Kells Castle

On top of a glacial deposit on a flat island with Kings River c. 80m to N-NE and a steam which flows from Kings River to the W and runs 20m S of the motte and bailey before rejoining Kings River to the SE. The bailey is raised above the island, which is probably liable to flood. The ground around the base of the bailey was formerly marshy but has been reclaimed (Ó Drisceoil 2006, 262). There are good views E and W along valley floor, but otherwise the view is impeded by rising ground to N and S of the rivers.

The motte was probably built by Geoffrey FitzRoberts in 1192-3 when he founded the town of Kells and would have been well positioned to control the river crossing (Empey 1984, 36). Defence does not appear to be the primary concern for this motte, though it is constructed on an island and is surrounded by marshland, rather it was to form the caput or focus for FitzRobert’s settlement. As Empey (ibid.) points out, ‘the availability of suitable sufficient arable land for demesne lands, the proximity of a river for the manorial mill, seigniorial fishing rights, and communications’ would all have been important considerations which were fulfilled by this siting. The motte is mentioned in two early 13th-century charters, where it is referred to as a ‘castelli’. In the charter c. 1204-06 to the Augustinian Priory (TS027-029004-), which lies c. 500m to the SE, FitzRobert grants the canons all the fisheries between his mill and the gate of the castle or motte. In the town charter of Kells, c. 1211-12, probably by Geoffery’s son William, he grants the burgesses of Kells common pasture of the small island around the castle of Kells, as far as, ‘fossatum gardini mei et castelli mei’, which translates as either a fosse or earthwork around his garden, meaning bailey, and his castle (Carrigan 1905, vol. 4, 53; Empey 1984, 36-7).

The OS Letters (O’Flanagan 1930, vol. 2, 70-71) describe the motte as being, ‘about thirty two feet [9.75m] in diameter at the top and sixty feet [c. 18m] above the level of the fields’. Orpen (1909, 328) gives a more realistic height of 30 feet [9m] for the motte and also notes that, 'the existence of a fosse can be traced outside [the bailey] in places'. The motte occupies the E side of the bailey. Most of the motte was destroyed in the 1980s. Only a portion of the NE (top dims. 6m x 9m; surviving H above bailey 1.2m) and smaller portion of the SE (max. top dim. c. 5m) survives, which suggests the original total top diameter was c. 15m. The mound was built on top of an existing glacial deposit of gravel (H 6m) by heaping up mixed subsoil and gravels (H 5m) on top of the original soil level (Barry et al. 1984, 161), giving an overall height of 11m. It was a classic pudding-bowl shape, with steep sides and a flat top (see photograph in Orpen 1909, 325). The bailey extends westward from the motte, running from the SW quadrant of the motte and presumably from the N-NW quadrant, though this area has been levelled. The bailey is formed by a raised platform defined by scarp (H 1.85m; Wth 3-5.2m) from W-N. The SE and SW perimeters of the bailey are defined by a later bawn wall (KK027-029003-). It is possible that the outer defences of the motte extended eastward and that these were cut through by the public road. Immediately E of the pubic road there are the remains of a mound, possibly an outer bank (dims. top 8m E-W; c. 40m N-S; H 1.9m above the road; 4.5m above ext. to W). Buildings are indicated adjacent to the road on the N side of this mound on both the 1st and 2nd ed. 6-inch OS maps and this area is currently occupied by a Scout’s Hall. A bank (L 38m) runs southeastward from the SE side of the mound. The ground level within the bailey slopes to the NW and is undulating. The edge in the NE quadrant has been destroyed, probably when the T-plan church was built.

National Monument No. 626