Castleruddery Motte is a

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

and National Monument located in County Wicklow,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Location

Castleruddery Motte is located east-northeast of

Stratford-on-Slaney Stratford-on-Slaney (), also known as Stratford or Stratford-upon-Slaney, is a small village on the River Slaney in west County Wicklow in Ireland. It was built by the Earl of Aldborough from 1774. According to the latest census, conducted in ...

, on a slope 400 m (¼ mile) north of the

River Slaney The River Slaney () is a large river in the southeast of Ireland. It rises on Lugnaquilla Mountain in the western Wicklow Mountains and flows west and then south through counties Wicklow, Carlow and Wexford for 117.5 km (73 mi), be ...

History

The motte was built in the late 12th century after the

Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly san ...

. The motte at Castleruddery is located close to an early church mentioned in the twelfth century which formed part of the diocesan lands of

Glendalough Glendalough (; ) is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland, renowned for an Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin. From 1825 to 1957, the head of the Glendalough Valley was the site of a galena lead min ...

. In the early 13th century it became part of an episcopal manor and was subsequently granted to the Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. A

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

grew up in association with the manor, of which the motte formed a part.

Description

Castleruddery Motte is round, with an internal diameter of and is enclosed by an earthen bank. The motte guards a river crossing.

References

{{reflist Archaeological sites in County Wicklow National Monuments in County Wicklow