It was not mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086; "Cainou: Nigel d'Aubigny; Thurstan from Avelina, Ralph Tailbois' wife.

The d'Aubigny family, known for being deeply involved in the crusades, used the castle as the seat of the Barony of Cainhoe.

It then passed to the de Lacys and the Nortons, and then on to the Greys, Earls of Kent.

The castle was occupied until the time of the Black Death (1348), when all the inhabitants died of the disease.

The castle, and the small village that had built up around it, were discovered abandoned sometime later.