Site of Lavistown Castle — Report the wrong picture

What is recorded here

Lavistown Castle stood in County Kilkenny when Thomas Denn owned it in 1640, and the Down Survey still marks its place beside Blackrath and St Martins. Carrigan wrote that a fragment remained inside an out-office wall, suggesting the castle did not vanish but changed shape. Maybe a room still hides behind brickwork, waiting for someone to stop treating the wall as solid.

Indicated on the Down Survey (1655-6) barony map of Gowran in ‘Lavistown’ ((Hibernia Regnum, courtesy of Trinity College Dublin) and on the Down Survey parish map of Blackrath and St Martins (NLI MS720). The terrier accompanying the parish map describes, ‘on Lavistowne a Castle in repaire’ and lists ‘Thomas Denn’ as the proprietor in 1640 (ibid.). According to Carrigan (1905, vol. 3, 367), ‘A small fragment of Lavistown castle still remains, being incorporated with the walls of one of Mr. Edward Langton’s out-offices’. See attached: KK020-033----_01 extract from Down Survey (1655-6) barony map of Gowran (Hib. Reg., courtesy of Trinity College Dublin KK020-033----_02 extract from Down Survey (1655-6) parish map of Blackrath and St Martins (NLI MS720) Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 7 December 2020

Built by the Purcell family in the late 15th or early 16th century, Lavistown Castle is significant for its representation on the Down Survey maps of the mid-17th century, highlighting its role during the English re-conquest of Ireland.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.