Settlement deserted — medieval in Hurcle

Situated on a slight W-E spur with a NE-SW section of the meandering Mattock River in a ravine on the SE side and a W-E tributary of that river on the N. It is also c. 500m N of the Cistercian monastery of Mellifont (LH023-007002-) and was part of its demesne which was leased to Edward Moore after its suppression in 1540. Hurcle was known as Doo in the Middle Ages but the settlement may have been defunct at the Suppression when only a ‘close of pasture called the dooparke of 4 acres’ was in the demesne (White 1943, 213). Earthworks covering about 7 ha (c. 18 acres) consist of earthen banks (Wth c. 3-5m; H 0.2-0.5m) and sunken ditches (Wth c. 4m; D 0.7m) that form some rectangular fields (dims c. 80m x c 30m) extending NW and SE from a fairly open but irregularly-shaped area (dims c. 150m NE-SW; c. 40m NW-SE) that may have been a street. About six house sites (dims 8m x 4m to 13.5m x 4.5m) can be identified at the edges of this open area. At the NE end of the putative street a rectangular building (dims 16m E-W; 8m N-S) in a circular enclosure may be a church. The settlement was surveyed by the Archaeological Survey of Ireland in 1968, probably after its discovery by Leo Swan through his aerial photographic work. See the attached plan by the Archaeological Survey of Ireland The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 10 July 2007 Amended: 3 August 2022, 29 September 2022