Castle (in ruins) — Mulrankin

Mulrankin was held by the Brown family from the beginning of the Anglo-Norman settlement (Brooks 1950, 34-5), but the early caput of the manor would have been the motte at Oldhall (WX047-0024----) c. 1.6km to the W of Mulrankin castle. Sir Nicholas le Brun was High Sheriff of Wexford in 1364 and Sir Walter Browne was Seneschal (governor) of the county in 1521 (Jeffrey 1979, 80-2). In 1572 Robert Brown of Mulrankin was killed together with other gentry by Fiach McHugh O’Byrne and Brain McCahir Kavanagh at the instigation the Furlongs of Horetown (WX041-048----) and the Fitzhenrys of Mackmine (WX032-001----) (Prendergast 1868; Hore 1900-11, vol. 6, 391-2). According to the Civil Survey (1654-6) William Browne owned the castle, hall and large bawn together with 240 acres at Mulrankin in 1640 (Simington 1953, 155-6). He also owned 720 acres in the parish at Churchtown, Ballylibernagh, Lake, Bridgetown, Sheephouse, Rathyark, Moortown, Knockan Sock (Shouk?), Arpornstowne (Harpoonstown), Johnstown, Balycappoge, and the unknown Haggardtown, which was probably a part of one of the named townlands. During the 1630s William had mortgaged much of his property to Wexford merchants and Nicholas Rowe, who occupied Bridgetown castle (WX047-026----) in the 1640’s (Browne and Whelan 1987, 470). William absconded after the 1640s, but his wife Margaret was listed for transplantation to Connaught with 28 dependents in 1653 (Hore 1900-11, vol. 6, 502). Mulrankin then became the property of John Cliffe (Jeffrey 1979, 81) and it remained in this family into the early 20th century (Browne and Whelan 1987, 471). The tower house is located in a level landscape. This is a rectangular tower (ext. dims. 9.05m N- S; 7.2m E-W) of four storeys, surviving complete with good quoins and a base batter, but the walls are obscured with ivy. The damaged entrance doorway (Wth 0.88m; H 1.76m) towards the S end of the W wall, protected by a murder hole, led through a doorway (now blocked) from the lobby to the ground floor which has five embrasures, two with surviving slit-windows at the S end of the E wall and the at the E end of the S wall. Embrasures in the N wall and at the N end of the E wall are now secondary doorways, and there is a blocked embrasure in the W wall. The stairs rise in the S wall and lead through a lintelled doorway (Wth 0.87m; H 1.64m) to the first floor under a N-S vault that has a window in the N wall and a blocked window embrasure at the W end of the S wall. The floor was supported on corbels, two of which survive in the E wall. The stairs continue in the S wall and turn onto the E wall where a robbed doorway leads to the second floor over the vault (int. dims 6.55m N-S; 3.7m E-W). There is a destroyed embrasure in the S wall but the round-headed embrasure (Wth 1.18m; H 1.68m; D 1.03m) in the N wall had a two-light ogee-headed window (Wth 0.73m; H 1.37m) in Old Rd Sandstone but the central mullion is gone. Just to the E is a blocked opening (Wth 0.74m; H 2.18m) that may have led to the wall-walk of a bawn. Just E of this, in the NE angle is a small chamber (int. dims 1.25m N-S; 0.7m E-W; H 2.05m) that might be a garderobe but there is no evidence of a chute. At the N end of the E wall an arched embrasure (Wth 1.85m; H 1.93m; D 0.85m) has an ogee-headed window (Wth 0.34m; H 0.64m) of Old Red Sandstone. A small but damaged chamber in the SW angle commanded the murder-hole, but the only feature on the W wall is a robbed fireplace. The ceiling was supported by corbels in the E and W walls. The stairs rise in the E wall to a destroyed doorway into the third floor. This has blocked windows in the N and S walls, and an embrasure at the S end of the E wall may have had a window, but it is inaccessible. There are no features in the W wall, and the ceiling was supported by corbels in the E and W walls. The stairs continue in the E wall and turn onto the N wall where a lintelled doorway (Wth 0.49m; H 1.56m) leads onto the wall-walk. There are surviving crenellations only at the angles, and the only look-out is over the stairs-housing at the NE angle. If the blocked opening in the N wall at the second floor led to the wall-walk of the bawn then the bawn may have occupied the area of the present farmyard (dims c. 25m N-S; c. 25m E-W) surrounded by farm buildings, or the rectangular enclosure (dims. c. 65m E-W; c. 50m N-S) defined by stone clad earthen banks S of the tower house may be related. A house or hall was built in 1432 at Mulrankin (Jeffrey 1979, 81), which was extant in 1640 and may have been located immediately to the W where there is now a 19th century farmhouse. Archaeological testing (02E0709) c. 50m to the W at the closest point produced no related material (Hurley 2002; excavations.ie 2002:1917). Further archaeological testing (13E0137) just W of the farmhouse recovered evidence of pits and a fosse, with locally-produced pottery of 12th or 13th century date, and the excavator concludes that the hall, whose fabric is incorporated in the present house, would be earlier than the tower house (McLoughlin 2013). (Browne and Whelan 1987, 467-89) 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: 17 October, 2013 Amended: 01 December 2020