SMRCastle - motte and baileyKells CastleGarrynamann LowerPhoto: Charles Vallancey, Rev Joseph Turner (Life time: died 1812 / 1835) · Public domain · Commons file
Mill (water), Kells · Photo: Eirian Evans · CC BY-SA 2.09buildings on the National Inventory
History of Kells · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Kells: 9 buildings on the National Inventory
Kells has kept more old homes than most towns: 12% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. The oldest record dates from 1765. Inside the town, the Sites and Monuments Record lists 3 archaeological sites.
On the National Inventory
9
Of national importance
0
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
3
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1765
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
12%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
Kells in 10 photos
There are photos of 3 of Kells’s recorded places so far. Among them: “Mill (water), Kells” and “School master's house, Kells”. The pictures are the work of 8 photographers.
School master's house, KellsRegional rating (NIAH)
Kells CastleArchaeological monument (SMR)
Kells PrioryNational monument to visit
All Saints' Catholic ChurchRegional rating (NIAH)
Church, KellsRegional rating (NIAH)+5See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the place’s page. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
The map
Where Kells’s history is
Every building and site on the record inside the town, by its rating.
Regional and other sites
Hover a dot for its name; tap one to open its page.
The 10, by rating
10 Regional and other sites
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage is the State’s survey of buildings from 1700 to today, county by county; each record gives a rating, dates, a type and an appraisal. Being on it is not legal protection: that is each council’s Record of Protected Structures.
Points from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage and the Sites and Monuments Record, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (CC BY 4.0).
Regional and other sites
10 historic places in Kells
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
Reg
RegSchool master's house · 1865–1870School master's house, KellsPhoto: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons file
House · 1765–1785Mill CottageKells
Mill (water) · 1780–1785Mill (water), Kells
House · 1865–1885House, Kells
House · 1865–1885House, Kells
Unknown · 1865–1885Unknown, Kells
Water pump · 1865–1885Water pump, Kells
Water pump · 1865–1885Water pump, Kells
What’s recorded
A record rich in walls, gates and bridges: 21% in Kells, against 8% across Ireland
Nothing on Kells’s record is rated of national importance. Counted by type, homes come first, 16 of them (47%). Two of the highest-rated records are Kells Bridge and Kells House.
Homes16
Walls, gates and bridges7
Churches and chapels4
Mills, stations and works3
Street furniture3
Other buildings1
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped, for the records inside the town and those just outside it that belong to it; a building keeps the type it was built as.
How old
Most of Kells’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
1500–1799 three centuries3
19th century 1800–18996
1900 and later to today0
3 of the 9 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is Mill Cottage, from 1765.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Kells
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
3 archaeological sites inside the town
Sites on the Record of Monuments and Places, the statutory list drawn from this record, are protected by law: anyone planning work at or near one must give the National Monuments Service two months’ notice.
| Castle - motte and bailey1 record |
| Bridge1 record |
| Water mill - vertical-wheeled1 record |
Just outside Kells: 27
| Kells PrioryNational monument to visit · 300 m outside the town |
| Kilree monastic siteArchaeological monument (SMR) · 2 km outside the town |
| Kells BridgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Kells HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 400 m outside the town |
| Kells LodgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 1 km outside the town |
| Chapelizod HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.7 km outside the town |
| Glory BridgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 200 m outside the town |
| Chapelizod BridgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.6 km outside the town |
| Kellsborough HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 600 m outside the town |
| Newtown HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.7 km outside the town |
| All Saints' Catholic ChurchRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.1 km outside the town |
| Killinny Corn MillRegional rating (NIAH) · 400 m outside the town |
| Miller's house, Killinny Corn MillRegional rating (NIAH) · 400 m outside the town |
| The Priory (rectory / glebe / vicarage / curate's house)Regional rating (NIAH) · 500 m outside the town |
| The Priory (gates / railings / walls)Regional rating (NIAH) · 400 m outside the town |
| The Priory (gate lodge)Regional rating (NIAH) · 300 m outside the town |
| Conway HallRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.3 km outside the town |
| Newtown BridgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.1 km outside the town |
| Saint Mary's Church (Kells)Regional rating (NIAH) · 400 m outside the town |
| Church, KellsRegional rating (NIAH) · 200 m outside the town |
Homes by age
New homes are rare in Kells: 2% since 2011, against a usual 5.8%
Most of Kells’s homes are older than 2001. More of the homes standing in Kells today were built in the 2000s than in any other period: 41%. Homes built from 1946 to 1980 make up just 14% of Kells’s, against 24% in the typical town.
12%
Before 1919
5.9%
1919–45
14%
1946–80
26%
1981–2000
41%
2001–10
2%
Since 2011
KellsTypical town
Census 2022, households by the year their home was built (CSO, Small Area Population Statistics, CC BY 4.0); the typical town is the middle Irish town of 2,500 or more.
Neighbours
Kells and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kells | 291 | 9 | 0 | 3 |
| Callan | 2,678 | 78 | 2 | 84 |
| Thomastown | 2,305 | 95 | 1 | 38 |
| Kilkenny | 27,184 | 586 | 25 | 445 |
In brief
Kells in brief
Old houses are part of Kells’s character: 12% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. In all there are 10 places on the record. Of the 9 with a date, 6 come from the 19th century. The oldest is Mill Cottage, from 1765. Beyond that, it also has 3 archaeological sites.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The National Inventory. The State’s survey of post-1700 buildings, made county by county since 1990 (NIAH); a few records are older. It records; it does not protect.
- Ratings. International and National: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Regional: in its region. Local and record-only buildings get no page here.
- Archaeology. The Sites and Monuments Record (National Monuments Service) lists known archaeological sites; the national monuments to visit and the sites with an encyclopedia article get pages here.
- Protection. Both registers are surveys, not protection: a building is protected by its council’s Record of Protected Structures, and no national open list joins the 31 councils’ records.
- The grade. Ireland’s History grade is not built yet: the page describes, and gives no grade.
Questions about Kells’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Kells?
9 buildings on the National Inventory, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
What is the oldest building in Kells?
Mill Cottage: the first date on its record is 1765.
Are there archaeological sites in Kells?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 3 archaeological sites inside Kells.
How old are the homes in Kells?
12% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town.
Are the buildings on this page protected?
Being on the National Inventory or the Sites and Monuments Record is a record, not protection by itself: buildings are protected by their council’s Record of Protected Structures, which each council keeps and no national open list gathers, so this page can’t say which are on it.
History is described here, not graded.
Source: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage and Sites and Monuments Record, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (CC BY 4.0); Wikidata (CC0).
Sources: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (buildingsofireland.ie) · Sites and Monuments Record and the National Monuments Service’s monuments to visit · CSO Census 2022 (homes by the year built) · Photos: Wikimedia Commons, including the National Library of Ireland’s collections, each credited with its licence and copied to our own server · Wikidata (CC0) for other names and articles. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).