Castle in ruins — Kildare

Stands between Nugent St. to the W and Cox’s Lane to the E. Gatehouse on E side of Anglo-Norman poygonal shaped enclosure castle was converted into a tower house in the 15th century which now stands in the car park of the Silken Tomas hotel in Kildare town. According to Bradley et al. (1986 vol. 3, 207-13), the Anglo-Norman castle originally consisted of a curtain-walled, polygonal enclosure (area c. 0.43 hectares) with four towers, and a possible motte (KD022-029025-) at its S-angle. Today only three sides of the polygonal walled enclosure or curtain wall (NW, NE and SE), a gatehouse converted into a tower house and the lower courses of two mural towers (at SW and N) survive above ground. Kildare town was used frequently by Strongbow as a base during the early 1170s, and the castle, which was in existence before 1185 (Curtis 1933-43, i, 4), may have been built by Strongbow himself, rather than the generally accepted builder, William Marshall. Between 1297 and 1299 repairs were carried out to the houses, towers and gates, and a new bakehouse, kitchen and well were constructed (38th PRI rep. DK, 47-48, 102). The castle was sufficiently strong to withstand a three-day assault by Edmund Bruce in 1316. In 1331, it was described as having four towers, a chapel and a kitchen. The Anglo-Norman gatehouse was converted into a tower house of 15th century date, with the curtain wall of the polygonal castle acting as the bawn wall for the 15th century tower house. Access to the Anglo-Norman polyonal shaped castle enclosure was through a gatehouse on the SE-side. The gatehouse which today stands in the car park of the Silken Thomas hotel consists of a multi-period rectangular (ext. dims. L c. 11.5m; Wth c. 9.8m) four storey high tower built with rubble limestone with a base batter on the N, E and W walls. The ground level in the enclosed area to the W and NW of the gatehouse is much higher (H c. 3m) than outside to the E, suggesting that a timber gangway must have led up to the rounded entrance in the E wall, which is now infilled with a post-medieval window, with a simple entrance passage beyond, from which a stairs gives access to first floor-level above. This level is lit by a twin-light window in the E wall and a single-light in the W wall, and contains a blocked-off garderobe in the in the SW-angle. A stairs, entered through the N wall leads to second floor-level, which contains a long, intra mural chamber in the N wall, lit at the E and W ends by narrow, square headed windows, by a twin light, round arched window in the N wall, and by a now blocked loop in the NE-angle. A window visible in the outer face of the S wall suggests it too contains a, now blocked up, intra mural chamber. The main second floor chamber is lit by twin light, round headed window in the E wall, and a stairs near the SE angle give access to the parapets and roof area which are modern rebuilds. A substantial, battered, curtain wall (ext. H 5-6m; int H 1.5m; T 1.6m) of Anglo-Norman date, built of rubble limestone blocks, runs off the gatehouse towards the NNE, and its course can be traced counter-clockwise to the SW. A post-medieval water tower stands inside the castle ward to the N of the gatehouse. The interior f the castle ward is today used as a storage yard for Kildare County Council. Only a short portion of the curtain wall can be traced on the opposite, SW side, of the gatehouse, from where it presumably ran SW to the site of the possible motte (KD022-029025-). The curtain wall defence was augmented by three mural towers: one at the SW is named ‘Old Tower’ on Sherrard’s (1798) Map of Kildare, but no visible surface trace survives: remains of a second, rectangular and possibly open-backed tower (max. dims. L 9.8m; Wth 4m; wall T 1.6m), at NW, are incorporated into the rear of Graham’s Bakery on the corner of Market Sq. and Station Rd.: remains of a third, open-backed, rectangular tower (dims max. L 8.8m; Wth. could not be determined) survive at NE. (Mac Niocaill 1964, 101). Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 23 March 2016