Dardistown Castle facts for kids
Dardistown Castle is a fascinating old castle and country house located near Julianstown in County Meath, Ireland. It's just a few miles south of Drogheda.
The castle is a mix of old and new. Its oldest part is a large, four-story medieval tower house. This tower is square, about 44 feet long on each side and 50 feet tall. It has a smaller tower, called a turret, at each corner. Inside, the ground floor has a main room with cool arched ceilings. One turret holds a spiral staircase that goes up. The floors above have wooden ceilings and fireplaces. The corner turrets are a bit taller than the main tower, and you can even walk along the top of the walls!
Later, around 1750, people added more parts to the castle, like a front hall, a drawing room, and a dining room. More additions were made around 1800, and the main front of the house was built in 1860. This makes Dardistown Castle a cool blend of different time periods.
What is the History of Dardistown Castle?
Dardistown Castle has a long and interesting history. In the 1400s, during a time called the Hundred Years' War, the government gave money to landowners in the Pale (an area in Ireland) to build strong, fortified houses. This was to help protect the land when the army was away.
Who Built Dardistown Castle?
Dardistown Castle was built in 1465 by a man named John Cornwalsh. He was a very important judge at the time. He used one of those special grants to build the castle. Later, in the 1500s, a woman named Dame Jenet Sarsfield made the castle even bigger. She added a new entrance and other parts.
How Did the Castle Change Hands?
Around 1600, the Talbot family inherited the castle. It's said that a battle, known as the battle of Julianstown, happened right on the castle's front lawn in 1641 when Richard Talbot lived there.
Later, the Osborne family took over the castle and lived there for a very long time. Members of the Osborne family were important in local politics. For example, Francis Osborne was a Member of Parliament for Navan from 1692 to 1703. Another family member, Henry Osborne, owned a brick factory that made red bricks for many buildings in Drogheda.
The castle stayed with the Osborne family for many generations, passing from Samuel Henry Osborne to Henry St. George Osborne, and then to Henry Ralph Osborne, who passed away in the 1970s. In 2003, Lizanne Allen owned the castle.
Today, you can sometimes rent the upper floors of the tower. The castle is also open to the public a couple of days a week for most of the year, so people can visit and explore its history!
