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Jigginstown Castle

Coordinates: 53°12′50″N 6°40′56″W / 53.2139°N 6.6822°W / 53.2139; -6.6822
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Jigginstown Castle
Caisleán Bhaile an tSigínigh
Jigginstown Castle is located in Ireland
Jigginstown Castle
Alternative namesStrafford's Folly, Sigginstown Castle/House, Jigginstown House[1]
EtymologyPlacename is first recorded in 1280 as Sigineston, meaning "Siggins' settlement"[2][3]
General information
Architectural styleTudor
LocationJigginstown
Town or cityNaas
CountryIreland
Coordinates53°12′50″N 6°40′56″W / 53.2139°N 6.6822°W / 53.2139; -6.6822
Elevation92 metres (302 ft)
Construction startedc. 1632
Completedlate 1630s
Destroyed1640s
Costc. £6,000[4]
OwnerIrish state
Dimensions
Other dimensionsLength 448 ft (137 m); facade length 380 ft (120 m)
Technical details
MaterialRed brick, marble, lead, steel[1]
Floor count3
Design and construction
Architect(s)John Allen
Other information
Public transit accessJiggstown Green bus stop (Bus Éireann routes 125, 126)

Jigginstown Castle is a ruined 17th-century house[5] and National Monument near Naas, County Kildare, Ireland. It was constructed in the late 1630s when Ireland was under the reign of Charles I (1625–1649).[6] At the time it was one of the largest buildings in Ireland, and the first to be constructed of red brick said to have been imported from Holland: the plans provided for pavement and columns of Kilkenny marble.[7]

Jigginstown Castle was built on the periphery of an area known as The Pale, which was on the outskirts of Dublin. It was an area which was guarded on its outskirts by the English plantation settlers to protect valuables and livestock. The castle has also been previously known as Siggingstown Castle.[citation needed]

Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the 1630s, in his time the most powerful figure in Ireland, was responsible for the construction. His intention was for the castle to be a place where the King could reside on royal visits to Ireland.[8] The downfall and execution for treason of Lord Strafford in 1641 meant that the house was never completed, and it was largely destroyed during the civil strife of the 1640s. According to Strafford's biographer Veronica Wedgwood, the ruins were still visible in the 1950s. The basement and castle's ground floor still stand to this day.[9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "1636 – Jigginstown House, Naas, Co. Kildare". 12 July 2016.
  2. ^ Otway-Ruthven, Jocelyn (1961). "Knight's Fees in Kildare, Leix and Offaly". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 91 (2): 163–181. JSTOR 25509431 – via JSTOR.
  3. ^ "Baile Shigín/Jigginstown". logainm.ie. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Jigginstown Castle, Naas, Co. Kildare, Ireland". kildare.ie.
  5. ^ http://webgis.archaeology.ie/historicenvironment/ SMR: KD019-033001- Description of monument. Retrieved 13 August 2018
  6. ^ Naas Local History Group, Naas Local History Group (1990). Nas na Riogh, an illustrated History (2nd ed.). Leinster Leader, Naas.
  7. ^ "CO. KILDARE, JIGGINSTOWN HOUSE Dictionary of Irish Architects -". www.dia.ie. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Jigginstown Castle, Naas, Co. Kildare, Ireland". kildare.ie.
  9. ^ Wedgwood, C. V. Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford- a revaluation. Phoenix Press reissue 2000 pp. 225–226