Settlement cluster in Killegland

Situated on a bluff on the N bank of the Broad Meadow River with a W-E section of it c. 30m S of the settlement. The castle of Killegland (ME045-005----) is on the S bank commanding a ford (ME045-005002-) while the church (ME045-004----) was further south. The ford communicated with the N bank where a millrace (ME045—041----) and houses were situated. The Wafre family may have held Killegland from the early thirteenth century when Walter Wafre endorsed the grant of the church to St Thomas’ Augustinian abbey (DU018-020051-) (Gilbert 1889, 50). St Thomas’ still held the church at the abbey’s suppression in in 1540 (White 1943, 36). The Wafre estate passed through marriage to the Segrave family in the early fifteenth century. According to the Civil Survey (1654-6) the small parish of Killeglan consisted of 360 acres owned by Patrick Segrave of Killeglan in 1640, and on the premises were ‘a castle, a stone house with outhouses, a church, a mill and divers cabins’ (Simington 1940, 98). After the disturbed conditions of the 1640s and 1650s the population was reduced to 38 adults in 1659 (Pender 1938, 486) and it was probably abandoned by the end of the century. By the nineteenth century the village of Ashbourne, named after Frederick Bourne who built the new line road (N 2) from Finglas to Ashbourne, became a post-town on the coach-road to Slane and Derry (Lewis 1839, 1, 79). The new village was centred on Frederick Street, around the new line servicing the coaches, which is c. 350m E of the castle. Archaeological excavations have identified the ford (ME045-005002-) near Killegland castle (ME045-005----) and the mill-race (ME045—041----) on the N bank of the stream. Another excavation (04E1213) by W. O. Frazer recorded poor housing along the course of the mill-race that was occupied from the late sixteenth century to the end of the seventeenth, forming a small community on the N bank of the river. Five houses, an oven and a kiln from this community were identified and partially excavated. Much of the walls of the structures had been robbed of stone, and the settlement is likely to have extended further W. The houses are some of the ‘diverse cottages’ recorded in the Civil Survey (1654) and they were abandoned c. 1700 based on coin evidence. The settlement is located on a S-facing slope at the W end of the recorded mill-race and it overlooked the medieval fishponds that were probably defunct by this time and the river. The largest house (1) is just S of the mill-race and it is on level ground that had been built up prior to its construction. About 15m E of the large house are three adjacent houses (3-5) placed c. 6-7m from each other, with a corn-drying kiln abutting the E wall of the most easterly. House 2 is on the N side of the mill-race from House 3, with the oven c. 15m to its NW. A drainage ditch (Wth 1.47m; D 0.56m) separates the houses on the S from the mill-race, and the rectangular enclosure (ME045-072----) with its substantial house is c. 60m further E on the N side of the mill-race, although this had been abandoned by the fifteenth century and the area was being used for cultivation. The houses have unmortared stone wall bases but the upper walls would have been of clay or turf with wooden frames. They have only one storey, perhaps with lofts, and the roofs were thatched and had smoke-holes rather than chimneys in many cases. The clay floors were often damp-proofed by in situ burning prior to use. The houses are only partially excavated and therefore are not fully resolved, but it was possible to elucidate a lot about their use and to preserve them in situ beneath introduced soils and the new development. Most of the features in this core area (dims c. 70m E-W; c. 25m N-S) of the settlement were in use from the late 16th century to c. 1700 AD, based largely on the artefacts recovered including coins dating 1682-1696 for the abandonment. The large house (int. dims 13.85-14.84 x 5.8-6.9m) has a metaled or cobbled area (dims 17.5m x 2.75m; T 0.25m) outside the slightly off-centre doorway in the S wall and cobbling also abuts the NW corner and the E wall. Its E end is separated off as what might be a forge and has its own doorway in the N wall. This E end of the building has a stone footing for a fireplace and a large adjacent pit may have served as plunging pit for heated metals (Frazer 2007, 17-34, 108-111) Houses 2 (int. dims c. 4.8m N-S; c. 3m E-W) on the N side of the mill-race has an external drain at N and E that diverted water around it to the mill-race. A metaled area S of the house was levelled up and became the foundation of an E-W extension (int. dims 7m plus E-W; c. 3m N-S). (ibid. 36-47, 111-12) Houses 3 (int. dims 3.5m plus x c. 4m ) and 4 (int. dims 6.35m x 4.3m) are close neighbours and are of similar construction with drystone or clay-bonded and double-faced bases to the walls and timber-framed clay walls above and thatched roofs. Both have drains and were probably dwellings (ibid. 36-47, 112-13). In addition House 4 has a central threshold in its W wall, a cobbled floor and a hearth against the E wall which had a smoke hood supported on short projecting walls. Externally, two metaled terraces with kerbed edges extended down the slope to the S from the houses. Three intercut pits in the space between houses 4 and 3 appear to run under their walls and probably pre-date the construction of these houses. (ibid. 50-67; 113-14) House 5 (int. dims 7.3m E-W; c. 5.5m N-S) was on the S side of the mill-race at the E end of the excavated area. An external cobbled surface at S extends beneath its S wall. It might have a S-facing threshold with a porch, and an internal U-shaped foundation could be the support of a smoke-hood, in which case it might have a lobby entrance. It also has a drain exiting under the NE corner. The corn-drying kiln is immediately E of House 5 and utilised its E wall as part of the structure, suggesting that the house was defunct when it was in use. Only elements of the flue and part of the kiln floor with deposits of used fuel and kiln waste survive. (ibid. 67-73; 114-15) The 16th to 17th century oven is a large circular earth-cut pit (diam. 3.2m; D 1m) with a flue (L 5m) extending E, and samples indicate that it was used for cooking and baking. It was probably used commonly by the community, and two phases were evident, the first with three fills resulting from two separate firings. The second phase consists of an E-W trench that truncated the flue and may represent a robber trench. (ibid. 35-6, 107) The houses were constructed in the late sixteenth century, based on artefacts, although the pottery, including Leinster cooking ware and Dublin type wares, is generally medieval in character. (Frazer 2007) See the attached plans from Frazer (2007) _1 general plan (fig. 9) _2 House 1 (fig. 10) _3 House 2 (fig. 12) _4 Houses 3 & 4 (fig. 13) _5 House 5 (fig. 14) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 22 December 2021