[6] The historical borough is in the townland of Macreddin West in the civil parish of Ballykine, barony of Ballinacor South.

[1] In 1875, John O'Hanlon identified him as a Celtic Christian saint "Criotan, Credan, Credanus, or Cridanus", son of Iladon, who was also venerated at nearby Aghavannagh, and in Cornwall.

[9] County Wicklow was established in 1606 and the Dublin Castle administration sought to contain the threat to English planters from the Gaelic O'Toole and O'Byrne clans in the mountains.

[1][9][10] Samuel Lewis records that the garrison was withdrawn to Dublin in the 1641 Rebellion and the site was captured from the English by the O'Byrnes.

[3] The charter granted the 13 members of the corporation "600 acres of arable land and pasture, and 276 acres of bog, mountain, wood, and underwood" in free burgage, and three smaller parcels of land in socage to each fund a specific purpose: first the garrison, second a Protestant curate and glebe, and third a free school.

Under the 1628 charter, Carysfort Royal School was established with a schoolhouse in the neighbouring townland of Sheeana More, to be funded from revenue of lands there.

[9] It was disfranchised under the Act of Union 1800, and John Joshua Proby, 1st Earl of Carysfort received the standard £15,000 compensation for the loss of its patronage.

[3][9][10][17] Southwest of the historical centre of the hamlet is a tourist complex comprising the Brooklodge Hotel, Wells Spa, "Macreddin Village" and golf club.