The Civil Survey of 1654-6 provides conflicting accounts of its condition in the mid-17th century, describing it variously as “a stomp of a castle with a brooken bawne unrepaired & inhabited” and “a good castle, a slate house wantinge repaire with a large bawne & severall cabbins”. At that time, the property belonged to Henry Laffan of Graystown, recorded as an Irish Catholic gentleman. The Down Survey map from 1655-6 depicts the site with its castle, rectangular bawn, and two freestanding houses within the fortified walls.

The bawn itself measures approximately 65.4 metres north to south and 54 metres east to west, incorporating the tower house into its western boundary. Archaeological evidence suggests the fortification may have been constructed in phases; either starting as a smaller enclosure around the tower house before being extended, or built from the beginning with an unusual kink in its western wall. The 17th-century house was later built into the northwestern angle of the bawn, at which point the original northern entrance was blocked and a new one created. The eastern gateway, which recently lost its arch to collapse, projects 1.45 metres beyond the bawn wall and features a vertical gun loop, whilst the blocked western gate has had another gun loop incorporated into its masonry filling.

The defensive walls showcase various construction techniques, with the northern face incorporating massive ‘cyclopean’ blocks in its upper courses alongside the roughly coursed limestone rubble that forms the bulk of the structure. Standing three metres high internally, the bawn demonstrates sophisticated defensive features including splayed embrasures and strategic positioning on sheer rock outcrop. Today, architectural fragments including corbels lie scattered around the base of the tower house, whilst the southeastern angle shows evidence of what may have been a curved turret or additional defensive feature. The site, now situated just seven metres from a modern road cut through the bedrock, remains a striking example of how Irish fortified houses adapted and expanded over time to meet changing defensive and domestic needs.