Town defences in Adare,blackabbey

The town defences of Adare were described in the Urban Survey of Limerick (Bradley et. al. 1989, 3) as following; 'Evidence that Adare was protected by defences is provided by a grant of murage in 1310 (Ir. Rec Comm 1829, 42) and by a reference to the repair of the town walls in 1376 (ibid., 72). There is no surviving trace of these defences nor can their course be outlined. It is possible that they may have consisted of earthen ramparts with timber palisades'. However Dunraven (1865, 295) described these defences when he wrote 'The marks of the old fence or ditch, extending from Spittle-gate to Castle Plo[ugh]land, are still plainly visible'. The 1656 Down Survey parish map of Ballingaddy (NLI, MS 718) shows the layout of the medieval town (before the new town planned by the Dunravens in the 19th century) and indicates that the demesne of the 19th century Adare Manor grew at the expense of this town incorporating parts of the medieval borough within its walls (Purcell 2019, 6; Bradley et al. 1989, 3). McCutcheon (1999, Fig. 15, 55-6) identified the line of the town defences forming the eastern boundary of the historic settlement running through the parkland of Adare Manor. Recent archaeological monitoring of ground works carried out at Adare Manor Hotel and Golf Resort between February 2016 and September 2017 under licence number 16E096 by Avril Purcell revealed significant archaeological deposits dating to the medieval period with a concentration of features in the vicinity of the new entrance to the hotel and golf resort in April 2017. These features were excavated by Avril Purcell under licence No. 17E0203 from May to August 2017. The results of her excavations were summarised as following; 'The deposits comprised part of a medieval burgage plot [LI021-032001-] extending east from the N21 and small parts to two adjoining plots to the north and south. Neither the street-fronting portions at the western end of the plots nor the rear portions at the eastern end were identified in the excavation. The main plot was defined by a slot trench (which would have supported a timber fence) to the north and south and these trenches were subject to modifications, partial removal and possibly repair during their life. A large number of pits and slot trenches as well as occasional post holes and build-up layers were the main features within the plots. No definitive structural remains were found but tentative remains were identified. In 2018 Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) published a lidar survey, undertaken in 2010/11, of the N21 and adjoining land. The survey included the area of the excavation at the entrance to Adare Manor and a large portion of the western side of the historic demesne lands. The survey revealed an extensive pattern of settlement with E-W plots extending from both sides of the N21, remarkably similar in layout to the representation shown on the Down Survey map of 1656. At the eastern end of the settlement [LI021-032001-] a well-defined pair of parallel features extending north towards the River Maigue strongly suggests the presence of a significant defensive bank and ditch. On further analysis this feature is also apparent on a 2005 OSI aerial photograph. The results of the excavation combined with the representation on the TII lidar survey indicate that the 13/14th century town [LI021-032001-] was indeed to the south of the river and continued in this location into the 17th century when it was depicted on the 1656 Down Survey map [NLI, MS 718]. At the eastern end of the settlement a well defined pair of parallel features extending north towards the River Maigue strongly suggests the presence of a significant defensive bank and ditch defending the town. A meandering channel detected by the lidar running east from this feature to the Maigue suggests a small watercourse between the two which is shown as a field boundary on the Down Survey. At the south end of this defensive feature anomalies on the lidar may indicate the location of the ‘Spitle Gate’ shown on the 17th century map. Following analysis of the lidar survey the author reviewed again the OSI aerial photographs 1995, 2000, 2005 and Google maps, circa 2013 images. The parallel features representing the town defences and the meandering channel running east to the Maigue are apparent running through an extensive area of parkland on the 2005 image taken in low evening sunshine. They are not visible on any of the other images. The lidar survey confirms the accuracy of the Down Survey map and the 2005 aerial photograph shows the presence of subsurface remains of the medieval town of Adare in this area as proposed by Bradley et al. (1989). The excavation represents a very small portion of the settlement which given the scale of the deposits recovered appears to have been relatively short lived, extending over just a number of generations' (Purcell 2019, 2, 6-7). See attached sketch plan of town defences copied from the Down Survey map taken from Dunraven 1865 Compiled and revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 13 January 2019