Large Medieval Complex?

Simon.d · 29-06-2012 12:35am #1

This earthwork on top of a natural mound caught my eye on bing maps http://binged.it/MZzfDT ... Note the stream diversion to the north of the mound.. Also the ditch/wall running along the south edge of this mound connects it to a fortified gatehouse (known as Loughdaheen castle). Drawing of Gatehouse based on features of the ruin below:

More images here : http://imgur.com/a/Gz2r4#0

The gate of the gatehouse has been blocked up in uncut stone, implying a later use for the building: http://imgur.com/ovReo

What I'm wondering is was this the gatehouse to a large medieval complex, like a motte and bailey? Or was it simply associated with the small bawn that presently surrounds it? i.e. http://imgur.com/S0tPi

Based on the features of the gatehouse, how old could it be? i.e. When did Garderobes fall out of fashion? When did they come into fashion? Did baileys have big stone gate houses?

There's also a hospitaller monastic side to the story, as the land was largely in their possession at the time of the monastic confiscations c1540, and there's reference to a Priory there... http://imgur.com/qKJBy Maybe they built the small bawn around the gatehouse of an abandoned bailey, and that was their priory, from where they farmed their 120 acre holding...

Also the side notes in the Downsurvey (c1650) noted the presence of a Ruined Castle on the land... http://imgur.com/4Bdr8

Any input would be most appreciated!

slowburner · 29-06-2012 11:04am

Interesting place and you've certainly done your homework on it.

I'm not sure about the diversion of the Ballymoat stream, north of the outcrop.
I think it's more likely field drainage into the stream. You can see a mound of spoil from the ditch.
Both the first and second edition maps show a tributary running through that large field - it's buried now.
The dog leg in the stream south of the mound looks as if it could have been manipulated. Usually this would be to divert water into a leat, and leats were often associated with monastic sites.
Nor am I sure about extant earthworks on the outcrop itself. The area was extensively surveyed in 1999, and no mention was made of any visible earthworks; nor are there any remains evident on the 1st or 2nd edition maps.
Of course that does not mean that there was never any habitation there. After all, it's a commanding position, with a water course nearby.
Where was the priory? Is this Loughadowan the same Loughedeen? Locating the priory could be rewarding.

Re. the demise of the garderobe

In 1596, England lept into modern sanitation when Sir John Harrington, godson of Elizabeth I, published Metamorphosis of Ajax, in which he described a new kind of water closet: a raised cistern with a small pipe down which water ran when released by a valve. The Queen installed Harrington's invention in her palace at Richmond, but it took another 200 years before a man named Alexander Cummings developed the S-shaped pipe underneath the basin to keep out foul odors. At the end of the 18th century, the flushable toilet went mainstream.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1940525,00.html

There's only so much you can do from a chair - sometimes you just have to get out there and see what's what.

Simon.d · 01-07-2012 10:38am

slowburner wrote: »

Interesting place and you've certainly done your homework on it.

I'm not sure about the diversion of the Ballymoat stream, north of the outcrop.
I think it's more likely field drainage into the stream. You can see a mound of spoil from the ditch.
Both the first and second edition maps show a tributary running through that large field - it's buried now.
The dog leg in the stream south of the mound looks as if it could have been manipulated. Usually this would be to divert water into a leat, and leats were often associated with monastic sites.
Nor am I sure about extant earthworks on the outcrop itself. The area was extensively surveyed in 1999, and no mention was made of any visible earthworks; nor are there any remains evident on the 1st or 2nd edition maps.

Of course that does not mean that there was never any habitation there. After all, it's a commanding position, with a water course nearby.

I suppose the main thing that I'm trying to identify is whether or not the gatehouse was originally an access point to a larger fortified area, than the small bawn that currently surrounds it. There seems to be a long continuous run of ditch/wall from the stream, through the gate house, and a good distance beyond the current road. The earthworks on that mound are largely supplementary to this main idea..

slowburner wrote: »

Where was the priory? Is this Loughadowan the same Loughedeen? Locating the priory could be rewarding.

Yes that is the place.. My guess is that the priory was the gatehouse + small bawn...

Simon.d · 05-07-2012 11:03pm

http://imgur.com/Hc4Zj

Visited the site again this evening... Of note is the length of continuous stone wall, shown above along the inside of the blue line I've marked on the satellite photograph. It rises to well over 2m in places, the highest portion running along the road to the west (it's not more than 1m from the roadside, but much higher from the field side).

Here's a photo from the field looking West toward the wall along the roadside of a section close to 2.5m high (map centred on approximate location: http://binged.it/MY9uGl)

YmJYb

http://imgur.com/YmJYb

There's also a mound of exposed rubble on my suspected castle site (Map: http://binged.it/PlClaP)...

From above (Aerial photo with my RC Plane): http://imgur.com/HXPbg

HXPbg

Mound from a distance (Can see rubble close to centre of image): Ww7Ey

http://imgur.com/Ww7Ey

Large Medieval Complex?

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