Dovecote

The National Monuments Service's description

In flat pasture, to the SE of Ballybeg Augustinian Priory church. This circular columbarium (CO017-059003-; int. diam. 4.6m) is entered via a ground-floor door on the W side. The Interior wall face has continuous rows of nesting boxes (Wth 0.22m; H 0.2m; 32 boxes in each circuit), in 11 tiers up to a height of c. 5m (see plan and section in Brash 1852b, 266-7). Above this, the wall inclines gently inward for a height of c. 2m, above which it is corbelled in steeply, leaving a circular opening at the top. High up on the exterior wall face on the N side is a lintelled door giving access to mural stairs leading to the top of the tower, possibly to a wall-walk. Section of projecting masonry to the E of the door indicates the wall extending N from the columbarium, probably with a wall-walk, from which the door was accessed.

This is a National Monument in State Guardianship (no. 301).

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.

Photographs attached:
CO017-059003-_01: View of columbarium from NW.
CO017-059003-_02: Interior of columbarium, from W.
CO017-059003-_03: View of from W, with ground-floor door.
CO017-059003-_04: View from N, with lintelled door at top of tower.
CO017-059003-_05: View from SE, with priory in the background.

Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

References

Brash, R.R. 1852b An account of some antiquities in the neighbourhood of Buttevant, in the county of Cork. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 2, 265-76.