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Walshestown castle is a tower-house with a bawn, a type of fortified dwelling characteristic of late medieval Ireland. The castle stands on bedrock of the Hawick Group, a formation of Wenlock-age wacke that underlies much of County Down. This durable sedimentary stone provided suitable foundation for the structure, which was built to command its local landscape and serve as both residence and stronghold.
The site is protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Division reference 7578. Two thirteenth-century coffin lids discovered at Walshestown indicate ecclesiastical or high-status secular activity predating the surviving tower-house, suggesting continuous occupation or use of the location across the medieval period.
The bawn, a defensive enclosure wall typical of Anglo-Norman and later Irish fortifications, completed the defensive arrangement alongside the tower-house itself. Such combined structures provided protection for both buildings and livestock during the uncertain conditions of late medieval Ireland.
Walshestown castle. tower-house, bawn & 2 c13th coffin lids is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 7578. View the official record →
Walshestown castle is a tower-house with a bawn, a type of fortified dwelling characteristic of late medieval Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 7578.
Walshestown castle. tower-house, bawn & 2 c13th coffin lids dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a fortification. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Walshestown castle. tower-house, bawn & 2 c13th coffin lids is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Ni. The official designation reference is 7578.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including The long stone. standing stone (3.4 km), Loughmoney dolmen. portal tomb (3.5 km), Cup-&-ring-marked stone (4.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Walshestown castle. tower-house, bawn & 2 c13th coffin lids's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Walshestown castle. tower-house, bawn & 2 c13th coffin lids stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.