Historical maps from 1839 show an oval earthen enclosure measuring roughly 90 metres east to west and 70 metres north to south, with a tower house built into its southern perimeter. Though farm buildings have since encroached upon the western and southern edges of the site, local memory preserves details of the defensive earthwork that stood here until around 1970: a low bank about two metres wide and half a metre high that once defined this ancient stronghold.

The site’s significance becomes clearer when traced through medieval documents. A charter from 1232-3, during the time of Richard Marshal, mentions the ‘house of Hoyle of Karrothobren’, placing the Howel family firmly at this location during the early Anglo-Norman period. The Howels, who arrived in Ireland by at least 1180, maintained their hold on Carrickbyrne through feudal obligation, holding the land by half a knight’s fee well into the fifteenth century. This tenure system, whereby land was granted in exchange for military service, was a cornerstone of Norman colonial administration in medieval Ireland.

Archaeological intrigue was added to the site’s history when the earthen bank was finally removed in the 1970s, revealing what may have been a souterrain running northeast from the tower house. Described by locals as a passage large enough for a person to crouch through, this underground feature could have served as a refuge tunnel typical of Irish ringworks, though it might simply have been a medieval drain. Today, while the physical enclosure has vanished beneath centuries of agricultural development, the site at Courthoyle Old remains an important piece of evidence for understanding how Anglo-Norman families like the Howels established and maintained their power in medieval Wexford.