Site of Blanchville Castle

Indicated on the Down Survey (1655-6) barony map of Gowran in ‘Blanchfeilds’ townland and on the Down Survey parish map of 'Blanchevilstown' (Hibernia Regnum, courtesy of Trinity College Dublin). The terrier accompanying the parish map describes, ‘on Blanchfeildstowne a large Cstle in repaire’ and lists ‘S[i]r Edm[on]d Blanchfeild’ as the proprietor in 1640 (ibid.). Carrigan (1905, vol. 3, 416) notes that the castle, 'stood close to the public road, in the lawn of Kearney Castle, Blanchville Demesne, but it has been long razed to the ground'. Its location is generally marked on the 1st (1839) ed. OS map, but on the 1900 revision the position is marked with a cross, roughly where the text ended on the 1st ed. map. It is possible that the 1900 revision was an attempt to provide a definite location based on where the text of the 1st ed. map was placed. It is possible that the location could be up to 100m W/WNW of the indicated cross. See attached: KK020-056----_01 extract from Down Survey (1655-6) barony map of Gowran (Hib. Reg., courtesy of Trinity College Dublin) KK020-056----_02 extract from Down Survey (1655-6) parish map of 'Blanchevilstown' (Hib. Reg., courtesy of Trinity College Dublin) KK020-056----_03 extract from Down Survey (1655-6) terrier accompanying parish map of 'Blanchevilstown' (Hib. Reg., courtesy of Trinity College Dublin) Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 10 December 2020

Blanchville Castle was held by the Butler family, the powerful Earls of Ormond, during the 17th century. It is remembered as part of their extensive network of estates and strongholds in southeast Ireland, reflecting their influence in the region during the medieval and early modern periods.