What is recorded here

Carntown tower house in County Louth still wears two carved stone heads as first-floor corbels. One is a hairy mouth-puller whose small back arms drag its jaw open to show teeth, while the other is a plain woman in a cowl with protruding eyes and a long nose. They may have mocked visitors, warned servants, or simply amused the people who built the house, but their strange faces still hold up the building.

Two stone heads used as corbels to carry wooden beams for the first floor of Carntown tower house (LH021-045001-). One (LH021-045002-) is a mouth-puller with a hairy human-like face and markedly protruding eyes. Small arms extend from the back of the head. All the fingers, except for the thumb which is upright, are used to pull the mouth wide open and expose the teeth. The other (LH021-045003-) appears to be the face of woman with cowl-like garment around it. It also has protruding eyes, a long pronounced nose and an unsmiling plain mouth. The above description is derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 19 July 2012

Probably 15th–16th century; the stone head may have been repurposed from an earlier medieval or even prehistoric context. Its fierce expression suggests a protective or symbolic function, possibly linked to local folklore or intended to ward off evil.

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