Castle — Athgoe

Located on Athgoe Hill in private grounds. This square tower house, built of roughly coursed masonry, rises to four storeys with battlements and a circular, angle tower in the SW which projects to the W. A heavily mortared gateway attached to the W gable may incorporate a medieval core. Originally, the tower house was entered through a round- headed doorway in the W wall. Fitzgerald (1896-9, 2, 390) refers to a date stone of worn sandstone, over the door, which read 1579 with initials WLKA, a reference to the original owners, William Locke and Kathleen Allen. This has been replaced by a granite tablet with a similar inscription. Access at present is through a later opening off the courtyard in the E wall, which opens onto the ground floor (int. dims. L 5.95m; Wth 4.8m; wall Wth 0.8m). All the floors were originally of timber. A spiral stairway lit by slit loops, in the SW angle of the ground floor, provides access to the upper floors and battlements while the stair turret itself rises above the battlement level. The upper floors are lit by plain rectangular windows set into deep embrasures. The original timber floors are missing. A later brick fireplace was inserted into the S wall on the second floor. The battlements have been restored in recent times. There is a mid-18th-century house attached to the S end of the tower house (Craig 1976, 127-8). Compiled by Geraldine Stout