House - fortified house

The National Monuments Service's description

Late 18th/early 19th century Ladestown House which forms the SW side of a courtyard complex (b. 1780-1830) (NIAH reg. No. 15402502). Ice house (WM025-072----) lies c. 75m to SSW. No castle is depicted at this location on the 1654-7 Down Survey map of Mullingar parish, in 1641 these lands belonged to Richard Hope (NLI MS 723-4). Ladestown was also known as Ballyledwich or Ledwichtown. Rental. In 1666, under the Act of Settlement, Randall Adams was granted the, following lands in Westmeath, Ledwichtowne alias Ledustowne (after the death of Mary widow), Kealestowne, Farran Maguannon, alias Cartron Maganon, Ballykenny, Row and Tullogh, Taghniferagh, Ballycloghans, magowe, Creeve and Killeagh, Bunnamore, Cloyglasse (Walsh 1941, 254). The map of the townland of Ledwichtown has a sketch of the House as it appeared in 1697 (Walsh 1941, 253). In 1715 the estate of Ledwithstown/Ledwichtown was sold by Randall Adams, son of John Adams of Ledwichtown.
Ladestown House possibly built on the site of a fortified house and bawn (WM025-073002-) of which there are no surface remains visible. Castle ruin depicted at this location on Larkin's 1808 map of Co. Westmeath (NLI, MS 46,580). Possible fortified house described as a 3-bay, 3-storey battlemented house with round corner turrets based on its depiction on the Adams renalt map of 1697 (NLI MS 391). It has a single-bay breakfront with an open pediment (ibid). The structure had a hipped roof and is set in a rectangular walled enclosure (ibid). The site is now occupied by the roofless remains of a 19th century house adjoining a range of outbuildings including a stables and a farmyard. There are no visible remains of any features earlier than the late 18th/early 19th century.
Ladestown House described by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) as following; 'Ladestown House was in existence c.1780 (Taylor and Skinner) but was rebuilt c.1823 as a five-bay two-storey over basement house with a single-storey porch to the entrance front (south). It is likely that some of the outbuildings date to this earlier house but that much of the main complex of outbuildings was built or rebuilt at this time. Ladestown was the site of an earlier castle and it is possible that some of the fabric of this earlier structure was used in the construction of these buildings' (www.buildingsofireland.ie).

Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien.

Date of upload: 11 September 2019

References

NLI MS 391 National Library of Ireland, A rental and a collection of 9 maps of the estate of John Adams in County Westmeath, surveyed by Edward Wilson, with names of tenants, agreements, etc., 1681-97. Rental of the Westmeath estate of John Adams, August, 1697, edited by Rev. Paul Walsh in Analecta Hibernica, No. 10, 1941.

NLI, MS 723-4 - National Library of Ireland, The parish maps of the Down Survey for the County of Westmeath, attested by W. Petty, in 1659. Copied by Daniel O'Brien. A set of 67 maps with accompanying terriers in two volumes, 1786-7. Dublin.

Walsh, P. 1941 The Adams Rental. Analecta Hibernica 10, 253-286.