Ballynatray House — Ballynatray Demesne

Situated at the bottom of a S-facing slope on the N bank of the E-W River Blackwater at a point where it turns S. A stone house owned by Sir Richard Boyle in 1641 is recorded in the Civil Survey (1654-6) (Simington 1942, 20). It is thought to have been Elizabethan in style, as illustrated in an early 18th-century sketch recorded by Went (1949). The present house is late 18th century (Bence-Jones 1978, 26-7) in date and has two storeys and eleven bays with a basement. The three central bays are recessed on the N front, but connected by a porch. A portion of the earlier house is thought to be preserved in the basement (Craig et al. 1977, 73-5). Archaeological monitoring (97E0326) at the house produced no archaeological material, while remote sensing (07R0111) in the gardens to the E produced evidence of the paths depicted on the 1840 ed. of the OS 6-inch map, and likely to date from the early 18th century (Nichols 2007). Bence-Jones, M. (1978) Burke’s guide to country houses, vol. 1, Ireland. Burke’s Peerage Ltd., London. Craig, M. and Garner, W. (1977) Revised report on areas of historic interest in Co. Waterford. Unpublished report commissioned by An Foras Forbartha. Nicholls, J. (2007) Geophysical survey report. Ballynatray House, County Waterford. Licence 07R0111. Unpublished report. Target Archaeological Geophysics. Simington, R. C. (ed.) (1942) The civil Survey AD 1654-1656, vi, the County of Waterford. Irish Manuscripts Commission. Dublin. Tierney, J. (1998) Ballynatray. Monitoring. in Bennett, I. (ed.) Excavations 1997: summary accounts of excavations in Ireland, 187, No. 565. Wordwell. Bray. Went, A. E. J. (1949) Miscellanea ‘The Ballynatray head weir.’ JRSAI, 79. 237. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Waterford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1999). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Revised by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 07 October 2011