This T-shaped, three-storey fortified house dates from the late 15th or 16th century, stretching 16 metres east to west and 7 metres at its widest point. Its walls showcase the local geology, built from roughly coursed blocks of Howth stone, volcanic rocks and limestone, whilst the more refined elements; the quoins, windows and doors; feature dressed limestone. A small projection on the centre of the east wall once housed the garderobes, a practical reminder of daily life in medieval Ireland.

The building’s original layout reveals its defensive and residential purposes. The eastern end was divided into two compartments, each with fireplaces built into the gable walls, whilst the western end featured an entrance passage that split the space into two further compartments. Visitors would have entered through an elliptical arched doorway with chamfered jambs, and natural light filtered through windows of varying styles: an elliptical arched window with plain hood moulding on the ground floor, narrow slit openings in the eastern projection, and round arched windows with chamfered limestone jambs on the first floor.

Archaeological investigations prior to the building’s conversion to a modern house uncovered fascinating details about its past. Surveys revealed that the interior floor had been lowered significantly in modern times; the original ground floor sat 1.7 metres higher than the present level. Excavations led by Christine Baker in 2003 discovered a medieval horizon containing 13th and 14th century pottery just centimetres below the current ground level, along with the foundation of a rubble-built internal wall positioned almost centrally within the structure. Most intriguingly, a mortared foundation within the building’s footprint suggests either an earlier structure on the site or the presence of a cellar. Today, the converted house sits ‘hung’ within the original medieval walls, crowned with an iron roof, preserving this piece of Howth’s medieval heritage whilst adapting it for contemporary use.