Built in 1588 by Robert Hartpole, who served as Constable of Carlow Castle and Governor of Queen’s County under Elizabeth I, the castle was reportedly constructed not by Hartpole himself but by his wife. According to local historian Daniel O’Byrne writing in 1856, Mrs Hartpole was so repulsed by her husband’s cruel acts that she had the castle built as her own residence, preferring to live apart rather than maintain close contact with him. A carved stone bearing the initials RH and GB, dated 1588, once adorned the entrance doorway, serving as a lasting reminder of its builders.

The site has ancient monastic connections, having originally formed part of the property belonging to the Cistercian Abbey of Baltinglass in County Wicklow. The Hartpoles likely built their castle on the site of the abbey’s grange, or farm building, which explains the castle’s alternative name of Monksgrange. When antiquarian Austin Cooper visited in 1782, he described it as a small, square castle that had been modernised with wings and additions, beautifully situated along the river. The structure appears on Sir William Petty’s 17th century maps alongside mention of the town and a mill, suggesting it was a notable local landmark for centuries.

Unfortunately, the castle’s long history came to an end in the 20th century. The medieval tower was incorporated into a large dwelling house during the Victorian era, but this residence burned down around 1950. The ruins were subsequently cleared away and replaced with modern farm buildings, leaving no visible traces of the original castle above ground. Archaeological testing in 1994 found nothing of interest in the vicinity, confirming that this piece of Elizabethan history; built by a woman seeking refuge from her husband’s cruelty; has vanished entirely from the landscape.