Site of Castle — Report the wrong picture

What is recorded here

Ballyshelin castle belonged to Philip Hore in 1654, a compact slate house commanding three hundred and sixty acres at the foot of Forth Mountain. The main chamber has vanished under ploughs, but a long sunken track still cuts the ground beside the buried foundation. That dark line may have been a defensive ditch, or simply a road worn by centuries of carts. Either way, the earth kept the shape of human movement long after the walls disappeared.

References to a castle at Ballyshelin date with certainty from the Civil Survey (1654-6) when a 'slate house' and 360 acres were the property of Philip Hore, together with 360 acres at Harveystown (Simington 1953, 98). It is depicted faintly as a rectangular structure (dims c. 10m E-W; c. 5m N-S) on the 1839 Ed. of the OS 6-inch map. It is situated on level ground at the SW base of Forth Mountain. A slightly raised oval area (dims. 18m E-W; 11m N-S) may be the site. Immediately to the W is a N-S sunken track or fosse (L 150m; Wth 4-8m). There was exposed stonework visible at the N end of this feature in 1988. All the features have eroded further through ploughing. 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: 19 March, 2013

Philip Hore held Ballyshelin Castle in the mid-17th century, as recorded in the Civil Survey of 1654–56. The site is remembered for its historical association with landownership patterns in the region during the post-Cromwellian settlement.

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