Built by the Culme family in the early 1600s as part of their plantation holdings, this structure sat just 200 metres from the more famous Clough Oughter Castle, which the family also rented along with its surrounding lands. The house’s story is one of ambition cut short by conflict; in 1642, Culme began constructing a defensive fort between the lough and nearby woodland to protect his property, but the Cromwellian wars of the 1640s appear to have brought an abrupt end to life at the site.

By 1836, Ordnance Survey maps showed only ruins, described as ‘Offices belonging to Clough Oughter Castle’ and depicted as an L-shaped building aligned northeast to southwest. The structure likely met its final demise sometime before 1909, when it was presumably levelled. Early investigations in 1948 revealed tantalising clues to its past; black earth mixed with mortar and bones along the shore bank, and what appeared to be sockets for doorposts scattered about the area, though today nothing remains visible at ground level.

Modern archaeological techniques have brought this lost house back into focus. Geophysical surveys conducted in 2011 revealed the ghostly footprint of a four-celled structure positioned on raised ground with commanding views of both castle and lough. The surveys detected two internal divisions and evidence of burning that might mark the locations of hearths, including one that could indicate a kitchen. An arcing ditch appears to have once surrounded the building, serving as a boundary feature, whilst an oval ditch nearby hints at even earlier occupation of this strategic spot overlooking one of Cavan’s most atmospheric lakes.