Kinelagh Castle, County Tipperary is likely to have begun as an O’Carroll tower houses built in the 15th century. In 1655 the land on which it stands was granted to an English solder, Colonel Thomas Sadleir who renamed the building Sopwell Hall after his family home in Hertfordshire. He doubled the size of the property by adding the section to the right, and also appears to have inserted at least some of the cut-stone windows and the corbelled corner turrets. The Sadleirs remained in residence until c.1745 when a smart new house, also called Sopwell Hall, was built a short distance away.
I finally got to this post via Google from your Tower House 1 post today on YouTube in which you mention this castle Kinelagh in Co. Tipperary. As so often with Irish names they are not spelt as pronounced hence I had trouble finding it on Google. I would very much appreciate it, if you could point me to any posts that you have done on the history of chimneys and fireplaces in medieval Irish houses/castles. A general search on Google comes up short.
Thank you and just to say I very much enjoy your articles on Irish buildings in your blog.
Thanks for getting in touch. To be honest, I haven’t done any work specifically on chimneys and fireplaces in medieval castles and tower houses – sometimes they feature when I’m writing on such buildings but only in passing. It’s not an area in which I have much knowledge or competence. My library may have some relevant material and when I have a moment I’ll look to see if anything springs to mind but I suspect it is a subject awaiting attention – perhaps from you?
Thank you for your reply. I certainly shall consider researching the evolution of the chimney and fireplaces in Irish castles and tower houses. For now I am stuck in London and can’t even go to any of the great museums/galleries or National Trust properties which are nearby.