Bawn, Sart, Co. Kilkenny
The ghost of Sart Castle lurks beneath the fields near a quiet crossroads in County Kilkenny, its presence betrayed only by cropmarks visible from above.
Bawn, Sart, Co. Kilkenny
Historical maps from the 1655-6 Down Survey show both a castle and three houses marked at this location on the parish maps of Clonetubrid and Glasshicroe, with the castle also appearing on the Belanemarra parish map. Local historian O’Kelly noted in 1969 that the castle once stood in what locals called the Cellar Field, named after the castle cellar that remained visible at the time.
A field inspection in 1987 placed these remains southeast of Sart crossroads, though nothing of the castle itself can be seen at ground level today. The real revelation came from satellite imagery captured in June 2018, which revealed a large rectangular cropmark in the field immediately south of where the castle once stood. Measuring approximately 104 metres northeast to southwest and 80 metres northwest to southeast, this ghostly outline likely marks the footprint of a bawn; the defensive courtyard wall that would have protected the castle and its inhabitants.
These cropmarks offer a tantalising glimpse into Kilkenny’s fortified past, when castles and their protective bawns dotted the landscape. Though time and agriculture have erased these structures from view at ground level, aerial photography continues to reveal their hidden foundations, etched into the earth like memories refusing to fade. The combination of historical documentation, local knowledge, and modern technology has helped piece together the story of this lost stronghold, even as its stones have long since disappeared into the surrounding farmland.