What is recorded here

Borris House in County Carlow still holds rooms carved from an older castle, though no clear name or date has emerged for that first build. The house survived the destruction of 1798, changed shape twice, and kept a chamber or passage that may have belonged to the forgotten structure. People walked those rooms for pleasure long after they stopped walking them for defence. The castle did not disappear; it stepped behind the mansion and waited to be remembered.

The following description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Carlow' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 15 June 2016 Castle marked here on Down Survey (1655-6) map. This castle appears to be incorporated in Borris House. Bence-Jones (1988, 44) describes Borris House as, 'A plain 3 storey late C18 block, incorporating part of an old castle' badly damaged 1798 and restored ca 1820 by Richard and William Vitruvius Morrison who gave it a Tudor exterior and a rich and largely Classical interior. According to the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, Borris House is a, 'Detached seven-bay three-storey over basement Tudor Revival country house, dated 1731, incorporating fabric of earlier castle, pre-1700, with render and cut stone façade enrichments. Renovated and extended, c. 1870, with projecting arcaded porch and crenellated parapet added having turret finials and service wing added to rear. Interior retains original appearance. Stable complex to rear. Walled garden to site. Freestanding folly tower, dated 1817, to site' (http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=CW&regno=10400802).

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