Maynooth Castle Map c.1634
Georectifying A Post-Medieval Map
The Map of Maynooth Castle published in Volume 1, No. 4 of the Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society of 1894 depicts the Castle complex as it existed following a redevelopment circa 1630.
A Ground Plott of the Castle of Maynooth Wth other buildings there too belonginge
The plan would appear to show the work carried out by Robert Boyle, Earl of Cork, while he was guardian of George FitzGerald during his minority.
The Old Castle
The old castle keep with its famous library was still in use but augmented by three new ranges of buildings surrounding the inner courtyard. No doubt these ranges were typical of Irish castle and large house architecture of the 1630s in being two to three stories with attic rooms, high gables and elaborate chimneys. There is evidence that they also had the more open fenestration typical of the period, with large mullioned widow openings – since blocked up and replaced with pseudo-gothic style arches. However, it was also typical of this period to retain defensive features where they existed, or to add them to new buildings. The defenses at Maynooth inevitably proved ineffective as the castle was destroyed within a short number of years after Boyle’s restructuring.
Stak Yard Stack-yard
The name refers to a yard where ricks of hay would be stacked for safety away from livestock.
Slaughter Yard / Slaughter House
Located to the rear of the back range of buildings around the inner court is the area called the Slaughter Yard with the Slaughter House in its north east corner. There was a gap of about three meters between the Round Tower and the Slaughter House, with no indication of a gate or wall on the plan. This would have left this area open and not secure. This yard also seems to be open to the Stak Yard to the west via a narrow gap just beyond the castle. Presumably the original bawn wall that formed the inner court gave security to the castle proper. The opening between the Slaughter House and the Round Tower gave access to the river, and therefore, water, a necessity for the messy business of slaughter.
The Spurr of the Gate
Depicted to the fore of the gate is a defensive feature called The Spurr of the Gate. This was to the fore of the present gate structure and apparently attached to it. From the plan the gate building protecting the inner court was located within an area called the Greene before the gate. This large area is depicted as being fully enclosed within the boundary wall complete with defensive bulwarks and would have other defensive features such as the tower of the church, yet no major entrance or gate is depicted on the plan. The only indication of where the access into the green was located is a small unlabelled bridge just over half way down the east wall. The only substantial entrance depicted on the plan is the present gate within the green area.
Zones of Notification
An area of archaeological interest is defined around all monuments registered on the Records of Monuments and Places (RMP) and within which the owners of any lands are obliged to notify the National Monuments Service in advance of any works to be carried out. This is a requirement that falls under the of Section 12 of the National Monument’s Act (and termed a Zone of Notification). These zones are indicated on the Historic Environment Viewer maintained by the National Monuments Service. The current Zone of Notification for Maynooth Castle does not cover the entire footprint of the castle as indicated on the 1630s map, leaving out, as it does, the south-east corner of the complex including the entirety of stables block and the “New Bulwark” plotted on the 1630s map. It is remarkable that the entire footprint of the castle as it was depicted on the 1630s map remains undeveloped except for a number of 18th and 19th century houses in this south-east corner and the road that cuts across the “Greene before the Gate” known as Parson Street. This is not likely to remain the case, however. Ironically, it is only this south-east corner that is likely to see development in the future. Only about thirteen meters south of the aforementioned “New Bulwark” a ‘protected structure’ (The Presbytery – Reg. No. 11803094 still shown on the Historic Environment Viewer), has been demolished and the site cleared and replaced by a carpark. It is, therefore, all the more important that the Zone of Notification be extended to include this area that was clearly marked on the map as part of the castle complex in the early 1630s.