Castle — Townparks (ardee By.)

Situated outside the town walls of Ardee, and constructed of roughly coursed limestone blocks, boulders and greywacke. It is almost square in plan (c. 8.8m N-S, c. 8m E-W) with no projecting towers, is three storeys high and is now used as a farm building. The original doorway is at the S end of the E wall. Its arch is missing but the original jambs of hammer-dressed limestone remain in position. The doorway leads to the stairwell in the SE angle and a N-S barrel vault. The barrel vault was lit by an ope almost in the centre of the S wall, now blocked, and another, also blocked, at the N end of the W wall. There are seven cubby-holes in the wall at ground-floor level and a large round arched recess in the E. In the W wall both at first- and second-floor levels there is a rectangular window constructed of hammer-dressed and chamfered limestone. The E wall had a later building attached to it, the roof line of which can still be seen. There appear to be no opes in this wall except for a blocked one at second-floor level and a simple slit at the top of the stair tower. The S wall of this tower also has two small slit opes, while the main body of the wall has a blocked-up rectangular window at first-floor level. At first-floor level there is a garderobe situated in a short mural passage in the NW angle. The doorway to the garderobe has a flat arch and no dressed stone, while that leading from the stairwell has a lintel over its entranceway. The first-floor level had four single-light windows with single-splayed embrasures and rectangular opes of hammer-dressed limestone. All the windows, except for that in the W wall, are now blocked at this level. There is a large recess in the NE angle which was lit by a small slit ope and may originally have been a garderobe chamber. This level also has three cubby-holes. The second floor was carried on wooden beams set into the side walls. It was lit by four windows, one in each wall. They are rectangular in shape with hammer-dressed limestone frames and have seats in their embrasures. Some have been partially destroyed and blocked up. There is a blocked-up doorway in the NW angle which probably led to a garderobe. There are the remains of a fireplace in the E wall at second-floor level and its chimney stack can be seen rising above the battlements. The stairwell leads to the wall-walk on the S side, which is not now easily accessible, but the angle-tower can be seen rising above the level of the parapets. There is a pronounced oversailing at wall-walk level on both sides of the walls, which was carried on corbels and was built to accommodate the extra width for the wall-walk. The wall-walk was placed between two walls like a mural passage rather than the more normal arrangement which is to have only an outer protecting wall with crenellations. This arrangement survives only at the S side; elsewhere the inner wall has collapsed leaving only the corbels projecting. (Bradley and King 1985, 289) The above description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 July 2007