Castle - unclassified

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a level landscape with a slight slope down to the S. The parish church of Crickstown (ME039-008----) is c. 450m to the E. Sir Patrick Barnwall became the first Baron of Crickstown in 1623. According to the Civil Survey (1654-6) Sir Richard Barnwall owned 403 acres there in 1640, of which nearly 300 acres was a commonage called Currahaeh. On the property were ‘a castle and a stone house ruinous, a church, a mill, an orchard and 10 Tenements’ (Simington 1940, 95). He owned the rest of the parish which included Knavinstowne, Somerstowne (between Hammondtown and Sutherland), Soddorne (Sutherland) and Blackbutter (Blackwater) (ibid. 95-6).
The ground floor of a rectangular building (ext. dims 16m plus N-S; c. 5m N-W) survives, apart from the N wall. It has a barrel-vault and is divided into two chambers (S: int. dims 5.15m N-S; 3.25m E-W; N: int. dims 8m plus N-S; 3.5m E-W) with separate doorways on the E side and a blocked doorway between the chambers. The S chamber has a rectangular window in the E and W walls, and the only feature of the N chamber is a second doorway on the W wall. There is no indication of access to any upper storeys or of garderobes. It is possibly the remains of a seventeenth century house.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of revision: 13 July 2016

References

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