Castle of Kilkenny by Robertson, 1829

Castle of Kilkenny by William Robertson, engraved by W. Taylor, 1829.

The first stone castle erected on the site was built by William Marshall, 1st Earl of Pembroke, beginning in 1195 and was completed in 1213. The castle has since undergone numerous reconstructions and a good deal of the present structure was built in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. However, three of the original towers are still extant and remnants of the medieval structure have been uncovered through several excavations of the site. In 1391, James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormonde, bought the castle which had previously been seized by the crown. Kilkenny remained the seat of the Butler family until 1935 when the family moved to London. It was sold to the Castle Restoration Committee in 1967 for £50 and was opened to the public after extensive repairs were made to the deteriorating structure. The Castle of Kilkenny is now one of the most visited tourist attractions in Ireland. 

William Robertson (1770-1850) was an English architect involved in rebuilding the castle in 1825. He had exhibited designs for improvements to the structure as early as 1797. Among the changes that he made were the building of the picture gallery, adding small crenellated towers, and replacing the circular tower roofs with battlements. Robertson's drawing was engraved by W. Taylor and shows his vision of Kilkenny in the Castellated Baronial style which was popular in Ireland at the time.