Marked as ‘Site of Bulgaden Hall’ on the 1840 Ordnance Survey map, the castle once stood in what is now the courtyard of a house to the south. Historical records paint a picture of a significant fortified residence; the 1654-56 Civil Survey describes it as belonging to Edmond Fox, an Irish Catholic who owned ‘a Ruinous Castle & 24 Cabbins’ in 1641. Seventeenth-century Down Survey maps of both Small County barony and Uregare Parish show a tower house standing beside a rath, providing visual evidence of the structure that once dominated this landscape.

The Fox family’s long association with Bulgaden spans centuries of Irish history. Records from 1587 mention Sir E. Fitton being granted the head-rent of James Fox’s property in Ballygidden for £6 in ‘half-face’ currency, whilst earlier documents note J. Fox of Bulgedine receiving a pardon. The property changed hands after the Cromwellian conquest, being granted to Captain Robert Morgan in 1666-67. Historian Westropp noted various spellings of the site name through the centuries, including Bulgedine, Bulgedden, Ballyvullygiden, and Bulligiden, each reflecting the linguistic shifts and administrative changes of different eras.

By the 19th century, the site had transformed into Bulgaden Hall, described in 1826 as the former ‘superb seat of John Evans, Esq.’, brother to the first Lord Carbery. Contemporary accounts suggest it ranked among Munster’s most magnificent mansions, though it had already fallen into ruin by then. By 1850, visitors found only foundation walls remaining, with a solitary stone bearing the family arms lying amongst the grass and thistles of the abandoned courtyard; a poignant reminder of the grandeur that once characterised this historic site.