Castle Caulfield is the substantial ruin of a Jacobean fortified house built by Sir Toby Caulfield in 1611, soon after he was granted lands here as part of the Plantation of Ulster. The three-storey U-plan house was unusually domestic in design — large mullioned windows, wide doorways, classical detailing — reflecting the Caulfields' belief that the worst of the Ulster troubles were over.
That confidence proved misplaced. The house was burned during the 1641 rebellion, repaired, burned again, and finally abandoned in the late seventeenth century. The roofless shell remains impressive, with the original gateway and some carved details still in place. Free, open access; a short detour from the A4.