Hartwell Castle — Hartwell Upper

In 1540, Hartwell was a possession of the Abbey of St. Thomas, Dublin, when it was, 'Held from the late abbot by Thomas Longe per. ind. 24 Nov. 1536 for 15 years; rent 40.s. 4.d., the farmer to maintain the castle and houses and discharge all customs and charges' (White 1943, 39-41).The OSL (Herity 2002, 23 (65)) record that, 'In Upper Hartwell townland there was an old castle, the remains of which, were converted into a farmhouse', and Fitzgerald (1915-7, 494) states that, 'What remains of Hartwell Castle is incorporated in Mr. J. B. Malone's former residence, and from the outside is not noticeable. Inside it will be noticed that the walls are thick, that the lower storey is vaulted and that the staircase is in the thickness of the wall'. Stands near the W-foot of a low spur overlooking the small, NW-flowing, Hartwell River immediately to the W, in an area of good quality, mixed pasture and tillage. The partially levelled and altered remains of a very large area (dims. L 90m ESE-WNW; Wth 46m) are defined by a mortared bawn wall (int. H 4m; T 0.9m) of undressed, roughly coursed shale blocks and flags on the N and E and along the E-half of the S, and by an outer fosse (Wth 3-4m) on the N. A small, square, rubble-filled, projecting corner tower (ext. dims. L 3.9m; Wth 3.7m; int. H 2m; wall T 0.7m) survives at the W end of the bawn's N wall. Later stables and farm buildings abut the inner faces of the bawn walls. The enclosed area is bisected on its short axis by the castle which comprised two, inline buildings which were formerly joined by a central archway. Of the N building, only its gently battered N gable wall survives, to two storeys. It's outer face is abutted by the foundations of a small, D-shaped 'turret' (diam. 1m; L 2.3m). The S building is a long, two-storied, four-roomed structure with two vaulted ceilings, perpendicular to one another, over ground-floor level (ext dims. L 22m ESE-WNW; Wth 8m). A square-headed doorway near the S end of the E wall gives access to a very small lobby. Beyond, to W, a small chamber (int. dims. L 4.3m; Wth 3.3m) is lit by a double-splayed loop in the S, gable wall and by a possibly inserted, square-headed window in the W wall. To the N, off the lobby, is a much larger room (int. dims. L 14.5m; Wth 6m), lit by a now blocked loop at the S end of the W wall and by a small square window in the N gable wall. This room is subdivided by a later wall and its E wall is pierced by later doorways. Off the lobby, to the S, a narrow intramural stairs gives access to the two-roomed, first-floor level, into which later windows were inserted when it was used as a farm house. Conroy (2007, 187-93) suggests the site was a monastic grange belonging to St Thomas' Abbey, from possibly as early as the late-14th c. Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 10 June 2011