Corn Mill — Gormanston

The Corn Mill at ‘Legdoary’ (Logdoory) depicted on the first ed. OSi six-inch map may have been built on the site of one of two watermills (ME028-107----) belonging to Lord Gormanston of Gormanston Castle (ME028-108----) which were mentioned in the 1654-56 Civil Survey of County Meath.  This survey described Gormanston manor house (ME028-108----) as a ‘stone house’ which in 1640 belonged to Nicholas Preston (Simington 1940, 10).  In this year the lands of Gormanston were in the possession of the Irish Papist, ‘Nicholas Lord Gormestown’ and on the lands of Gormanston there stood; ‘a stone house with outhouses about twenty ffarme houses in the towne two watter Mills and some Timber trees in hedge Rowes’ (ibid.).  In 1669 the forfeited lands of Jenico Preston, lord Viscount Gormanston, included the ‘castle, manor, town, and lands of Gormanstowne, with a mill. — Carranstowne, Richardstowne, Boltray with a mill, and Logdoory with a mill, 426a.’ (Anon. 1825, 208).  No surface remains visible of the mill on the 2013-18 MapGenie aerial image in the area where the mill is depicted on the first ed. OSi six-inch map. On this map a corn mill is shown standing on the N bank of the Delvin River with a mill pond to the W.  the corn mill is aligned N-S on its long axis with the S end wall facing towards the N bank of the Delvin River.  A range of buildings to the E of the mill may be structures associated with the mill. The area immediately N of these buildings is annotated ‘Legdoary’ which appears to be the name of the mill mentioned in 1669.  Legdoary Mill was approached by a laneway or avenue running N-S  to the N of the mill.  This avenue connected to the S side of a public road running E-W.  The millpond to the W of the mill was a narrow rectangular-shaped pond fed by a mill-race to the W that is depicted on the first ed. OSi six-inch map.  Gormanston Castle located 975m to the NW of the mill stood on the E side of this mill-race as depicted on Rocque’s 1760 Map of County Dublin. This mill race is visible as a linear earthwork running E-W on 2013-2018 MapGenie aerial imagery.   Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien