Deer park in Earlspark

This high medieval deerpark is located on the SE shore of Lough Rea, c. 2km to the SE of Loughrea town (GA105-150----) and it occupies the townland of Earlspark. A detailed survey of it undertaken by Beglane (2014, 307-17) found that it dates to the 13th century and was established by the de Burghs, an Anglo-Norman family. Its boundary wall is coterminous with the townland boundary over its entire length. The enclosing wall is 7.4km long and, while much of it is of similar height to the surrounding field boundaries (1-1.6m), some sections of it survive to a height of 2.6m. In general, its base width is between 0.9m and 1m. In some places only one or two courses of the original wall remain, supplemented by more recent rebuilding. Of 193 surveyed locations, there were only 36 points at which no trace of the original walling survived. The wall, of double-face construction, is built of roughly coarsed mortared angular blocks of limestone with a mortared rubble core. Charcoal from a mortar sample provided a radiocarbon date of 1251-97 (cal AD UBA-18087), tying it in with the founding of the town in 1236 and the existence of the park noted in documentary sources dating to 1333 (ibid., 308-10). Access to the park was gained via gateways at NW and NE. No trace of the former example survives but Beglan (ibid., 313) notes that it was most likely located where a relict trackway from Loughrea enters the townland and splits into two branches, one branch being the former line of the Loughrea-Dalystown road. The second branch, also a relict feature, heads E through the park and leads to the gateway at NE. At the junction of these trackways a large recumbent slab, known locally as ‘The Resting Stone’, served as a bench when they were in use. The gateway (Wth 3.04m) at NE, which was presumably secured by a wooden gate, was wide enough to accommodate the access of carts. Geophysical survey of disturbed stony ground immediately outside it suggests that a cobbled yard and track may once have existed here. It is likely that the gatehouse controlling access to the park during the high medieval period was located here. Beglane (ibid.) also speculates that there may have been another entrance to the park at E, where the relict trackway heading towards Dalystown exited the park. An unusual feature, a short distance to the S of this point, is a small subrectangular aperture (L 0.2m; Wth 0.2m), which is part of the original construction of the wall. It is located at a height of 0.8m above ground level. It may have functioned in a similar way to a modern letter box, allowing small items to be passed into and out of the park. The wall was built so that the ground level of the enclosed area was lower than that outside it. This would have proved useful in maximising the effectiveness of the boundary as deer would have been able to enter it relatively easily, but it would have been more difficult for them to jump out as they would be jumping uphill (ibid., 314). Earlspark is the most impressive and complete surviving high medieval deerpark in Ireland, and it is also the largest extending to over 369 hectares. A number of archaeological monuments are visible within it, including a two hillforts (GA105-205---- and GA105-086----), two enclosures (GA105-208---- and GA105-087001-), a ringfort (GA105-081----), a field system (GA105-087----), a children’s burial ground (GA105-083----), a standing stone (GA105-237----) and a souterrain (GA105-238----). Compiled by: Olive Alcock Date of upload: 14 October 2020