Elphin was the traditional site of a monastic house established by St Patrick c. 450, although there are no remains of that date.
[2][3] A new Church of Ireland bishop's palace (i.e. official residence) was built in the 1720s to the central block and flanking pavilions plan that is very common in Irish country houses of this period.
The main block of the bishop's house was destroyed by fire early in the 20th century and was subsequently demolished, but the ruins of the pavilions survive together with the curtain walls that linked them to the main house.
It was a modest building no bigger than a small parish church with a tall square clock tower at its west end.
It was badly damaged in a storm in 1957 and was demolished a few years later, but its partially restored ruins can still be seen.