Building · 1780–1830Bianconi HouseFair Green, Castletown
Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.07buildings on the National Inventory
History of Castletown · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Castletown: 7 buildings on the National Inventory
Old homes stand out in Castletown: 10% were built before 1919, where the typical town has 3.4%. The earliest building recorded goes back to 1720. The Sites and Monuments Record adds 3 archaeological sites inside the town.
On the National Inventory
7
Of national importance
0
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
3
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1720
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
10%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
Places to see in Castletown
Pictured: Castletown Bridge, on Castletown’s record.
Photos 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 Castletown’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 7, by rating
7 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
7 historic places in Castletown
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
Monastery · 1860–1880De La Salle MonasteryFair Green, Castletown
Building · 1720–1760Building, Fair Green, Castletown
Building · 1750–1800Building, Fair Green, Castletown
House · 1750–1800House, Fair Green, Castletown
Building · 1800–1840Building, Fair Green, Castletown
House · 1810–1840House, Fair Green, Castletown
What’s recorded
Around Castletown, the record leans to homes: 31%
1860 brings Castletown’s record up to its newest entry. 2 records make walls, gates and bridges the second group. Leading the record by rating: Castletown Bridge and Kilbricken House.
Homes4
Walls, gates and bridges2
Mills, stations and works2
Churches and chapels1
Other buildings4
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 Castletown’s dated buildings come from the 16th to 18th centuries
Each building by the first date on its record.
1500–1799 three centuries4
19th century 1800–18993
1900 and later to today0
4 of the 7 dated ones were built before 1800.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Castletown
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.
| Settlement deserted - medieval1 record |
| Castle - unclassified1 record |
| Castle - Anglo-Norman masonry castle1 record |
Just outside Castletown: 6
| Castletown BridgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Kilbricken HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.6 km outside the town |
| Goss BrookRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.9 km outside the town |
| Kilbricken BridgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.4 km outside the town |
| The Nore Flour MillsRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Mounthrath and Castletown Railway StationRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.9 km outside the town |
Homes by age
Castletown’s building boom came in the 2000s: 33% of its homes
Builders have been quiet in Castletown since 2011: 3.9% of its homes, the norm 5.8%. Building between the wars went further in Castletown than in most towns: 5.2%, against 3.9%. By 2001, Castletown had built the greater part of the homes it has now.
10%
Before 1919
5.2%
1919–45
27%
1946–80
20%
1981–2000
33%
2001–10
3.9%
Since 2011
CastletownTypical 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
Castletown and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castletown | 454 | 7 | 0 | 3 |
| Mountrath | 2,070 | 24 | 0 | 4 |
| Abbeyleix | 1,897 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| Rathdowney | 1,368 | 20 | 0 | 4 |
| Portlaoise | 23,494 | 185 | 6 | 17 |
| Mountmellick | 4,905 | 54 | 0 | 3 |
In brief
Castletown in brief
Old houses are part of Castletown’s character: 10% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. All told, the list holds 7 places on the record. Of the 7 with a date, 4 come from the 16th to 18th centuries. The oldest is Bianconi House, from 1780. The rest is about typical: 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 Castletown’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Castletown?
7 buildings on the National Inventory, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
What is the oldest building in Castletown?
Building, Fair Green, Castletown: the first date on its record is 1720.
Are there archaeological sites in Castletown?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 3 archaeological sites inside Castletown.
How old are the homes in Castletown?
10% 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.
This page describes its history; it gives no grade.
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).