Kindlestown Castle (in ruins) — Kindlestown Upper

National Monument in state ownership No. 323. Situated in a low-lying area in gently undulating terrain. A rectangular two-storey hall (dims. 21m E-W; 9.8m N-S), of roughly coursed limestone and felsitic rubble, of which only the N wall remains largely intact. It has a barrel-vaulted ground floor, above which the surviving N wall is stepped inward to support the first floor independently of the vault. There are towers at the NW and NE angles which project (L 0.6m) from the N wall; that at the NE has collapsed but the stairwell leading from the ground floor to an intramural passage at first floor level in the N wall is still visible. There is a chamber in the NW tower at this level, with a cross-loop in the W wall, two garderobe chutes in the N face, and a third immediately beneath the squinch between the chamber and the N wall of the hall. There are four internal rounded opes in the N wall on the first floor which narrow to simple rectangular windows on the outside. The remains of a wall-walk with drain-holes and string course is to be seen at the top of the N wall. The hall is probably of early fourteenth-century date and it stands at the E end of a rectangular ditched enclosure (dims. c. 52m E-W; c. 18m N-S internally). The fosse (Wth 4m) extends 29m to the W beyond the hall and turns S to the adjacent field boundary. There is no indication of an entrance. Excavations carried out in 2001 (Excavation Licence 01E0844) 'revealed the remains of habitation in the medieval period in the form of metalled surfaces, post-holes and a hearth. Although no datable finds were made at the earliest level, the succeeding levels could be dated from the 14th century onwards. The castle appears to have been continually occupied and in use from this time into the 18th century, when at least two brick ovens were constructed. The excavation also established that the south and west walls, as revealed during excavation, represented a replacement wall rebuilt in the 19th century. These walls, while following faithfully the line of the original wall (and, in the case of the southern wall, built on top of the original medieval foundations), were drystone walls, incorporating fragments of the collapsed barrel vault, some with traces of wicker centring. The castle was probably repaired in response to the fact that it had been extensively plundered and large sections of the facing stones had been removed.' (Simpson 2003, 418-21). Further excavations were carried out in 2006 in the eastern part of the castle adjacent to its northern wall. The only medieval features uncovered included nine stake-/post-holes. A large 17th-century drain truncated most of the excavation area. (Moriarty 2009, 574) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wicklow' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of revision: 22 January 2013 Revised by: Claire Breen