What is recorded here

Castle in Kildare is a lost tower house, not a preserved monument. White's Castle appeared in 1436 after burning twice, prompting royal permission to build a crenelated hall from stones taken elsewhere. No visible trace remains, but the request itself suggests a crowded town where even private housing needed defences.

According to Bradley et al. (1986 vol. 3, 206), there is documentary evidence for the presence of fortified townhouses in Kildare in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, including ‘White's Castle’, mentioned in 1436, when its owner complained it had been burnt twice. Accordingly, he was granted royal permission to take stones from ‘Rowesplace’ and the old walls of ‘Smythesplace’ and to build a good hall with a crenelated parapet for himself. (Tresham 1828, 258, 94). A ‘White Gate’ is thought to have formed part of the Kildare town defences (KD022-029009-), but appears to have been a different structure. No visible surface traces survive. Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 24 January 2012

White's Castle in Kildare was a fortified tower house built in the 15th century, held by the White family, and is remembered as an example of early medieval defensive architecture in Ireland.

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