Castle

A castle on the S side of a bridge (KK027-092----) is depicted on the Down Survey (1655-6) barony map of Kells, County Kilkenny on the S bank of the Kings River, at 'Spruces hayes' (Hibernia Regnum, courtesy of Trinity College Dublin). The location of the castle and bridge correspond roughly to the location of Newtown Bridge which crosses both the Kings River and a smaller tributary, which runs parallel to it to the N, before joining it c. 230m to the E. It is likely that this bridge gave access to, and egress from, the medieval settlement at Earlstown (KK027-012----) immediately N of the Kings River. The Down Survey barony map of Shillelogher shows the N side of the river, with a stylised castle (KK027-061----) and bridge on the corresponding side. The precise location of the bridge and castles depicted on the Down Survey is unknown. Spruceshay townland may originally have extended slightly further W, in which case the bridge and castles could be in the N W portion of the modern townland of Rathculbin, which together with Spruceshay form the townlands S of the settlement at Earlstown, now in the modern townlands of Newtown (Baker) and Newtown (Shea). See attached: KK027-060----_01 extract from the Down Survey (1655-6) barony map of Kells, County Kilkenny (Hibernia Regnum, courtesy of Trinity College Dublin) Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 23 May 2023

Built in the 17th century, this castle is depicted on the Down Survey map from 1655-56 and is located on the south bank of the Kings River, making it a notable landmark for understanding the historical geography and settlement patterns of County Kilkenny.