What is recorded here

Moat, Louth Hall is a motte and bailey castle on a low ridge beside the River Glyde in County Louth. Its circular mound still rises several metres above the land, preserving a small summit where a tower, shelter or watchfire may have stood. The degraded bailey and southern fosse suggest a working defensive site rather than a ceremonial gesture. Local fields have since cut into its edges, yet the basic shape remains clear enough to imagine people moving through a gated enclosure, listening for water and trouble.

Situated on a low E-W ridge close to the W bank of the River Glyde and consisting of a roughly circular mound (max. dims at base 29m by 37m, at summit 19.7m by 17m, H 4.5-6.8m) with the remains of a fosse (max. Wth c. 5m) at the S and a much-degraded bailey (max. dims 45m N-S, 30m E-W) at the W defined by scarping which is most pronounced at the N side. The fosse at the S is partly filled by a modern field boundary. There are the possible remains of a fosse at the N side where there is a modern field wall built in it. The top of the motte has been quarried out to a depth of c. 1m at the NNE side. A possible Man-made underground passage (LH011-085002-) is thought to be situated on the motte. The above description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 July 2007

Louth Hall Moat is believed to have been constructed in the 13th or 14th century, likely by a local landowning family for defensive and symbolic purposes. The site is important as a rare surviving example of a moated manorial residence in the region, reflecting medieval landholding and social structures.

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