Castle Caulfield
| Castle Caulfield | |
| Tyrone | |
|---|---|
 Castle Caulfield Ruins | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | H75506260 |
| Location: | 54°30’23"N, 6°50’6"W |
| History | |
| Built 1611 and 1619 | |
| For: | Sir Toby Caulfeild |
| Country house | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Ruined |
| Owned by: | (State care) |
Castle Caulfield is a large ruined house situated in Castlecaulfield, Tyrone.
History
The house was built by Sir Toby Caulfeild[1] after he was granted 1,000 acres during the Plantation of Ulster. This land was previously owned by the O'Donnelly family, who were closely connected to the O'Neill clan in Dungannon. The O'Donnelly fort was a few miles west of Castle Caulfield.
Sir Toby built his house on his new estate between 1611 and 1619.
Castle Caulfield was burned in the Irish Rebellion of 1641 but was repaired and reoccupied by the Caulfeilds until the 1660s. Oliver Plunkett is known to have held a service at the castle in 1670, but the castle was in ruins when John Wesley preached here in 1767.
Form
The building was three storeys high with attics, a cellar, many large mullioned windows and tall chimneystacks. A joist from one of the walls was dated using dendrochronology to about 1282 and may belong to an earlier fort. There are substantial remains. The gatehouse was rebuilt at a later date, although one of the doorways may be reused. The Caulfeild arms appear over the entrance.
Castle Caulfield, today a ruin, is a state care monument.[2]
Ownership
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Castle Caulfield) |
References
- ↑ "Sir Toby Caulfeild". thePeerage.com. http://www.thepeerage.com/p21429.htm#i214287. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
- ↑ List of State Care Monuments (Historic Environment Division)