias Everard recovered his land at Randalstown after 1690 and either demolished or added to the castle c. 1700. Mathias died in 1714, and in 1748 his nephew converted to Protestantism in order to preserve the integrity of the estate which remained in Everard hands into the middle of the twentieth century (ibid). Randalstown House was demolished ahead of the construction of Tara Mines’ tailing pond in the 1970s, but five memorial stones from Mathias’ work at Randalstown House are now in the Church of Ireland church at Donaghpatrick (ME017-034006-). St Anne’s Chapel (ME025-002001-), which probably served the family as a private chapel, is c. 525m WSW of the site of the castle.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 15 April, 2019

References

Everard, R. 2000 Sir Nugent Everard and his efforts to revive Randlestown. Ríocht na Mídhe, 1171-86.

Simington, R.C. (ed.) 1940 The Civil survey, AD 1654-1656. Vol. V: county of Meath. Dublin. Irish Manuscripts Commission.