Reg No
13823055
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Historical, Social
Original Use
Castle/fortified house
In Use As
House
Date
1550 - 1650
Coordinates
296149, 290695
Date Recorded
05/07/2005
Date Updated
--/--/--
Attached four-storey single-bay tower house, built c. 1600, now in use as private residence. Rectangular-plan, semi-circular bow to east elevation, semi-circular tower to south-east corner, single-storey extension to east. Roof not visible behind parapet, rubble stone corbelled chimneystack with red brick addition. Random limestone rubble stone walling, rounded corners, stepped crenellated parapet with rectangular panel below. Square-headed window openings to ground, first and second floor windows; pointed arch opening to third floor; heavy hood mouldings, stone sills, painted timber casement windows. Depressed-arch door opening, limestone hood moulding, chamfered door surround, painted timber door with seven pointed-arch panels, plain-glazed overlight. Wrought-iron boundary railings with alternating straight and snaking uprights on moulded limestone plinth. Street fronted; sandwiched between and projecting slightly forward from, two- and three-storey properties to north and south.
Hatch's Castle represents an impressive survival of a tower house, converted to use as a private residence while retaining its essential character. Its presence on the main street of Ardee makes an incalculable contribution to the historic character of the town.