Killeavy Castle

THE FOXALLS OWNED 978 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY ARMAGH

The Killeavy estate, with other property in County Armagh, was granted, ca 1574, by JAMES I to the ancestor of this family, Sir Marmaduke Whitechurch, Knight, of Loughbrickland, County Down.

JOSEPH FOXALL, of Cumberland, son of Joseph Foxall LL.D. and his wife, the Hon Frances Seymour, married Eleanor Meredith, of the city of Dublin, and had, with three daughters, a son,

JOSEPH FOXALL JP, of Killeavy, County Armagh, a magistrate for that county, who wedded Sarah Adams, of Feversham, County Tyrone, and had issue,

JOHN, of whom we treat;
Meredith, a banker, of Newry (d leaving 3 sons);
Powell, JP, of Killeavy Castle, m with 3 sons and a daughter;
Anne;
Nicholina, m Richard Benison.

The eldest son,

JOHN FOXALL JP (b 1785), of Fork Hill House, County Armagh, and Fox Hall, County Dublin, married, in 1803, Anna Maria, daughter of Colonel Grant, of the 42nd Highlanders.

Killeavy Castle ca 2012

KILLEAVY CASTLE, County Armagh, is a remarkable, mid-19th century, granite, Tudoresque, crenellated house, transformed by George Papworth of Dublin.

It is picturesquely set at the foot of Slieve Gullion, within a maturely planted demesne.

Along with its substantial farmyard, towered wall, gate screen, and walled garden it forms an important group of buildings.

Formerly known as Killeavy Lodge, it was the residence of the Foxall family, whose vault is situated nearby, at St Luke's parish church.

In 1836, Powell Foxall JP (1800-75), a banker from Newry, commissioned the architect George Papworth to enlarge his modest farm house.

It was subsequently transformed into the small Gothic castle existing today.

Foxall proudly adorned the entrance front of his castle with his coat-of-arms: argent, a chevron, azure, between three foxes' heads, erased, gules.

His crest was a griffin's head, or, erased, gules, ducally gorged of the last; and his motto, Faire Sans Dire.

The 1837 ordnance survey memoirs remarked that,

Killevy Lodge, the residence of John Foxall, is situated in the townland of Clonlum. It stands on the eastern base of Slieve Gullion and is built with considerable taste in castellated style. It was completed during the present year.

In 1852, the castle was offered for sale by auction, though a buyer was not found and subsequently part of the demesne was sold.

By 1881, Killeavy was in the possession of the Bell family, and it became known locally as Bell's Castle.

William R Bell MBE JP (1872-1941) and his wife Mary (d 1949) are both buried at St Luke's Church, Meigh.

There were formerly two gate lodges, both of which have now been demolished, though paintings of these can be seen at Armagh Museum.

The south lodge, of ca 1837, is now demolished; the north lodge, ruinous.

Killeavy Castle ca 2012

The castle is picturesquely set at the foot of Slieve Gullion, within a mature planted demesne.

It is accessed from the road by a granite gate screen leading to a tree-lined, serpentine drive which runs in an easterly direction to a walled garden, where it continues past the stable block and farmyard, finally reaching the castle at its western elevation.

Killeavy Castle sits on an elevated platform, with tumbling gardens to the front, accessed by a circular tower terminating at the end of a granite boundary wall.

Killeavy Castle (Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020)

The house is constructed in granite throughout, laid in varying courses with castellated towers to each corner.

All are square in section and similarly detailed, apart from that to the north-west, which is tall and circular, rising above the others.

The first floor of the eastern elevation is set back from ground floor, creating a balcony.

All windows are sliding sashes with granite sills.

The facade consists of a tall, central, canted bay flanked by two identical bays.

A timber-studded entrance door is perpendicular in style, with cusped panels and a Tudor arched head; set below its centre, a panel with three quatrefoil insets containing a carved, timber monkey's head door pull.

The entrance is accessed by four granite steps enclosed to either side by a rubble stone dwarf wall with dressed granite copings.

Below each window, set into the ground and lighting basement, is a cast-iron grille.

The basement was formerly accessed by a servants' tunnel from the gardens.

The south-east Tower has an arrow-loop window to all three exposed faces of ground floor.

The exposed basement level is cement-rendered and the ground floor is wet-dashed.

The first floor level has three arrow-loop windows to the centre.

The first floor has two sliding sash windows, one to either side of a bow.

The north-west tower is circular and is the tallest component of the building: It has two plat bands - one between basement and ground floor levels; the other below the crenellated parapet.

Between each floor are several small, staggered openings.

(Image: Timothy Ferres, 2020)

The grounds are accessed by a granite gate-screen to the Ballintemple Road, which consists of four gate piers, two to each end and two to centre with moulded copings and shallow pyramidal caps and an elongated panel to front face.

The gate piers to the centre support a pair of wrought iron gates.

The wall is constructed in dressed granite blocks with chamfered copings; it is terminated to each end by a rubble stone wall with embattled stone copings.

There is a wedge-shaped walled garden, narrowing to one end.

All walls are random rubble.

There is a small, single-storey garden house with a central door opening and a small window opening to either side.

To the front of the castle is a granite rubble wall with embattled copings terminated to each end by a crenellated round tower with staggered window openings.

The tower to the right contains a spiral stone stair leading to the front garden.

Flanking the central section of the wall is a pair of towers with rendered point-headed caps.

Below the terrace, the front garden falls to an ornamental canal, which appears to be the remains, or a remodelling, of a small lake, suggesting that the castle was set in a designed landscape which changed over time and is now in a neglected state.

Killeavy Castle was sold to a private buyer in 2012, when was described thus:

A rare opportunity not only to acquire an historic castle, but also to purchase the surrounding estate of 134 acres which consist of a desirable mix of quality farmland on the lower slopes and mature woodland and pasture on the upper areas.

An additional lot of 202 acres of planted timber, leased to the Department of Agriculture (until 2112) is also available. 

This unique property, situated on the lower slopes of Slieve Gullion, includes a modest pre-Victorian Castle (designed in 1836) extending to approximately 4,000 sq ft and in need of restoration. 

Farmland extending to approximately 134 acres which includes the “upper wood” area to the rear of the Castle, in addition to extensive frontage to Ballintemple Road, approximately ½ mile off the Newry to Forkhill Road, 5 miles south of Newry.

 Proposed Gate Lodge Building Site with Planning Consent for a 1,300 square foot, 1½ Storey Dwelling (granted January 2012). 

Approx. 202 acres of Forestry Land, leased to Department of Agricultural with 101 years unexpired at an annual rent of £40 PA.

Guide Price:- Offers Around £975,000

Closing Date For Offers:- Friday, 16th November, 2012.

The Castle has been completely restored and additional accommodation has been built near by.

The new hotel opened for business in 2019.

First published in October, 2012.