Knockeevan Ho. — Knockeevan

In the Civil Survey (1654-5) Piers Butler, Irish papist, owns the land at Knockynanamy which has been equated with the modern townland of Knockeevan and 'upon the sd lands...stands a castle [TS077-025001-], a little orchard, some few cabbynns, a thatcht house, lately built by Thomas Batty & Henry Paris of Clonmell Esqrs.' (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 302). There is no visible trace of this house above ground. Knockeevan House, which is indicated on the 1st and 2nd ed. OS 6-inch maps, has been demolished and only the walled garden and outbuildings survive in a ruinous state. The S wall of the wall garden incorporates an earlier length of walling (H 2.3m; L 30.6m) which terminates with large limestone quoins at either end and is possibly the northern bawn wall of the castle or the 17th-century house. The walling is composed of limestone rubble, roughly coursed. On the internal N face, 5.4m from the SE angle the quoins survive to a height of 1.9m, above this level the wall appears to have been rebuilt, incorporating several cut stone fragments including a fragment (H 0.22m; Wth 0.3m) with a chamfered edge (Wth 0.1m) and a possible rebate, and two fragments, one above the other, with drafted margins, peck-tooling with a chamfered edge (the upper fragment H 0.18m; x Wth 0.85m; chamfer Wth 0.02m; the lower fragment H 0.21m; Wth 0.78m; chamfer Wth visible 0.08m). Approximately 20cm below the lower fragment there is a limestone block (H 0.12m; Wth 0.48m) which appears to have a slight curve. The W quoins, 36m from the SE angle, survive to a height of 1.4m and consist of three large limestone blocks (lower H 0.29m; Wth 0.61; middle H 0.44m; Wth 0.39m; upper H 0.29m; Wth 0.645m), above these the wall has been modified and a tie-stone inserted to key the existing wall into the later garden wall. Approximately 0.13m above this key stone there is a cut limestone block (H 0.225m; Wth 0.2m) with a drafted margin and peck tooling. Another limestone fragment (H 0.1m; Wth 0.26m; H above ground level 2.05m), with drafted margins and a chamfer along the length of two of its edges, is incorporated in the external face of the E garden wall, 2.1m from the SE angle. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011