Castle — Barntown

References date from 1562 when an inquisition reported that it had been held by Walter Roche who had died the previous year and whose heir was William Wadding. A John Wadding held it in 1635 (Jeffrey 1979, 98-9) but in 1641 the ruined castle and 210 acres at Barntown was held by Robert Roche and John Wadding (Simington 1953, 106). The latter was listed (1655-9) to receive 216 acres in Connaught (Hore 1900-11, vol. 6, 505). The tower house is located towards the bottom of the N-facing slope at the N end of the NE-SW ridge of Forth Mountain. This is a rectangular tower (ext. dims 7.9m N S; 6.6m E W) of five storeys with a destroyed N-S vault over the first floor. It survives to the base of the wall-walk, but there are no dressed stones surviving anywhere in the structure. Nor is there any evidence that there was ever a bawn attached. The re-built entrance, protected by machicolation, is towards the N end of the E wall and leads to a destroyed lobby with evidence of a murder hole. The ground floor has lights in the E and S walls, and the remains of a mural stairs in the E wall gives access through the remains of a doorway to the first floor which has lights in the N and S walls. Its floor is supported on corbels in the W wall, and presumably in the destroyed E wall. The mural stairs continue in the E wall to the second floor over the vault, which had a fireplace in the W wall, the flue of which projects on the outer face of the wall, a garderobe at the NW angle which is entered by a lintelled doorway off a lintelled embrasure in the W wall. There are windows in the N and S walls and corbels in the W wall to suport the ceiling. A newel stairs at the SE angle, now destroyed, gave access to the third floor which has large windows with seats in the N and E walls, and a smaller window in the S wall. There is a fireplace in the W wall and the lintelled entrance to the garderobe at NW angle is just N of it. There are rebates on the N, W and E walls for the ceiling and the W wall also has corbels. The newel stairs continued to the fourth floor which has a window ope in each wall. The joists for the ceiling were set directly into the E and W walls. Archaeological testing (20E0695) by J. Purcell c. 70m to the N at the closest point produced no related material, and further testing (20E0600) by N. Gregory c. 60m to the SW at the closest point had a similar result (excavations.ie 2021:303). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 13 December, 2012 Amended: 7 November 2022