Castle — Kilbride

Kilbride Castle is depicted on the 1656 Down Survey parish map of Kilbride (NLI p.7384) where it is shown standing close to Kilbride Church (WM033-008---) on the lands of Richard Tyrell an Irish papist and owner of Kilbride Castle in 1641. The terrier of the Down Survey parish map states that in this townland stands 'a Castle and a Church (WM033-008----)' (NLI p7384). In 1663 an inquisition post mortem held at Mullingar on the 15th of March into the estate of the deceased Richard Tyrell listed 435 acres of land in Kilbride as part of his estate (Anon 1826, Car II (1)). The castle and lands of Kilbride then passed into the hands of the North family. Roger North of Kilbride Castle died in 1766. The castle was described in 1837 as 'Kilbride Castle, of A. J. Wilkington, Esq., where are the remains of a strong hold of the Tyrrells' (Lewis 1837, vol. 2, 56). Kilbride Church (WM033-0008---) is located 315m to the N. The monument was inspected in 1980 and described as a large rectangular castle (dims. 28.5m E-W; 13.5m N-S) aligned E-W with two angle towers surviving. The N wall of the castle no longer survives above ground except for a short section of the E end where it returns onto the NE angle. The E, S and W walls are still standing with the poorly preserved remains of a corner tower on the SW and NW angles. The remains of a garderobe can be seen in the SW angle tower. The remains of a base batter are visible along the upstanding sections of the castle walls however most of this batter has been robbed out. The ground floor possessed a stone vault the springing of which is visible at the E end of the S wall. According to the owner of the castle a wide entrance was inserted into the S wall in the 19th century. The remains of a mural stair can be seen in the S wall (T 3.5m) which gave access to the first floor level. The remains of a spiral stairs can be seen in the SW angle tower. The surviving windows consist of narrow slit opes set into wide deep embrasures. The castle is now covered with a galvanized roof and is used as a hayshed. A farmyard is located to the N of the castle, Kilbride House is 40m to the NE and a walled garden is located immediately to the W of the castle. The W end of Kilbride House contains a projecting rounded bay which appears to be the remains of a small tower possibly the NE angle tower of a bawn (WM033-010001-) that enclosed Kilbride Castle. Within this small angle tower are the remains of a spiral stairs. To the S of Kilbride House running alongside the road are the remains of a two storey dovecote incorporated into the 19th century walled courtyard of the house. Some pieces of cut limestone of medieval date can be seen in the farmyard to the N of the castle. A small kidney-shaped pond c. 20m to the SE of the castle is probably post-1770 in date with a small rockery on a platform to one side. It may be possible that this pond could represent the remains of an earlier medieval fish-pond associated with the nearby castle that was then converted into a landscape pond feature of Kilbride House. Alternatively this pond may be part of the 18th century landscaping of Kilbride House. The pond is c. 60m S of Kilbride House. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 04 July 2013