Castles of Leinster- Durhamstown, Meath (geograph 6501931)

Durhamstown Castle is a 600-year-old

towerhouse A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

in the townland of

Durhamstown Durhamstown ( ga, Baile an Dormhamaigh), known less frequently as Dormstown, is a townland outside Navan in County Meath, Ireland. In religious terms it is covered by the Roman Catholic parish of Bohermeen. Durhamstown townland lies in the civil p ...

of the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Ardbraccan Ardbraccan ( ga, Ard Breacáin) is an ancient place of Christian worship in County Meath, Ireland. It is the location of the former residence of the Roman Catholic, then, after the Reformation, the Church of Ireland Bishop of Meath. It is approx ...

which is in the

barony (Ireland) In Ireland, a barony ( ga, barúntacht, plural ) is a historical subdivision of a county, analogous to the hundreds into which the counties of England were divided. Baronies were created during the Tudor reconquest of Ireland, replacing the ea ...

of Lower Navan, in

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

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 ...

. It is named after a Mr Doream and has been converted into a guest house and restaurant. Although the precise origins of the building are unknown, the existing castle is believed to date from the early 15th century. The building is of four storeys and the ground floor has four vaulted chambers with inserted windows. A square tower with a pointed door which opens to a spiral staircase can be found at its east wall. There are three tall chimneys clustering at the north end of the nave. There is believed to have originally been another storey which was knocked down as a result of a fire. A 19th century single storey wing has been added to the north of the old house. In the 16th century the building was owned by The 1st Earl of Essex,

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

under Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland. In the 17th century Sir Roger Jones-Lord Ranallagh lived there, whose son Arthur, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, was involved in a scandal whereby the entire Irish Exchequer was diverted to pay for the mistresses of Charles II. During the 18th century its occupants were Thompsons and during the 19th the Roberts Family. It is currently owned by Dave and Sue Prickett, who bought it in 1996 and run it as a guest house and restaurant. It is one of the oldest continually resided-in buildings in Ireland.

References

Theposhnoshclub.com - History
(archived) Castles in County Meath Houses in County Meath {{Meath-geo-stub

See also

References