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The first record of a house at Carton was in the 17th Century when William Talbot, recorder of the city of Dublin was given a lease of the lands by the 14th Earl of Kildare. The house and lands were forfeited to the crown in 1691 and in 1703 sold to Major General Richard Ingoldsby, Master General of the Ordnance. In 1739, the lease was sold back to the 19th Earl of Kildare who employed Richard Castles to build the existing house.

Carton remained unaltered until 1815 when the 3rd Duke decided to sell Leinster House to the R.D.S. and make Carton his principle residence. He employed Richard Morrison to enlarge and re-model the house. Morrison replaced the curved colonnades with straight connecting links to obtain additional rooms including the famous Dining room. At this time the entrance to the house was moved to north side.

Carton remained in the control of the FitzGeralds until the 1920s when the 7th Duke sold his birth right to a money lender Sir Harry Mallaby Deeley in order to pay off gambling debts of £67,500.

He was third in line to succeed and so did not think he would ever inherit, but one of his brothers died in the war and another of a brain tumour and so Carton was lost to the Fitzgeralds.

Lord Brockett purchased the house in 1949 and in 1977 his son David Nall-Cain sold the house to its present owners Lee and Mary Mallaghan.