Type tower house Height 15 m (49 ft) Owner State | Area Dee Valley Built 15th century | |
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Location Roodstown, Ardee,
County Louth, Ireland Similar Castle Roche, King John's Castle, Saint Laurence Gate, Mellifont Abbey, Monasterboice | ||
Roodstown Castle is a 15th-century tower house and National Monument located in County Louth, Ireland.
Contents
Location
Roodstown Castle is located by the roadside, 3.6 km (2.2 mi) north-northeast of Ardee.
History
Roodstown Castle was built in the 15th century, standing at a strategic point between the River Glyde, River Dee, Ardee and the Irish Sea. It is similar to, although taller than, the ten-pound castles built under Henry VI. It is locally associated with the Taaffe family.
Building
Roodstown Castle is a rectangular tower house of four storeys with small turrets at diagonally opposed corner: a spiral stairway in the SE and garderobes in the NW.
The castle contained a vaulted ground-floor cellar or storage space, a murder-hole, a crenellated parapet, chemin de ronde.
The upper floors have large ogee windows and fireplaces.