Peppardstown House sits on a low ridge, with streams running to the east and south, about 2.3 kilometres inland from the coast. Whilst the building appears to be a typical Georgian residence with its five-bay, two-storey west-facing front, the unusually thick walls, measuring around 1.5 metres, in the eastern return suggest something much older lurks within its structure.

The story of this site is tied to the Peppard family, who arrived in Ireland during the 13th century but didn’t appear in Wexford records until the 1500s. In 1550, Walter Peppard of Kilkea in County Kildare received a lease for the lands of the recently dissolved Glascarrig monastery, located about 4.5 kilometres northeast of here. It’s likely that Walter either built or acquired the castle at Peppardstown around this time, establishing the family’s presence in the area. The tower house would have served as both a defensive structure and a symbol of the family’s status during a period when such fortified homes were essential for Anglo-Norman families establishing themselves in Irish territories.

Curiously, both the Peppards and their castle vanish from the historical record by the time of the Civil Survey conducted between 1654 and 1656. What happened to the family and why their stronghold disappeared from official documents remains a mystery. The current house, built in the 18th century, appears to have incorporated the medieval structure into its fabric, preserving these thick walls as the only physical evidence of the earlier castle. This architectural palimpsest, where Georgian elegance conceals medieval fortification, tells a story of continuity and adaptation across centuries of Irish history.