Fish-pond in Rathcline

On the edge of wet poorly drained floodplains of Lough Ree, c. 60m to the E of the fortified house (LF017-009003-) and bawn (LF017-009001-). This fish-pond was developed c. 1667 by Sir George Lane when the grounds surrounding the fortified house were being landscaped. A late 17th-century manuscript plan (NLI, MS 8646 (6)) shows the fish-pond to the E of and adjoining the walled garden (LF017-009008-) of the house. Described by Nicholas Dowdall in 1682, when noting improvements on the estate, as 'being very pleasant and well Improved with Orchards, Gardens [LF017-009008-], Fishponds and a Deer Park [LF017-009004-]' (Gillespie and Moran 1991, 208). On the late 17th-century plan (NLI, MS 8646 (6)) the fish-pond is depicted as a wide, water-filled moat enclosing a rectangular, tree-planted platform. Two triangular indentations are shown on both the E and W sides of the platform with single examples on the N and S ends. They appear to have formed ponds into which the fish could be trapped and caught. Access to the fish-pond was gained from the house via a gateway in the E wall of the formal garden. The gateway led to a small wooden bridge that crossed the moat on the W side. Water from Lough Ree, located c. 300m to the NW, was diverted into the NW angle of the moat through a deep channel (L c. 450m), which ran past the N side of the fortified house. This channel appears to predate the work undertaken by Sir George Lane (Casey and Rowan 1993, 373) as it is indicated on the late 17th-century plan (ibid.) as 'The ould Trinche' and measured '30 ft. [c. 9.1m] broad and six ft. [c. 1.8m] deepe'. A second channel (L c. 350m) ran from the lake into the NE angle of the moat, it may have been the overflow channel, which would have taken the excess water away from the pond bringing it back to the lake. This water channel is labelled as 'the Trinches intended' and originally measured '20 ft. [c. 6m] broade & six [c. 8m] deepe' with a top width of '20 ft.' [c. 6m] and a bottom width of 14 ft. [c. 4.26m]' (ibid.). The surviving remains of the fish-pond closely match its representation on the 17th-century plan (ibid.). It consists of a rectangular platform of dry ground (dims. 64m N-S; 37m E-W) defined by a scarp (H 0.6m), which is enclosed by a waterlogged moat (top Wth 9m; base Wth 3m; ext. D 1.3-2m), except on the S side where the moat has been filled in. It is fed by a water-filled channel at the NW angle and the second water-filled channel is also visible at the NE angle. The channel at the NW angle runs W, past the N wall of the bawn, into a wooded area from which it then runs NW to Lough Ree. The channel on the NE side runs roughly NNW to the lake. Two semicircular marshy indentations or ponds (L 18m; Wth c. 1.5m), which project into the platform, survive on the E and W sides of the moat. These indentations are not evident on the N and S sides and there are no visible surface traces of the wooden bridge. The wall footings of a circular tower are located in the area where the gateway is indicated on the 17th-century plan (ibid.). A stone-lined causewayed culvert has been built across the moat at the SW angle. This modern crossing provides access from the interior of the fish-pond to the adjoining field to the W and was probably built in the 18th or 19th century. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 5 July 2012