Historic town

The National Monuments Service's description

On W bank of Awbeg River, on main Cork-Limerick road. In 1234 David de Barry obtained licence for weekly market and annual fair 'at his town of Buttevant' (O'Brien 1993, 93); there are references to burgesses from end of 13th century (Thomas 1992, vol. 2, 28); by 1310 the de Barrys had obtained a murage grant (see 14632) for the town (ibid.). Exact area enclosed by town wall uncertain (see 14632). It had a 'linear' main street (Bradley 1985, 448) between bridge (14811) to N and castle (14330) to S and probably two cross-lanes located to N and S of Franciscan friary (14382); rental of 1364 mentions 'Main Street' and 'Mill Lane' (MacCotter and Nicholls 1996, 194). Unusually, parish church (14404) appears to lie outside line of town walls, to S of castle (14330) and within its demesne. Subsequently it declined and 'suffered considerable devastation' (Grove White 1905-25, vol. 1, 337) in 15th century. By 1831 it contained 204 houses and consisted 'principally of one main street extending along the mail coach road' (Lewis 1837, vol. 1, 235). Lombard's Castle (14340) fronts onto W side of Main Street; 18th-century market house (14761) at S end of Main Street. (Zajac et al. 1995, 10)

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 4: North Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2000). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

References

Zajac, S., Cronin, J. and Kiely, J. 1995 Urban archaeological survey - county Cork (2 vols.). Unpublished report commissioned by the Office of Public Works, Dublin.

Thomas, A. 1992 The walled towns of Ireland, 2 vols. Dublin. Irish Academic Press.

MacCotter, P. and Nicholls, K. (eds) 1996 The pipe roll of Cloyne (Rotulus Pipae Clonensis). Midleton. Cloyne Literary and Historical Society.

Lewis, S. 1837 A topographical dictionary of Ireland, 2 vols. London. Lewis and Co.

Grove, W.J. 1905-25 Historical and topographical notes etc. on Buttevant, Doneraile, Mallow, and places in their vicinity, 4 vols. Cork. Guy.

Bradley, J. 1985 Planned Anglo-Norman towns in Ireland. In H.B. Clarke and A. Simms (eds), The comparative history of urban origins in non-Roman Europe: Ireland, Wales, Denmark, Germany, Poland and Russia from the ninth to the thirteenth century, 411-67. British Archaeological Reports. International Series, 255. Oxford.