Castlelost Castle

Castlelost Castle

Castlelost Castle (Irish: Caisleán Loiste, meaning 'castle of the losset')[1][2] is a ruined motte-and-bailey castle located in the townland of Castlelost, just north of Rochfortbridge in County Westmeath, Ireland. The castle dates to the Norman invasion of Ireland, with some sources dating its construction to the late 12th century and associating it with Hugh Tyrrel (died 1199).[2] The castle remained within the Tyrrel family through the 16th century.[3] During the 17th century, the castle and surrounding lands were lost by the Tyrrels during the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and subsequent Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.[4][5]

The only visible features still on the site are the ruined tower house as well as a small nearby motte.[6] The castle, its motte and the remnants of a nearby bailey (courtyard) are listed on the Record of Monuments and Places for County Westmeath.[7]

  1. ^ Placenames Commission. "Caisleán Loiste / Castlelost". logainm.ie. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b Orpen, Goddard H (1910). "The Mote of Castlelost, County Westmeath". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 40 (3). Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland: 226–228. JSTOR 25514078.
  3. ^ Kelly, Jennifer A (1997). Richard Tyrrell: Elizabethan Captain. Tyrrellspass Development Association. pp. 10–12. Castlelost would appear to have been the family headquarters in the sixteenth century
  4. ^ Lewis, Samuel (1837). Castlelost. Lewis. [In Castlelost] are still remaining some ruins of the old castle, and of an ancient mansion-house, which were for successive ages the residences of the Tyrrell family, whose possessions were forfeited in the war of 1641 {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Brewer, James N (1826). The Beauties of Ireland: Being Original Delineations, Topographical, Historical, and Biographical, of Each County, Volume 2. Sherwood, Jones, & Company. p. 252. At Castle-Lost [..] we find the ruins of a castle, of a mansion-house, and a church [..] This castle, and the adjoining mansion, long afforded a residence to the Tyrrel family [..] The Castle-Lost estates were forfeited by the Tyrrel family, in the troubles of the seventeenth century
  6. ^ McElherron, Brian T (2016). "Castlelost". Irishantiquities.bravehost.com. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  7. ^ National Monuments Service (1996). Recorded Monuments - Protected under Section 12 of the National Monuments Act 1994 - County Westmeath (PDF). Archaeological Survey of Ireland. p. 33. WM033-042--- 033-/10/3 24505/24133 Castlelost - Motte / WM033-043--- 033-/10/3 24569/24133 Castlelost - Castle