Bawn in Graystown

On the W edge of a ridge of limestone outcrop which rises gradually to the E. It occupies a defensive position overlooking the Clashawley river valley floor below. It is associated with a 15th-century tower house (TS054-037002-) and a late 16th/early 17th-century house (TS054-037003-). The townland of Graystown appears to have been named for Walter de Grey who possibly acquired the land in the late 13th century, but certainly held it in the early 14th century (Mills 1914, 33). In 1305, de Grey sold Graystown to Gervase de Raley who, in the same year, sold it on to Henry Laffan, a clerk of Edmund Butler (ibid.; White 1932, 94). The transaction is recorded in Latin in the Red Book of Ormond, where Laffan buys one carucate of land, equivalent to approximately 120 acres, for ten pounds of silver. The tower house, visible today, was built in the second half of the 15th century. One possible candidate for its construction is Thomas Laffan, who in 1483 was recorded as bailiff to the precentor of Cashel Cathredral (O’Donnell 2006, 55). He is probably the same Thomas who in 1521, was referred to as, ‘lord of Ballygroy in county Tipperary’, Ballygroy being a debased version of the Irish, ‘Baile an Ghraeigh’ or Graystown (Curtis 1937, vol. 4, 71, deed 77; https://www.logainm.ie/en/47699). He died c. 1524/5 (O’Donnell 2006, 55). The late 16th/early 17th-century house to the NE of the tower house may have been built by James Laffan ‘of Ballengrey’, and ‘of Grayestown’, who died in 1607, or his son, Thomas Laffan (Curtis 1943, vol. 6, 19, 26, deeds 26, 41; O’Donnell 2006, 54-5). Both were well-established figures in the county, with James serving as Sheriff of County Tipperary in 1585/6 and 1592 and as Sheriff of the Liberty of Tipperary in 1597, and Thomas elected as a Member of Parliament in 1613 (O’Donnell 2006, 54-5). The Civil Survey (1654-6) records Henry Laffan, Thomas’s son, as the proprietor of Graystown in 1640, which had ‘a good castle, a slate house wantinge repaire with a large bawne & severall cabbins' (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 106). The Down Survey map (1655-6) depicts a castle, a large rectangular bawn with two free-standing houses inside, and three cabins to the north of the castle (National Library of Ireland MS 721). Following the Cromwellian confiscations of 1652, the Laffan’s of Graystown were transplanted to Galway (Simington 1970, 93-4). The land was initially granted to Eliah Greene, but by 1659, as recorded in the Census of Ireland, ‘Giles Cooke gent’ was named as the Cromwellian grantee of ‘Graistowne’ (O’Donnell 2006, 54; Pender 2002, 296). The bawn appears to be contemporary with the tower house, which itself formed part of the W wall of the bawn. The bawn is roughly rectangular in shape (dims. 65.4m N-S; c. 54m E-W), with a kink at the NW angle, immediately N of the tower house, where it follows the edge of the rock outcrop. It is composed of roughly coursed limestone rubble with very large 'cyclopean' blocks incorporated in the upper courses of the N face of the bawn (int. H 3m). The N wall is the best-preserved portion, with wall-footings surviving of the E, S and W sides, the E and W stretches ran along the edge of rock outcrop, the W side being particularly sheer. The E side of the bawn is c. 7m from the edge of the present roadway, which runs N-S and has been cut through the bedrock. At the SE angle the wall survives as a curving low grass-covered mound, perhaps indicating a corner turret. The bawn joins up with the SW angle of the tower house, W side of S face, although the masonry of the tower house has collapsed at this point so it is not possible to determine if it is keyed in or abuts it. On the other side the bawn wall runs into the W end of the N wall of the tower house, abutting the tower house near the angle. The wall runs northward from the tower house for c. 2m before turning to the NE for almost 9m, then turns again southward, but this length of wall does not survive. There is an ope (inner embrasure H 1.35m; Wth c. 0.6m) near this angle, the W side splays internally while the E side is straight towards the exterior but splays inwards towards the interior. The W side of the loop is broken out, the straight E side consists of roughly dressed limestone blocks. The original entrance was towards the western end of the N side. The W jambs of the gateway were incorporated into the NE angle of a late 16th/17th-century house which was built onto the bawn wall. The external lime render of the house runs up to these jambs which consist of large limestone blocks. These are surmounted by an arch, the springers of which survive in the E face of the house. This gate was well blocked, the former opening not being obvious on the external face. A gun loop (Wth 0.06m; H 0.33m) has been built into the blocking, the embrasure (Wth 0.5m; H 0.47m; D 1.1m) is 1.35m above the interior. It appears that there were attempts to modernise the defences of the bawn in the late 16th century, as evidenced by the introduction of two shot-holes at wall-walk level at the W end of the N wall. These, with their accompanying embrasure, were blocked up when the late 16th/early 17th-century house was built. A new entrance (Wth 2.5m; H at side 2.1m), contemporary with the 16th/early 17th-century house was built towards the E end of the N wall. This entrance had also been arched over and, though the arch has since collapsed, the springer survives on the E side. Masonry from the arch still lies where it fell, with wicker-centring on the underside. The gateway projects at least 1.45m externally beyond the bawn wall and within the projection there is a flat-headed vertical gun loop (H 0.26m; Wth 0.08m) on each side.