What is recorded here

Castle Forbes, Newtown Forbes: A small stone tower, possibly a military flanker from the 1650s, that later housed pigeons for the estate kitchen. By the 1820s it had become a romantic folly, dressed with fake battlements and a pointed arch to delight visitors rather than defend them. The dovecote function disappeared as fashion changed, but the picturesque disguise remains, marking how a practical building was reinvented for pleasure.

Freestanding single-bay two-storey tower, built c. 1650. Later in use as a dovecote, converted to a folly c. 1850. Renovated in recent years. Crenellated parapet, rebuilt c. 1820. Rubble stone walls with traces of early render over. Pointed arch window opening to north elevation with dressed limestone voussoirs to arch. Round-headed door opening with cut limestone surround to the south elevation. Located in mature parkland to the southeast of Castle Forbes and to the west of Newtown-Forbes.

This small-scale tower was possibly originally built as a flanker for the original seventeenth century Castle Forbes and it was previously in use as a dovecote/pigeon house. Dovecotes/pigeon houses were built to provide a ready supply of eggs and/or meat and were a relatively common feature in country demesnes in Ireland during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They appear to have gone out of fashion by the early-nineteenth century and are now rare survivals. The battlements (and possibly the pointed arch window) were added sometime later, when this structure was altered to create a folly or eye-catcher. It represents a simple example of the late eighteenth/early nineteenth-century penchant for the romantic picturesque and it forms part of an extensive group of structures associated with Castle Forbes (13303001).

This does not grant access. Most recorded buildings are privately owned; view them only from public ground unless the owner allows entry.