Foulkscourt Castle

On the flat flood plain of the River Goul at the base of a W-facing slope. The River Goul runs roughly N-S along the W edge of the bawn and then curves, around flowing northeastward N of the bawn. There are good views in all directions, except to E. The tower house occupies the N portion of the bawn (KK008-087001-) which is on a raised platform. According to Carrigan (1905, vol. 2, 299-300), the castle and estate belonged to the Butlers of Ormond, ‘from at least 1560 to 1698, in which latter year they disposed of both, by a fee-farm grant, to a Scotchman named Mr. Hely, ancestor of the present proprietor’. A five storey tower house (max. ext. dims. 13.5m x 10.8m), built of roughly coursed limestone rubble with punch-dressed quoins and a base-batter (H c. 2.85m; Wth 0.2m). There was a vault over the third floor which has now collapsed, all other floors had wooden floors supported by corbels. There is some evidence of external harling. The parapet is largely gone, with the best survival on the S face and SE angle. A string-course indicates the base of the parapet, with drainage holes immediately above, except at the SE angle where the string-course rises, perhaps to the base of a platform above a cap house. There is a crude cruciform loop in the E wall of this possible cap house. A high chimney stack rises from the parapet at the W end of the S wall.

The tower house was entered through a pointed doorway (H 1.8m; Wth 1.15m) with double chamfer externally, N of centre in the E wall. This doorway is now blocked up with masonry and an external concrete render. There is a yett-hole at the apex and another on the S side. The entrance lobby is protected by a murder-hole and by a cross-loop in the wall opposite the doorway. There is a guardroom immediately to the N. A mural stairway to the S leads to a spiral stair which rises in the SE angle giving access to all floors up to fourth-floor level. The parapet, which has largely collapsed, was accessed from a separate mural stair. At first-floor level there is a mural chamber along the E wall which gives access to the murder-hole. There are also mural chambers in the N wall. The floors are lit by a variety of single or two-light flat, round and ogee-headed windows with external chamfers. The flat-headed two-light windows, mostly missing their mullions, have glazing-bar holes. The second-floor flat-headed window on the W face has a hood-moulding. The window in the S wall lighting the fourth-floor chamber is a two-light ogee-headed window with hollow spandrels with a flat-headed chamfered surround. There is also either a round or ogee-headed loop at each angle, located at first-floor level (NE), second-floor level (NW and SW) and between ground and first level (SE). The flat-headed windows lighting the stair have slop-stones beneath the sill. There is also a slop-stone projecting at fourth-floor level from towards the E end of the S wall. On the external face of the N wall there are traces of a steep-pitched roofline and internal render of an external building. Two later doorways have been broken through the N wall at ground and first-floor level, to access this building. The ground floor doorway is blocked by a bolted metal sheet and the first-floor opening is blocked up with masonry. There is a blocked-up garderobe chute exit immediately W of the inserted ground-floor doorway in the N wall. There is a crack up the external N face, E of centre.