The castle in this picturesque fishing village was built in the
15th century by the Laffan family, descendants of the first
Norman settlers in Wexford. The adjacent salthouse was
constructed in the 17th century and was used to salt the fish
that was landed here in the harbour.

After the Normans arrived in the late 12th century Slade was
part of the Wexford lands that were granted to the Knights Templar by King Henry.

When they arrived the devout Normans encouraged a strict
approach to the Christian faith in Ireland. The medieval church
forbade the eating of meat on certain days and at certain times of the year. As a result fish was a very valuable resource along the south Wexford coast. The Normans used several
different methods for preserving fish such as smoking drying and salting
In the 17th century the harbour was extended and the stone salthouse was constructed. In the salthouse large lumps of rock salt were dissolved in boiling water to make brine which
was then evaporated to produce salt. Much of the rock salt was imported from Cheshire in England.