Castlemore Moat
| Castlemore Moat | |
|
County Carlow | |
|---|---|
| Type: | motte |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | S82817384 |
| Location: | 52°48’34"N, 6°46’21"W |
| Village: | Castlemore |
| History | |
| Built 12th century | |
| Information | |
Castlemore Moat is a motte-and-bailey, today a 'National Monument', in County Carlow.
Location
Castlemore Moat is about a mile and a half north-west of Tullow and west of the River Slaney. Half a miles way, to the south, is Castlemore House, a 19th-century country house.[1]
History and archaeology
The motte and bailey castle was constructed in the 12th century AD by Raymond FitzGerald (Raymond le Gros), one of the commanders of the Norman invasion of Ireland. The land of Forth O'Nolan was granted to Raymond and he married Basilia, sister of Strongbow. They lived together at Castlemore.[2]
All that remains of the castle is the motte, an artificial hill about 30 feet high, and a standing stone measuring five-and-a-half feet by a foot and a half by a foot with a Latin cross inscribed in it, with a suppedaneum (foot-rest at the base).
The motte is not a perfect circle, but measures 60 feet east-to-west and 45 feet north-to-south.[3]
References
- ↑ Additional Images: Buildings of Ireland: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- ↑ Armitage, Ella S. (3 April 2015). "The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (Illustrations)". Oliver And Boyd, Edinburgh. https://books.google.ie/books?id=aV7FBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT172&lpg=PT172&dq=Castlemore+Motte+&+Bailey+&+Cross+Slab&source=bl&ots=Y7aSLrjWu9&sig=arnelh-IJfgL7oZBBnfuKlRJQb0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDEQ6AEwBDgKahUKEwjChpGMiInJAhUDXA8KHTdgCY8#v=onepage&q=castlemore&f=false.
- ↑ "Mocavo and Findmypast are coming together - findmypast.com". http://www.mocavo.com/Journal-of-the-Royal-Society-of-Antiquaries-of-Ireland-1906-Volume-36/482791/469.