Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Ecclesiastical residence
Elphin, County Roscommon, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Elphin
- County
- Roscommon
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Site of Castle
- Latest-edition OS map
- Castle (Site of)
- Coordinates
- 53.84547, -8.18842
- SMR number
- RO016-128001-
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1790 "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
A palace for the C. of I bishop was built on the site of St Patrick's church (RO016-148001-), after the supression of the Franciscan friary in 1563. It was built by bishop King, probably in 1629, and may have been a fortified house which was known locally as the castle. It was abandoned by bishop Tilson in 1645 (Weld 1832, 361), and was occupied by Franciscans 1650-54 (Giblin 1988). Funds for a Grammar School and the Cathedral (RO016-127001-) were provided in 1685 in the will of Bishop John Hudson, and these were partly used to provide a new palace but the site was moved to the present Bishop's palace (RO016-126----) (ibid. 362) when it was begun in the 1750s by Bishop Smyth.
Situated on a slight ridge, c. 200m E of the Cathedral (RO016-127001-), its site was identified by J. O'Donovan in a field known as the Castle Garden in the 1830s (O'Flanagan 1931, vol. 2, 19). Nothing is visible at ground level in pasture.
Compiled by: Michael Moore
Date of upload: 24 August 2010
References
O'Flanagan, Rev. M. (Compiler) 1931 Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Roscommon collected during the progress of the
Ordnance Survey in 1837. Bray.
Weld, I. 1832 Statistical survey of the county Roscommon. Dublin, Royal Dublin Society
Gibley, C. 1988 The Francisans in the Elphin. Journal of the Roscommon Historical and Archaeological Socity, vol. 2, 23-9.
Nearby in the register
- Religious house - Augustinian canonsunder 1 mi
- Ritual site - holy wellunder 1 mi
- Wall monumentunder 1 mi
- Cathedralunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.