Castle - tower house

The National Monuments Service's description

Located on a gentle W-facing slope with the estuary of the N-S Owenduff/Corock river and the head of Bannow Bay c. 300m to the E. References date from the Civil Survey (1654-5) when it is recorded that John Barry owned 210 acres and the castle at Barrystown in Carrig (Bannow) parish (Simington 1953, 154, 163). In 1655 the land was granted to Nicholas King, and this family retained it into the late 19th century, while continuing to live in the castle which became encumbered with later work, now removed (Jeffrey, 1979, 67 8). A coach-house c. 20m E of the tower house may retain early features. See this web-page accessed on 27 June, 2013. http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=WX&regno=15704535

This tower (ext. dims 8m N-S; 7.1m E-W) survives only to the top of the vault (H 6m), with a base batter and good granite quoins. The pointed doorway (Wth 0.92m; H 1.73m) of dressed granite towards the S end of the W wall is protected by a yett and there is a murder hole in the lobby. In addition the lobby commands a gun-loop in the S wall and is covered by a loop from the ground floor chamber. A pointed doorway on the N side of the lobby leads to an inner lobby at the foot of a mural stairs in the W wall. This lobby commands a gun-loop in the W wall and from the lobby a pointed doorway on the E side leads to the ground floor (int. dims 4.47m N-S; 3.3m E-W), which has a chamber (int. dims 1.4m N-S; 1.2m E-W; H 1.65m) at the NW angle that commands two gun-loops in the W wall and two in the N. There are two other gun-loops and a blocked light in the N wall, and two gun-loops and a blocked light in the E wall. The S wall is almost entirely re-built but one gun-loop is extant.
The mural stairs rise in the W wall and lead through a pointed doorway (Wth 0.7m; H 1.65m) to the first floor under the N-S barrel-vault, with one surviving window modified in brick (Wth 0.9m; H 1.4m) in the N wall, and a chamber at the SW angle which commands the murder-hole. This chamber (int. dims 2.15m N-S; 1.32m E-W; H 1.97m) is entered through a lintelled doorway (Wth 0.59m; H 1.53m) and has a vaulted roof with wicker-centring. The floor of the main chamber was supported on corbels in the E and W walls and rebated ledges on the N and S walls. The mural stairs continues to the NW angle where it becomes a newel stairs, but the upper floors do not survive. The indications are that brick was incorporated in the upper floors, indicating late re-use.
There is no evidence of attached bawn walls, and a rectangular area (dims c. 50m N-S; c. 40m E-W) to the NE is defined by the narrow walls (H c. 3m; Wth 0.4m) of a walled garden. A feature described as a round tower on the 1839 and 1925 eds of the OS 6-inch map is located c. 60m NE of the castle, but it does not survive. It may have been a chimney stack associated with the mining activity of Barrystown (WX045-055----). Archaeological testing (10E0145) in the area of the walled garden produce no related material (Whitty 2013).

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload/revision: 22 July 2013

References

Whitty, Y. 2013 Barrystown. No archaeological significance. in I. Bennett (Ed.) Excavations 2010: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 227, No. 717. Dublin, Wordwell

Simington, R.C. (ed.) 1953 The Civil survey, AD 1654-1656. Vol. IX: county of Wexford. Dublin. Irish Manuscripts Commission.

Jeffrey, W.H. 1979 The castles of County Wexford. Typescript prepared by the Old Wexford Society, Ed. E. Culleton.