King John's Castle, Kilmallock
| King John's Castle | |
|
County Limerick | |
|---|---|
 King John's Castle | |
| Type: | Tower house |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | R60802788 |
| Location: | 52°24’5"N, 8°34’36"W |
| Village: | Kilmallock |
| History | |
| Built 15th century | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | Heritage Ireland |
King John's Castle or King's Castle is a tower house Kilmallock, County Limerick. It has been designated a 'National Monument'.
The castle is in Kilmallock, to the west of the Collegiate Church of St Peter and St Paul and south-west of Kilmallock Abbey.[1][2]
History
Despite the name, the tower house (or peel tower) was not erected during King John's reign (1177–1216) but some time in the 15th century. The name is probably intended to invite comparison to King John's Castle, Limerick.
There are some original mullioned windows still present but most were replaced with 18th-century windows.[3]
The castle was granted to Henry Billingsley in 1588, and to Thomas Browne in 1604. In 1645 it was used as an arsenal by James Tuchet, 3rd Earl of Castlehaven's troops during the Irish Confederate Wars, and was a military hospital in 1651.
The tower was renovated in the 18th/19th century and was used as a blacksmith's workshop.[4][5]
Building
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 |
A four-storey tower house with some original mullioned windows. It is vaulted above the ground floor and the front and back walls were removed so that the castle is pierced by a large Gothic arch.
References
- ↑ "Holdings: King John's Castle, Kilmallock, Co. Limerick". http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000317730.
- ↑ Oram, Hugh (26 December 2017). "Bygone Limerick: The City and County in Days Gone by". Mercier Press Ltd. https://books.google.ie/books?id=0Wl-njSYfQAC&pg=PA82&lpg=PA82&dq=%22King+John's+Castle%22+kilmallock+feet&source=bl&ots=T8EESnYT-Z&sig=RhmKN1ZtrhA6Q4QayfpB5HdpC6Y&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi1-4OCjKjYAhXrKcAKHUKlBGoQ6AEIaDAN#v=onepage&q=%22King+John's+Castle%22+kilmallock+feet&f=false.
- ↑ King John's Castle, Kilmallock on 'Megalithic Ireland'
- ↑ "Irish Castles - King Johns Castle, Kilmallock". http://www.britainirelandcastles.com/Ireland/County-Limerick/King-Johns-Castle,-Kilmallock.html.
- ↑ "King's Castle, Kilmallock". http://irishantiquities.bravehost.com/limerick/kilmallock/kilmallock_kings.html.
- Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 26 December 1898; via Google Books