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Located on a slight S-facing slope. References to Houseland, then called Northtown as the most northerly townland in Hook parish, date from 1471 when Andrew FitzRedmond held a messuage or house and 80 acres there (Hore 1900-11, vol. 4, 347-8). Hook parish was part of the Templar, and after 1312 the Hospitaller, manor of Kilcloggan. At the Suppression in 1541 Henry Keating possessed 30 acres and the castle at Hounsland (ibid. 285). By 1640 Houseland had become the property of Nicholas Loftus (ibid 350).
The castle is described as a tower of four storeys with a vaulted ground floor and a newel stairs (Jeffrey 1979, 151-2). Today, the foundation course of a rectangular structure (ext. dims 5.95m E-W; 5.77m N-S) with an entrance (Wth 0.62m), or perhaps the outlet of a garderobe chute, towards the W end of the N wall and a rubble cairn (diam. 15m; H 1-1.6m) are the only visible remains at ground level.
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/revision: 4 February 2014
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