Coolamber Hall House

Coolamber Hall House is fortified buildings similar to tower houses. They usually have a rectangular plan and are often two stories in height; their entrance is usually at first floor level and accessed by an external wooden or stone staircase.

The Coolamber hall house is situated in north-east Longford, approximately 12KM from Edgeworthstown. The main building is two stories in height and has a long, rectangular plan.

The building also has a four storey service tower to the south-east corner. The structure is located on a semi-circular platform which was once enclosed by a stone wall. Interestingly, a late-medieval church is situated to the north-west of the hall house, indicating the power and prestige the owners derived from their association with the church during the Middle Ages.

The hall-house has the remains of a barrel-vault at its northern end at ground floor level. The south end is grass-covered and may conceal two other barrel-vaults.

A doorway in the north-east corner gives access to the tower. A relieving arch located directly above the barrel-vault in the hall suggests that the service tower may be a later addition. Some architectural features remain which date it to the 16th century, including fireplaces and ogee-arched windows.

Coolamber hall house was likely to have been the residence of Thomas Nugent, one of the commissioners for Plantation of Longford in 1620 under King James I. Historically, the site of the house was strategically important as it was at the boundary of the English Pale – the area under full control of the English Crown – in the 17th century and was actually besieged by Oliver Cromwell during his invasion of Ireland after 1649.

The monument is on private property, and is in ruinous condition and therefore should not be entered. However, it is located next to the roadway and is highly visible from there.

Coolamber Manor, Lisryan, Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford, Ireland