Ireland · Restored
Enniscorthy Castle
Enniscorthy Castle is a Norman stone keep and curtain-walled castle in the centre of Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland. Built from the late 12th century and remodeled in the Elizabethan period, it features a four-storey rectangular keep with rounded corner towers and later openings; it is now used as a local museum. The castle stands at the head of the River Slaney within the town.
Its prime
1590
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1590
What Enniscorthy Castle looked like in its prime.
A four-storey rectangular stone keep of coursed grey-brown rubble, flanked at its corners by large rounded towers with crenellated battlements. The façade shows narrow medieval arrow slits alongside later, larger rectangular window openings set in stone surrounds. A stone arched gateway and low curtain walls enclose a small courtyard; the building rises directly within the town at the head of the River Slaney. Rooflines are low behind battlements and the masonry shows varied tooling and repairs.
Its story
The story of Enniscorthy Castle.
Construction of Enniscorthy Castle began in the late 1190s, on the site of a wooden castle its Norman builders had erected some years earlier, and it was first occupied in 1203. Built by Philip De Prendergast, it stands at the head of the River Slaney in the centre of the town, a four-storey rectangular keep with rounded corner towers.
The castle was taken in battle by Art from its last Norman owner, a knight surnamed Meyler, and the MacMurrough Kavanagh dynasty then held it until 1536, when they surrendered castle and surrounding lands to Lord Leonard Grey. Partially burnt by the Earl of Kildare in 1569, its land was handed by Queen Elizabeth I to the poet Edmund Spenser in 1581, though he never took up residence; during the Elizabethan plantations it was held by Henry Wallop, who extended and refurbished it extensively.
In 1903 the castle became the private residence of the Roche family, who rented it until they vacated it in 1951. Long the home of the Wexford County Museum, it now houses a museum exploring the development of castle and town from their earliest French-Norman origins, with a special focus on the castle as a family home.
Step inside
8 places to explore in 1590.
The record describes 8 distinct spots at Enniscorthy Castle, including 2 interiors: under the gateway and entrance passage, interior of the keep's principal chamber. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Clans who held Enniscorthy Castle.
The families that held Enniscorthy Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Prendergast
Built by Philip De Prendergast, whose Norman castle was first occupied in 1203.
Kavanagh
The MacMurrough Kavanagh dynasty held the castle until 1536, when they surrendered it to Lord Leonard Grey.
Wallop
Held during the Elizabethan plantations by Henry Wallop, who extended and refurbished the castle extensively.
Roche
Private residence of the Roche family from 1903 until 1951.
