The castle stands on the western side of a public road, with old quarries visible directly opposite, whilst a medieval church lies just 100 metres to the southwest. Historical maps from the Down Survey of 1655-6 show this was once a small settlement, depicting not only the castle and church but also two dwellings, one of which may have stood across the road from the castle itself.

The castle’s history stretches back through centuries of Irish nobility. The Cantwells held Mellisson as their residence until the 17th century, with John Cantwell, Lord of Mellisson, dying here in 1532 before being laid to rest at Kilcooley Abbey. By the time of the Civil Survey in 1654-6, the property was recorded as the ‘castle and bawne of Moylessane inhabited’, with Pierce Croake listed as the proprietor in 1640. This continuity of habitation speaks to the strategic importance of the site, controlling as it does such commanding views across the surrounding landscape.

Evidence of the castle’s defensive bawn wall can still be traced today. A section of wall, standing 1.3 metres high and half a metre thick, extends westward from the circular stair tower at the southwest corner of the rectangular tower house, heading towards the nearby church. Whilst this wall might also be connected to the ruins of an 18th-century house to the northwest, it appears the original bawn wall would have run south, parallel to the modern road, creating a fortified enclosure typical of Irish tower house complexes from this period.