What is recorded here

Site of Castle is an ecclesiastical residence in Elphin, County Roscommon, Ireland. Bishop King probably built a fortified house there in 1629 after the suppression of the Franciscan friary, creating a castle known locally. Bishop Tilson abandoned it in 1645, while Franciscans occupied it from 1650 to 1654. Bishop John Hudson later redirected palace funds to a new building, leaving this ridge empty except for memory.

A palace for the C. of I bishop was built on the site of St Patrick's church (RO016-148001-), after the supression of the Franciscan friary in 1563. It was built by bishop King, probably in 1629, and may have been a fortified house which was known locally as the castle. It was abandoned by bishop Tilson in 1645 (Weld 1832, 361), and was occupied by Franciscans 1650-54 (Giblin 1988). Funds for a Grammar School and the Cathedral (RO016-127001-) were provided in 1685 in the will of Bishop John Hudson, and these were partly used to provide a new palace but the site was moved to the present Bishop's palace (RO016-126----) (ibid. 362) when it was begun in the 1750s by Bishop Smyth. Situated on a slight ridge, c. 200m E of the Cathedral (RO016-127001-), its site was identified by J. O'Donovan in a field known as the Castle Garden in the 1830s (O'Flanagan 1931, vol. 2, 19). Nothing is visible at ground level in pasture. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 24 August 2010

Bishop King built the site of Castle-Elphin as a palace for the Church of Ireland bishop, likely in 1629, possibly as a fort, on the site of an earlier St Patrick's church; it reflects the re-establishment of Anglican authority in the area following the suppression of the Franciscan friary in 1563.

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