Indicated — Rush Hall

In undulating countryside with views to S and W. According to Carrigan, Rushall Court (LA016-026----) was founded about 1660, by Sir Charles Coote was probably built on the site of one of 'two castles' (LA016-026001-) mentioned in the Down Survey of 1657 (Carrigan 1905, 183). Rush Hall Court was abandoned shortly after 1789 and became a ruin, the remains of which can be seen today (Carrigan 1905, 183). Shortly after its abandonment a new house marked on the OS 6-inch maps as Rush Hall House was built c. 10m to the S of the seventeenth century house. There appears to have been more than one bawn area attached to Rush Hall Court of which only the E bawn and a portion of the S bawn survives intact. The impressive bawn to the E of the house is defended with pentagonal shaped-flanking towers whose walls are pierced with 10 gun loops in each tower and appears to be one of possibly three seperate areas defended by a bawn wall. The flanking angle towers of the bawn are similar in shape to the flanking towers on the early seventeenth century plantation fort at Monaghan (MO009-060003-) which was built c. 1611. The main bawn area was built onto the E side of the seventeenth century house (LA016-026----), enclosing an area c. 65m square, its walls survive to a height of 3.7m and are composed of large blocks of limestone masonry, intermittently coursed, measuring 0.67m thick. The entrance to the bawn was most likely at the N end of the W wall and adjoining the E end of the N wall of the main body of the house (LA016-026----) where today there is a broken out gap in the wall. Unusually the W wall of the bawn runs beyond the S wall of the bawn for a distance of 14m with the remains of a flanking tower on the SW angle that was entered from the E side which suggests that there was a second bawn area to the S of the present bawn located to the E of Rush Hall Court. Only the SW flanking tower and the W wall of this second bawn area survives. A second broken out gap can be seen located off centre to the W in the S wall which may have been a gateway or doorway into this second bawn area to the S of the main bawn. There are no gaps in the N or E walls of this bawn which are perfectly preserved. The surface of the bawn was formerly cobbled, was later used as an orchard and is now a lawn. Three corner towers which provided flanking fire for the bawn and house survives in varying condition at the SE, NE and SW angles. All three are five-sided in plan measuring 3.85m x 3.5m internally with walls 0.62m thick, constructed of roughly coursed limestone rubble and stand to a maximum height of 3.2m. Both the NE and SE towers contain 10 gun loops, placed at intervals at ground floor level in all five of their component walls. The gun-loops consists of vertical slits with ca entral hole for the gun which is set into square-headed embrasures. Plain square-headed doorways now missing there surrounds measuring 1m wide provided access from the bawn into the flanking towers. The NE tower retains its cobbled floor and threshold stone. There may have been a NW tower as is suggested by some projecting masonry at the W end of the external face of the N wall of the bawn. It may have been removed to facilitate a narrow farm trackway which runs E-W alongside the external face of the N wall of the bawn. Only the W half of the SW tower survives and contains a gun loop and an angle loop. A second displaced gun loop was incorporated into the N end of the S extension to the W wall of the bawn. According to the local landowner there was a third bawn area located to the N and NW of Rush Hall Court that was defined by a wall which was pulled down in the late 1970s. Today several modern farm buildings occupy the site of this bawn area and there is no surface remains of any bawn wall in this location. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 4 October 2011