Old Deer Park

On the NW facing slope at the foothills of the Slieveardagh hills with good views from W through N to NE. Nearby castle (TS048-034001-) and seventeenth century house (TS048-034002-) 250m to the W and Mellisson castle (TS048-026001-) 310m to the NE. Large rectangular area (dims. 875m NW-SE x 630m NE-SW) enclosed by a roughly coursed limestone wall (Wall T 0.45m; H 1.2m) which marks out the limit of the deer park. The area inside the deerpark is mainly in grassland except for a single field in the SW corner of the park which has been planted in coniferous plantation. The NW end of the deerpark encloses flat grassland while the SE end encompasses the lower slopes of the Slieveardagh hills. The wall on the S and E sides of the deer park forms the townland boundary between the townlands of Poyntstown and Mellisson. A map of the area from 1824 marks this area as the deer park as indicated on the 1840 OS 6-inch map. Possible medieval deerpark associated with the nearby castle (TS048-034001-) of Poyntstown to the SW or with Mellisson castle (TS048-026001-) to the NE. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011