Type Irish tower house | Built late 1630s | |
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Location Jigginstown, Naas,
County Kildare, Ireland Similar Maynooth Castle, Kilkea Castle, Barberstown Castle, Irish round tower | ||
Jigginstown Castle is a tower house and National Monument was constructed in the late 1630s when Ireland was under the reign of Charles I (1625-1649). At the time it was one of the largest buildings in Ireland, and the first to be constructed of red brick: the plans provided for a pavement and columns of Kilkenny marble.
Jigginstown Castle was built at Naas, County Kildare, on the periphery of an area known as The Pale, which was on the ouskirts of Dublin. It was an area which was guarded on its outskirts by the English plantation settlers to protect valuables and livestock. The castle has also been previously known as Siggingstown Castle.
Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the 1630s was responsible for the construction. His intention was for the castle to be a place where the King could reside on royal visits to Ireland. The downfall and execution for treason of Lord Strafford in 1641 meant that the house was never completed, and it was destroyed during the civil strife of the 1640s, although, according to Strafford's biographer Veronica Wedgwood, the foundations were still visible in the 1950s.
