Saturday 2 July 2011

The Wonderful Barn Co Kildare




                                 Above Image: One of the two Dovecote Towers.
                        Above Image: The Wonderful Barn and in the foreground 
                                               the second Dovecote Tower


Situated on the Eastern end of the Castletown Estate in Leixlip Co Kildare is the most unusual "Wonderful Barn" It was commissioned in 1743 by the widow of the famed Speaker Conolly who himself had built  The Hellfire Club on Montpelier Hill in Dublin. Like it's imitator, Hall's Barn in Churchtown Co Dublin, the Wonderful Barn was designed as relief work for locals who had been hit hard by the famine that had struck the land in the early 1740's. It is a tall conical structure with seven floors (some used as living quarters for servants) and central holes in the floors for use as a Granary Barn. The fortified aspect of the building lends credence to the tale that it was to protect the grain from attacks by the Wicklow Clans of the O'Tooles And O'Byrnes.
The windows in the Barn are triangular in shape and there is a stone spiral staircase consisting of 94 steps on the outside. On either side of the central Barn are two smaller dovecote towers and a surrounding wall. Adjacent to the Barn is the boarded up derelict "Barnhall House".
We took a trip to see the Barn on a summer's evening in June armed only with the knowledge that it was on a private estate but that the OPW had taken over the Eastern end of the lands and a public right of way for pedestrians was allowed. The land is surrounded by local housing estates and sometime in the past anti-social behaviour had occurred at the Barn and had led to a fire which threatened to destroy this amazing site. However this all seems to have calmed down and the land adjacent to the Barn on the esatate is currently used by some locals as vegetable allotments. A study of the area on Google Maps (Streetview) uncovered what looked like a gate on the Celbridge Road which bordered the land on which the Barn stood, so we took a chance and went hunting. Indeed, we found that this gate used by the allotment owners allows pedestrian access and a short 5 minute walk led us straight to our target.
The grass is quite long around the Barn area and there was a sign threatening that the Garda will be notified if anyone tries to enter or climb up on the Barn. Ironically the sign was lying flat in the long grass and rusting. That was good enough for us to assume that we can at least get up close, so we did.
It truly is an amazing building and it puzzles us that so little interest is shown. As in most visits to ruins we were the only ones there, so we took our time and plenty of photos.
To find the Barn we found the best route to take was the M4 from Dublin and then exit at Junction 6. Take the 3rd exit from the roundabout and you will come upon another roundabout indicating Kilmacredock or Easton. Take the right hand turn for Easton and travel down this road until you reach the crossroads with the R148. Turn right here onto Station Rd, past the Garda station on your left, then take the next right turn on to Celbridge Rd. Continue on down this road until you see Elton Court on your right. The gate into the Castletown lands is just past this road on your right hand side among a hedgerow. There are areas on the opposite side of the road where you can park easily enough.

14 comments:

  1. Any decent directions for those visiting by Train? I assume it is near Celbridge station on the Conolly-Maynooth Bainluie Line.

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  2. Hi Dan

    Not a seasoned rail traveler but as far as I can see you take the train from Connolly towards Ashtown and Coolmine and the exit at Leixlip Louisa Bridge station. Exit the station and turn left onto Station rd. Walk for about 600m until you reach a right hand turn onto Old Hill. About 100m down Old Hill there is a bus stop in the direction you are following. Catch the 66B (Only) and exit a couple of stops later at Leixlip Park. The entrance to Castletown lands is about 100m further on your right hand side. The Old Hill bus is optional otherwise its an extra 1000m walk! Good hunting

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  3. went there a few months ago. That's a very peculiar and interesting building :)

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  4. I grew up in the estate opposite the Wonderful Barn - I'll always love it! The "Obelisk" is also worth a visit, it's a couple of miles sown the road in Celbridge, and was commissioned by the same person.

    Paddy.

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    1. I will definitely check that out, Thanks Paddy

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  5. Thanks for the useful instructions to get there. I wes on a walk along the Liffey from Lucan to Leixlip and went to the Wonderful Barn today. Really intersting, and photogenic.

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  6. Glad to be of help Adrian. Thanks for your kind words

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  7. Amazing edifice. I did a video of it over Christmas, if you don't mind me posting here...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7_FcDYh-CY

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  8. Like the video. Thanks for posting.

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  9. Hi, After our visit at Kilteel castel ruins, we came here. It was not so easy to find but a woman in Leixlip helped us. It's a beautifull place with a strange architecture.
    Thank you for your blog.

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  10. I'm surprise to not find the Connoly's folly on your blog, it's not so far from the wonderfull barn.
    Karine

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    1. Bonjour Karine and thanks for your nice comments on the blog. connolly's folly is certainly on my list I hope to visit this coming week.

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  11. Thanks for your blog and good directions. We had this visit on our to do list for years! Finally went there. Easy paths to follow, pass the allotments, actual courtyard is gated and padlocked so cant get in close, but can view close enough. I’m surprised this place is in ruins, should be cared for. Gorgeous sandcastle like structures.

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  12. Glad to be of help. I hope you enjoyed your time there!

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