# Reeves Castle

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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Reeves Castle
| native_name = Caisleán an Rú<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.logainm.ie/en/25363|title=An Rú/Reeves|website=Logainm.ie}}</ref>
| native_language = ga
| image = 
| caption = 
| type =  [Tower house](/source/Tower_house_(Ireland))
| locmapin = Ireland
| coordinates = {{coord|53.306864|-6.563530|display=inline,title}}
| location = Reeves, [Celbridge](/source/Celbridge),<br />[County Kildare](/source/County_Kildare), Ireland
| area = 
| built =  14th century
| designation1 = 
| designation1_offname = 
| designation1_type = 
| designation1_criteria = 
| designation1_date = 
| delisted1_date = 
| designation1_partof = 
| designation1_number = 
| architecture = [Norman](/source/Norman_architecture)
}}

'''Reeves Castle''' is a 14th-century [tower house](/source/Tower_house_(Ireland)) ([castle](/source/castle)) located in [County Kildare](/source/County_Kildare), Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sources.nli.ie/Record/PS_UR_038512/Holdings#tabnav|title=Reeves Castle.|first=Walter Lord|last=FitzGerald|date=2 August 1915|website=sources.nli.ie}}</ref> On the [Record of Monuments and Places](/source/Record_of_Monuments_and_Places) it bears the codes ''KD015-001'' ([enclosure](/source/enclosure_(archaeology))) and ''KD015-002'' (tower house).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.pleanala.ie/documents/reports/234/R234571.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2 August 2020 |archive-date=23 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171123092335/http://www.pleanala.ie/documents/reports/234/R234571.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Location==
Reeves Castle is about {{Convert|1|km|abbr=on}} north of [Ardclough](/source/Ardclough) and {{Convert|4|km|abbr=on}} south-southwest of [Celbridge](/source/Celbridge). It is located in countryside {{Convert|660|m|yd|abbr=on}} south of a bend in the [River Liffey](/source/River_Liffey). [Lyons Estate](/source/Lyons_Estate) is located {{Convert|1.4|km|abbr=on}} to the southeast.

==History==
Reeves Castle is believed to derive its name from the [Anglo-Norman](/source/Anglo-Norman_language) ''rive'', "riverbank," although other sources connect it to the [Old Irish](/source/Old_Irish) ''ruibh'', "[rue](/source/Ruta_graveolens)."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dil.ie/34731|title=eDIL - Irish Language Dictionary|website=www.dil.ie}}</ref> It was built in the 14th century as one of a range of tower houses whose purpose was to defend [The Pale](/source/English_Pale) from [Gaelic Irish](/source/Gaelic_Irish) raiders.

In the 16th century it was part of the manor of [Donaghcumper](/source/Donaghcumper); in 1537 the manor, along with Reeves Castle was leased to [Sir John Alen](/source/John_Alan); the arms of the Alen family were later affixed to Reeves Castle, and they are still to be seen there, now joined to the newer building. In 1537, ''"le Rew, alias Rewes, and Prioriston"'' consisted of 1 castle, 3 messuages (dwelling houses with outbuildings), 6 cottages, and {{Convert|160|acre|ha|abbr=on}} of land.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/journalofcountyk08coun|title=Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society.|date=2 August 1891|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

The tower house was burned during the [Irish Rebellion of 1641](/source/Irish_Rebellion_of_1641), by order of [Lord Justice](/source/Lord_Justices_(Ireland)) [John Borlase](/source/John_Borlase_(1576%E2%80%931648)), but it was listed as "in good repair" in 1649. It is prominently marked in Alexander Taylor's 1783 map of Co Kildare. In the 18th and 19th centuries it was a property of the [Earls of Leitrim](/source/Earl_of_Leitrim).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GiNYAAAAcAAJ&q=%22reeves+castle%22&pg=PA330|title=The Illustrated Universal Gazetteer|first=William|last=Ainsworth|date=2 August 1863|publisher=J. Maxwell & Company|via=Google Books}}</ref>

Today the fortification is located on the grain farm of a Michael McBennett and is not open to the public.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.geocaching.com/|title=Geocaching - The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site|website=www.geocaching.com}}</ref>

==Building==
Reeves Castle is four storeys high with a semi-circular [stair tower](/source/Staircase_tower). The original doorway was in the south wall; in the 18th or 19th century a stone farmhouse was built attached to the south wall of the old castle. An archway built onto the north wall may have provided access to a [bawn](/source/bawn).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.megalithicireland.com/Reeves%20Castle,%20Kildare.html|title=Reeves Castle, Kildare|publisher=megalithicireland.com|accessdate=6 December 2021}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Castles in County Kildare
Category:Tower houses in the Republic of Ireland
Category:Archaeological sites in County Kildare
Category:Towers completed in the 14th century
Category:14th-century establishments in Ireland

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Reeves Castle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reeves_Castle) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reeves_Castle?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.