Castle, Castlewidenham, Co. Cork
This medieval tower house stands on a dramatic promontory above the Awbeg River, forming part of a larger complex of buildings at Castlewidenham.
Castle, Castlewidenham, Co. Cork
The rectangular tower, measuring 7.7 metres northwest to southeast and 7.4 metres northeast to southwest, remains remarkably intact with its crenellations and cap house still crowning the structure. Despite extensive modifications during the 19th and 20th centuries, the tower retains much of its original character across five main floors, each containing a single chamber along with various mural chambers tucked within the thick walls.
Visitors enter through a ground floor door featuring a two centred pointed arch, passing through a short lobby overlooked by a murder hole; a defensive feature that allowed defenders to attack intruders from above. A spiral staircase winds upward through the northeast wall, its steps carved from single shaped stones with smoothly curved undersurfaces. Each floor reveals fascinating architectural details: the first floor chamber is covered by a bluntly pointed vault, whilst the second floor boasts windows in three walls and an inserted fireplace. The tower’s defensive nature is evident in features like the narrow slit windows and thick walls, though later modifications have added more comfortable elements such as larger window embrasures and additional fireplaces.
The upper floors contain some of the tower’s most intriguing spaces, including a garderobe chamber on the third floor; essentially a medieval toilet built into the northwest wall, complete with a shaft and nearby wall press for storage. The fourth floor chamber, the largest at 5.16 by 5.94 metres, features windows in each wall and five wall presses, suggesting it may have served as the principal living space. Throughout the tower, the mixture of original medieval features and later alterations tells the story of a building that has been continuously occupied and adapted over centuries, from its origins as a defensive stronghold to its later role as part of a more comfortable castellated house.