Castle (in ruins) — Newtown (baker)

On a SW-facing slope, c. 200m N of the Kings River, commanding a good view E-S-W at ground level. The castle is associated with the medieval settlement of Earlstown (KK027-012----) which was under the proprietorship of the Sweetman family, who had succeeded the D’Erleys towards the end of the 14th century (Carrigan 1905, vol. 3, 330). The Sweetman’s held onto possession until the land was confiscated under the Cromwellian confiscations in the mid-17th century and subsequently divided up between several individuals (Carrigan 1905, vol. 3, 330, 332). The S and W wall lengths of an associated bawn (KK027-012010-) are visible, though in a largely much dilapidated condition. A well-preserved five-storey rectangular tower house (int. dims. 6.85m E-W x 4.65m N-S; wall T 1.65m), with pronounced base-batter, constructed of roughly coursed limestone rubble with large cut stones quoins. There is a pointed vault over the first floor. It is lit by flat-headed single-lights and ogee-headed single and two-light windows. At parapet level there is a split level wall-walk and there are mural passages on the E and W walls. The tower house was entered through a pointed and rebated doorway (H 1.89m; Wth 1.05m) at ground-floor level, at the E end of the N wall, with deep door-bar holes in both jambs. From the entrance lobby, which is protected by an overhead murder-hole, there is direct entrance, via a pointed doorway, to the ground floor or access to the upper floors via a flat-headed doorway to the E and a spiral stair which rises in the NW angle. The ground-floor was lit by four single-light windows. One at the W end of the N wall, with an outer embrasure splaying internally and externally, one in the W wall and two, now broken out, in the S wall. The latter three have a splayed outer embrasure and all four are within wide straight-sided inner embrasures with traces of wicker-centring and plaster render. There is a wall-cupboard in the W wall of the N embrasure. There is a recess in the E wall. The spiral stair is lit by flat-headed single-light windows, there is also a small square ope between ground and first-floor level. The first floor was accessed from the spiral stair via a flat-headed doorway. It was lit by two windows, a now blocked single-light within an inner embrasure at the E end of the S wall and a small flat-headed window within a deep inner embrasure in the W wall. The N wall contains a rectangular recess with access to the murder-hole at the E end. At W end, there are the remains of a doorway which leads into a mural passage in the NW angle, which is lit by a small single-light window with an unusual sandstone triangular-pointed head, possibly a reused stone. This level was carried on a wooden floor, the supporting corbels for which survive at the E and W end of the S wall and at the W end of the N wall. The second floor, over the vault, is entered via a flat-headed doorway, with draw-bar holes, from the spiral stair in the NE angle. It is lit by two-light ogee-headed windows set into deep straight-sided embrasures with depressed heads and window-seats, in the N and W wall respectively and a single-light ogee-headed window in a widely splaying embrasure at the W end of the S wall. The soffits of the N and W embrasures bear impressions of plank-centring. There is 19th-century graffiti on two of the window sills, one inscribed, ‘G. Holden 1892’, the other, ‘Jph Dunne’. There is a large fireplace (Wth 2m) at the E end of the S wall. It had a joggle-joined flat-arched lintel supported on either end by a corbel, with curving lamp brackets on either side to secure the lintel in place, and a sloping hood over. A rectangular niche (1.63m x 0.8m) at the W end of the N wall houses a trap-door entrance (0.8m x 0.5m) to an oubliette in the haunch of the vault below. Also at second floor, accessed from the main chamber via a narrow creep, is a short mural garderobe chamber running N-S within the E wall and lit by a flat-headed single-light window at its S end. The third floor was carried on a timber floor, the supporting corbels for which survive in N and S wall. The main chamber is entered from the spiral stair via a flat-headed doorway. It is lit by flat-headed windows, one in each wall, those in the N and S walls are set into straight-sided embrasures with depressed heads, while those in the E and W walls have pointed embrasures. There are wall-cupboards at the W end of the S wall and at the S end of the W wall. The main stair stops at this level. The upper mural chambers and parapet level are accessed via a much narrower spiral stair (Wth 0.65m), which is entered via a narrow flat-headed doorway at the NE angle of the chamber. Between the third floor and the lower wall-walk, there is a mural passage, with garderobe, running N-S in thickness of E wall and lit by a flat-headed single-light window at the S end, and another at the N end of E wall, accompanied by a slop-stone. Re-emerging from the mural passage, two steps takes one up onto the lower of two wall-walks which runs around the N, W, and S walls and is covered on W side. The narrow staircase continues up to the top wall-walk which runs across the E and W walls. That on the E wall contains a garderobe at the S end. Some gable-coping is intact on the E and W walls. The garderobe chute as later reused as a flue for a fireplace which was inserted at the S end of the E wall at ground-floor level. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 8 May 2023