site of Bannow Town — Bannow

Situated on a broad low peninsula (Wth c. 400-700m N-S; L c. 500m E-W) which is at the SW end of the broad peninsula of Bannow parish lying between Bannow Bay to the NW and the sea to the S. The site of the first Anglo-Norman landing in Ireland is on Bannow Island (WX045-042----) across a channel (Wth c. 200m) to the W that has silted up since the Down Survey map (1654-8). Bargy had been granted to Hervey de Montmorency, but he had granted the church of Bannow to Christchurch in Cantebury, who later granted it to Tintern abbey (WX045-027001-), and 120 acres of the village of Bannow was amongst Tintern‘s possessions at the Suppression in 1540 (Hore 1900-11, vol. 2, 76). The town may have developed around a seigniorial manor as the manor of the Lordship of Bannow is recorded into the 15th century. Since it was not a Royal foundation no charters or grants of murage or other rights are known, but it is unlikely that it was ever fortified. However, the usual burger rights were granted. A town was certainly in existence by the late the 13th century when Bannow is mentioned indirectly in a charter to New Ross dated 1283-6. By 1307 the burgage rent yielded almost £8, suggesting a burger population of about 160, but the town might already have been in decline. This was caused by the silting up of the bay and the channels to the open sea, but the rate at which this occurred is not known. A survey in the Book of Survey and Distribution (1655) mentions six streets, 19 proprietors or tenants in 1641, a castle, and six thatched houses including one ‘before the cross’, meaning a market cross or perhaps a cross-roads. There were also an estimated six thatched cabins, three ruined houses, at least sixteen plots described as house plots, and 25 described as garden plots. The streets were named as High St., Lackey St., New St., Lady St., Weaver St. and Little St. The plots were from 9 to 24 feet wide (c. 2.75-7.3m) with almost all between 12 and 20 feet, and the plot length varied from 20 to 120 feet (c. 6-37m) (Hore 1900-11, vol. 4, 459-61). Graves (1850), using a Quit Rent survey lists St. George’s, Upper St., Toolock’s, St. Mary’s, and St. Ivory’s as additional street names, although they might be alternative names. Leigh, writing in 1684 (Hore 1858 9, 465) describes the ruins of several old houses and streets of a few cabins. After the Cromwellian era Bannow became part of the Loftus estate, and it continued to send two members to the Irish Parliament until the Act of Union in 1800. Traces of streets were still visible according to John O’Donovan writing c. 1840 (O’ Flanagan 1933, vol. 2, 84), and Toumey (1850) describes the removal during the 1840s of clay-bonded stone ruins ’14 feet by 10 (c. 4.25m x c. 3m) to 25 feet by 12 (c. 7.6m x c. 4.25m)’ in the fields W of St. Mary’s church (WX045-045001-). He also identifies the area N and E of this church as the centre of the town, and the cropmarks of two or three SW-NE streets with their associated plots can be seen on aerial photographs (WX045-045_3 to _8) in this field, which is the only one within the area of the town that occasionally has cereal crops. St. Mary’s church and the site of the castle (WX045-045002-), together with the site of Lady’s Well (WX045-046----) are the only known visible remnants of the town. The church site at Brandane (WX045-047----), c. 550m NE of St. Mary’s, was probably outside the extent of the town, although an attested medieval mill (WX045-064----) was probably a tide-mill in the inlet just to the N of Brandane church. A water mill at Bannow (WX045-064----), which was first mentioned in 1307, is described as ruinous in 1324 and is recorded again in 1634 (Hore vol. 4, 453-4, 457). This has been identified recently as a tidal mill, the dam of which survives as a causeway across a small inlet and stream just N of Brandane church (Magahy 2017, 317-20). A reconstruction of the streets from the available descriptions (ibid. 323-330) identifies High St. as running N-S just W of the graveyard with Lackey St. (la Quay) off its N end to the E. South of the graveyard at what was called ‘the Cross’ High St. is crossed by New St. from the W and Little St. to the E. The latter connects with Lady St., which runs E of the graveyard and S of the castle, while Weaver St runs S from this junction. Aerial surveys by Simon Dowling (January 2017, July 2018) can confirm the presence of New St. and Little St. as a number of parallel banks running E (L c. 120m) from the shore, but the street running NE-SW just N of the graveyard, parallel with Lackey St and c. 70m from it, as recorded by Dowling is not accounted for in literary sources. Lady St. continued E past Lady’s Well and became a road that has now disappeared but met the coast c. 1.8km to the E at Cross Lake. From there the road has been entirely eroded by the sea but it is continued c. 3km further E by what is now a dead-end road at Cullenstown. From here the route continued to Duncormick and Wexford town (ibid. 316-17). (Hore 1900-11, vol. 4, 437-63; O’Broin 1921; Butler 1985, 36-43) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 2 August 2018