Bawn, Tuitestown, Co. Westmeath
The remnants of Tuitestown Castle lie in low pasture about 115 metres northeast of Tuitestown Lough in County Westmeath.
Bawn, Tuitestown, Co. Westmeath
Historical maps from 1837 show it as a rectangular building oriented north to south, sitting within a small woodland. By the time of the 1913 Ordnance Survey map, only the outline of the structure remained, along with a short stretch of wall extending eastward from its southeastern corner.
Today, visitors to the site will find low, grass-covered stone wall footings tracing out the castle’s original rectangular footprint, with evidence of internal dividing walls still visible. Just southeast of the main structure, a linear mound of earth and stone, measuring roughly 24 metres east to west and 11.5 metres north to south, marks where a wall once stood; possibly part of a bawn wall or garden feature. One corner of this collapsed wall still shows carefully selected limestone blocks laid in regular courses and bonded with mortar. Northwest of the castle, another rectangular structure can be traced through its low wall footings, and various other walls and banks scatter the immediate area.
These structures sit within an irregularly shaped enclosure defined by grass-covered wall footings and a substantial fosse, or defensive ditch, particularly visible on the western and northern sides. The northeastern corner rises into a small, steep-sided mound, whilst the eastern boundary follows a modern drain or stream that flows down to Tuitestown Lough. A causeway entrance breaks through the northern side of the enclosure. Beyond the immediate castle grounds, a complex network of old banks and fosses in the surrounding fields likely represents the medieval field system that once served the castle. Aerial photography reveals the full extent of these earthworks, including cultivation ridges and other features that paint a picture of the agricultural landscape that once supported this fortified residence.