St. Augustines Well — Hillsborough

At the NE foot of a steep-sided gravel ridge. Although named 'St. Augustine's Well' on the OS 6-inch mapping, there is no evidence of it being a holy well. In 1988, the well was archaeologically excavated (Keeley www.excavations.ie 1988:34: Last accessed 29-05-2012) in advance of the proposed M9 Motorway development immediately to the E. A cluster of trees marked the general area of the well and while the surrounding area was waterlogged, the actual location of the well was not visible. The excavation revealed the source of the well as a series of stone settings defining a small rectangular area (L 3m; Wth 2m) at the point where a natural spring emerged from the base of the ridge. It was interpreted as being a purely domestic well, probably associated with the former Hillsborough House c. 100m to the NE (which was also archaeologically excavated (ibid 1988:34)). A narrow, artificially constructed channel, extended from the well downslope for some 12.5m. The sides of the channel were defined by a single course of horizontally placed bricks, with overlapping slates forming the base and flat stones acted as a covering for the feature. The remains of a similar channel were uncovered several metres to the east. Both features appeared to form a water supply system for the house. In addition to the channels, a series of stone walls were located downslope from the well and are probably the remains of outhouses and avenue walls. Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 29 May 2012