Castlelost Castle

On raised hillock with good views in all directions. Castle appears to be standing on the E edge of a bailey belonging to Castlelost motte (WM033-042----) located 20m to the W. Church (WM033-031----) and graveyard (WM033-031001-) located 400m to the N. The defensive earthworks around the castle which had an adjoining building referred to as a ‘mansion house’ were described in 1826 when Brewer stated that at Castlelost are the ‘ruins of a castle, of a mansion-house, and a church (WM033-031----). The castle still exhibits traces of strong outworks, and was protected by a moat (WM033-042----). This castle, and the adjoining mansion, long afforded a residence to the Tyrrel family. The Castle-Lost estates were forfeited by the Tyrrel family, in the troubles of the seventeenth century’ (Brewer 1826, 252). Present remains consist of a rectangular castle (ext. dims. c. 15.5m E-W; 8.8m N-S; wall T 1.6 - 2m) aligned NNE-SSW surviving two storeys high with high stone vault (long axis E-W) over the ground floor. The castle had an adjoining building described in 1826 as a 'mansion house' but now reduced to earthworks with a large depression or hollow which has the appearance of a quarry-hole on the N side of the castle. For purpose of clarity the walls of the castle will be described as N, S, E and W. The walls of the castle have no base batter and are built of random rubble with no cut stone used for the quoins or other architectural features. The castle was entered at ground floor (int. dims. c. 12.3m E-W; 5.2m N-S) through a broken out doorway (Wth 1.3m) located off centre to N in W wall close to the NW angle. The undressed voussoirs of the arch of this doorway can be seen on the N side only, elsewhere they have been robbed out. The remains of a drawbar slot (dims. 0.3m x 0.3m x 1.9m L) can be seen in the S side of the doorway embrasure (Wth 1.6m). The doorway was set into a wide segmental arched embrasure with roughly shaped voussoirs with very crude triangular-shaped keystone. The ground floor chamber was lit by a single slit ope set into a widely splayed segmental-arched embrasure (Wth 1.3m) to S of doorway in W wall and by two slit opes in the S wall. A large broken out gap (Wth 2.2m) at the E end of the S wall close to the SE angle may have been a window originally. No evidence of any window openings in the N wall of the ground floor as there was an adjoing building on this side of the castle. The W end of the ground floor is difficult to examine due to the collapsed debris of the stone vault over this section of the ground floor. A slit ope can be seen off centre to the N in the E wall close to the NE corner. This window appears to have provided light to a mural stairs which gave access to the first floor. The rising scar line of a lintelled mural stairs can be seen in the inner face of the E wall suggesting the stairs rose from the NE angle of the ground floor to the SE angle of the first floor. The remains of a short section of vaulting can be seen in the NE angle of the ground floor suggesting that there was a vaulted lobby area in this angle giving access to the mural stairs. A cross wall may have been located at the E end of this castle which no longer survives due to the collapse of the stone vault at this end of the castle. Above the doorway in the centre of the W wall there is a large gap directly beneath the vault may have been a window embrasure which may suggest that there was a loft or entresol level beneath the vault. There are possible beam holes belonging to a wooden floor of this entresol visible in the S wall, although the robbing out of the wall along this section makes it difficult to be certain. The ground floor was covered by a high roughly pointed stone vault (H 4.65m) that has collapsed at the E end. Only the lower courses of the first floor survives and no architectural features are visible in these walls. A low earth and stone bank (Wth 3m; H 0.2m) can be seen running off the SE angle of the castle may be the remains of the enclosing element of the bailey that was reused as the courtyard of the stone castle. Immediately to the N of the castle are the remains of a series of earthworks and a large depression like a quarry hole which appears to be the grass-covered wall footings of the mansion house described in 1826. This building stands on the NE edge of the scarp of the bailey with a possible entrance gap (Wth 3m) giving access to the interior of the castle courtyard which suggests that this levelled building may have acted as the gatehouse of the castle. No clear pattern or outline of this building can be determined from the surviving earthworks.

The dating of this castle is difficult due to the lack of surviving architectural features however the hall type dimensions of the castle ground floor, the lack of cut stone, the high stone vault and the mural stairs all suggest that this castle may have been constructed in the 14th or 15th century. These features along with its close proximity to the Anglo-Norman motte and its association with the Anglo-Norman Tyrrell family also suggest an early medieval rather than a late medieval date for its construction. The castle does not appear to have been several storeys high which suggests that this building may be a transitional style castle bridging the gap between the first floor hall houses of the 13th century and the later multi-storey tower houses of the 15th / 16th centuries. In 1486, Maurice Tirrell [Tyrrell] of Fertullagh, lord of Castleofty [Castlelost], granted to Walter, abbot of St Mary's Abbey, Dublin the advowson of the parish church of Castlelost (WM033-031----) (Gilbert 1884, 18). The 16th century ‘Black Book’ of Archbishop George Dowdall records the castle placename as ‘Veteri Castro [old castle]’ also known as ‘Cremato Castro [burnt castle]’ (Murray 1930, 263). In 1552 this castle was the residence of Thomas Tyrell who was described as being ‘of Castellost, esq., captain of his nation in Fertullaghe, commonly called Tirrell, of Fertullagh; of the captaincy of the country of Fertullaghe; with grant of the manors and lands of Castellost, Perston, Balleforling alias Fardingeston, Ballemccaillen, Gnyvayn alias the white plowe land, Rahyncoill, Kylvrenyn, Midien, Rahynnyen, Kyltoytan, Cloyntyallon, Tyrrellismylton, Shanbaelle alias Oldton, and the Dyrr, county Westmeath. To hold for ever, by the service of one knight’s fee’ (Nicholls 1994, 205). No castle is depicted on the 1654-9 Down Survey parish map of Castlelost (NLI, MS 723-4). The terrier of the Down Survey parish map records that the lands of Castlelost & County Fallonderry amounting to 739 acres of land were in the ownership of ‘Thomas Tirrell’ an Irish papist (ibid.). After the Irish Confederate Wars of 1641-53 the forfeited lands of Thomas Tirrell [Tyrrell] of Castlelost were granted to Margaret Aggs [Aggas] and Sir Jeremy Alexander who are listed as Protestant landowners of Castlelost in 1670.