According to historical records from 1905, this land was held by the Rothe family, prominent Irish Catholics, until David Rothe forfeited the property in 1653. Like many Catholic landowners during this period, Rothe lost his estate as part of the widespread confiscations that followed Cromwell’s campaign in Ireland. The property, along with nearby Drakeland, was subsequently granted to Captain Thomas Evans, one of the Cromwellian soldiers who received Irish lands as payment for military service.

The original Rothe stronghold consisted of a castle and bawn, which stood where Kilcreen House is today. The Down Survey maps from 1655-6 offer intriguing glimpses of this lost structure; whilst the barony map shows only a house at this location, the parish map of St Patrick’s clearly depicts a castle. The accompanying terrier provides more detail, noting ‘in Kilcrine also a Castle & Bawn an orchard and many Cabbins’, painting a picture of a fortified residence surrounded by its protective bawn wall, with an orchard and numerous small dwellings housing tenants or workers.

This medieval complex appears to have been completely demolished when Kilcreen House was constructed in the late 17th century, leaving no visible traces of either the castle or its defensive bawn at ground level. The transformation from fortified castle to country house reflects the broader changes in Irish society after the Cromwellian settlement, as new landowners replaced medieval fortifications with more fashionable residences suited to a less militarised age. Today, only the documentary evidence remains to tell us of the Rothe castle that once commanded this Kilkenny townland.