What is recorded here

Staplestown Turrets was the grand home of Sir William Temple in mid-seventeenth-century County Carlow, though neither it nor the nearby village appeared on the Down Survey of 1650. Temple lived there for about a decade before losing the property, leaving behind earthworks and a absence that still puzzles. The house vanished from official records even as Dineley drew it in 1680, suggesting its disappearance was political rather than physical.

The following description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Carlow' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 17 July 2007 Large house, known as 'the Turrets', home of Sir William Temple for about a decade in mid-seventeenth century. Earthworks to N and SE of site are probably landscape features. Medieval village lay in vicinity of Steplestown Lodge and Staplestown Bridge. Neither house nor village, which were illustrated by Dineley in 1680 (JRSAI 1862-3, 44-5), are marked on Down Survey of 1650.

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