Whitescastle Lower

53 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Whitescastle Lower, from 2 m² to 24,017 m² (2.4 ha, 5.93 acres). The dashed line is the townland's boundary. 15 neighbouring parcels touch it.

Download the townland as DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its boundary, parcels and buildings, or as GeoJSON or KML.

No zone of a development plan covers Whitescastle Lower in the national zoning. Outside zoned towns and villages, the county development plan's rural policies apply to each application.

Source: Tailte Éireann and the Department of Housing (MyPlan), national zoning, CC BY 4.0.

• 2 May 2025Conditional

  for change of use from commercial at ground floor level and alterations to existing first floor residential premises to provide a new two storey private residential property at Whitescastle Lower, Main Street, Knocktopher, Co. Kilkenny R95 W9Y3. The works will consist of the demolition of the non-original two storey extension to the rear of the building & the construction of a new two storey extension to the rear. Permission is also sought for the replacement of non-original shopfront, re-roofing of dormer roof to the front of the building, new replacement windows and external doors and all associated ancillary site works

  Permission · Kilkenny County Council, 2560238

• 8 Apr 2025Refused

  for the erection of a 24m lattice telecommunications support structure on a 1.4 metre high raised foundation (providing an overall height of 25.4 metres) together with associated antennas and dishes and to remove the existing 12.6 metre lattice telecommunications structure with antennas and dish. The proposed development is all enclosed within an existing compound

  Permission · Kilkenny County Council, 2560184

• 17 Dec 2021Conditional

  to (A) replace existing flat roof with pitched roof to part of existing dwelling (B) convert existing garage to kitchen area and bedroom at first floor level and all associated site development works

  Permission · Kilkenny County Council, 211032

• 10 Jun 2019Conditional

  for (a) the phased demolition of the existing supermarket building with ancillary stores and offices, and the demolition of the existing canopy over the fuel pumps and (b) for the phased construction of: (i) a new supermarket building comprising of convenience shop with off licence, stores area, staff facilities, public toilets, internal seating area, solid fuel store, plant and bin storage area to the rear of the new building and adjoining 2 no. commercial units with separate entrances, (ii) new canopy over the fuel pumps, (iii) realignment/alterations to the layout of the fuel pumps/islands with additional fuel pump, (iv) new Heavy Goods Vehicles Fuel Pump, located on the south eastern side of the site, (v) new automatic roller car wash, (vi) re-alignment of the boundary and vehicular entrance to the existing hotel car park on the southern corner of the site, (vii) extend the location of the north western boundary, (viii) new exit lane onto the public road at the rear of the proposed building on the northern corner of the site and all associated site works

  Permission · Kilkenny County Council, 19404

• 19 Jan 2018Refused

  Extension to Centra Supermarket, extension to forecourt canopy, extra fuel pumps, construct 2 new commercial units, extend carpark and all associated works

  Permission · Kilkenny County Council, 1834

Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.

Designated sites

• Special Area of Conservation: River Barrow and River Nore SAC 002162

Recorded monuments

• KK031-017013 Castle - unclassified
  Description

  The Archaeological Survey of Ireland (ASI) is in the process of providing information on all monuments on The Historic Environment Viewer (HEV). Currently the information for this record has not been uploaded. To access available information for research purposes please make an appointment in advance with the Archive Unit (open Fridays 10.00 am – 5.00 pm), Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, The Custom House, Dublin 1 D01W6XO or email NMarchive@housing.gov.ie.

Architectural heritage

• Knocktopher Church, church/chapel, 1790–1810 · Regional interest
  Description

  Detached four-bay double-height single-cell Board of First Fruits Church of Ireland church, c.1800, with single-bay three-stage entrance tower to south-west on a square plan (possibly originally having spire over). Renovated to accommodate residential use. Pitched slate roof with clay ridge tiles, cut-limestone coping to gables, and cast-iron rainwater goods on limestone ashlar chamfered eaves. Roof to tower not visible behind parapet (possibly originally having spire over). Random rubble limestone walls originally rendered with render removed (surviving in traces) having cut-limestone dressings to tower including stringcourse to each stage, shield panels to second stage in shared cut-stone frame, advanced corner piers to top stage framing cast-iron clock face, and battlemented parapet on scalloped table having gabled corner finials rising to polygonal pinnacles. Pointed-arch window openings to nave (some blind) in pointed-arch recesses with cut-limestone sills, cut-limestone surrounds having chamfered reveals, cut-limestone voussoirs, Y-mullions forming bipartite lancet arrangement, and fixed-pane timber fittings with some retaining leaded stained glass panels. Pointed-arch window opening to first stage to tower in pointed-arch recess with cut-limestone sill, cut-limestone surround having chamfered reveals, cut-limestone limestone voussoirs, Y-mullion forming bipartite pointed-arch arrangement, and fixed-pane timber fittings. Pointed-arch openings to top (bell) stage to tower in pointed-arch recesses with cut-limestone sills, and louvered panel fittings. Set back from road in own grounds with unkempt grounds to site.(ii) Graveyard to site with group of cut-stone grave markers, c.1800-c.1950.(iii) Gateway, c.1800, to west comprising pair of squared rubble limestone piers with cut-stone capping, wrought iron double gates having arrow-head finials, and random rubble stone curved flanking walls terminating in squared rubble limestone piers having cut-stone capping.

• House, 1890–1910 · Regional interest
  Description

  Terraced two-bay two-storey house, c.1900, probably incorporating fabric of earlier house, pre-1840, on site. Now disused. Pitched (shared) artificial slate roof with clay ridge tiles, rendered chimney stack, and cast-iron rainwater goods on rendered eaves. Painted rendered walls. Square-headed window openings with painted sills, and one-over-one timber sash windows. Square-headed door opening with glazed timber panelled door. Road fronted with concrete footpath to front.

Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. Buildings: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Works at or in relation to a recorded monument need two months' written notice to the National Monuments Service (National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, section 12).

Radon

At the centre of the townland of Whitescastle Lower, about 1 in 10 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home

Landslides

The 1:50,000 map rates the landslide susceptibility here as moderately low, low, partly inferred.

Terrain model

LiDAR of the Office of Public Works, flown in 2011, at 2 m: tile OPW_2196 (ZIP).

Flooding

The Office of Public Works publishes its flood maps on floodinfo.ie.

Radon Risk Map of Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency, and Landslide Susceptibility Classification, Geological Survey Ireland, both under CC BY 4.0. LiDAR: contains Irish Public Sector Data (Geological Survey Ireland & the Office of Public Works) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.

No address of the register names Whitescastle Lower with five sales or more. The sales of the area are on the page of Co. Kilkenny.

Name

Whitescastle Lower · Caisleán an Fhaoitigh Íochtarach

Area

534,485 m² (53.45 ha, 132.07 acres)

Civil parish

Knocktopher, and its townlands

Barony

Knocktopher

Electoral division

Knocktopher, the unit of the census

Census 2022

543 people lived in 192 households in the Knocktopher electoral division. 84% of households owned their home. 41% of homes were built since 2001. 11% of dwellings stood vacant on census night, and 2% were holiday homes.

Neighbouring townlands

Barrettstown, Baunanattin, Bowersacre, Castlecolumb, Common, Knocktopher Abbey, Knocktopher Manor, Monyheige Commons, Ricesland, Whitescastle Upper

Placenames

Whitescastle Lower on logainm.ie, the Placenames Database of Ireland

Townlands, civil parishes, baronies and electoral divisions, National Statutory Boundaries, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. Census 2022, Small Area Population Statistics by electoral division, Central Statistics Office, CC BY 4.0. A townland is the smallest land division of Ireland, and the unit of a rural address. Old registers such as the 1901 and 1911 censuses file it under its civil parish and barony.