Historic town

The National Monuments Service's description

A relatively large settlement cluster is shown on the Down Survey (1655-9) Barony map in Crookhaven townland (Hib. Reg.). The 1655-9 Down Survey map of Kilmoe parish depicted a double row of linear houses with a large tower house like castle standing between the dwellings (NLI, MS 712-3). The terrier of the 1655-9 Down Survey parish map recorded that, ‘there is in this parish a very good Harbour called Crookhaven having, a Fort [CO147-066----] Commandinge the Entrance in which Shipps may lye securely, Theres likewise a Towne neere to this Harbour called Crookehaven in which Stands a Castle [CO147-063----] and many Cabbins’ (NLI, MS 712-3).
There is no local knowledge of the settlement but it probably represents a mid-17th century precursor of the present Crookhaven village. The linear nature of the modern settlement of Crookhaven resembles closely the linear settlement depicted on the Down Survey maps. According to Breen (2007, 34), Sir Thomas Roper established a fishery station at Crookhaven and hundreds of families were 'planted' there in the early 1600s. In addition, Roper also established a garrison of soldiers in Crookhaven in 1622 (Kerrigan 1995, 79-80). A fortification (CO147-066----), which was probably associated with this garrison, is also shown on the Down Survey Barony map in the vicinity of the village. The castle site (CO147-063----) which stood in the centre of the town of Crookhaven has not been precisely located while the present church and graveyard (CO147-058003-) at W end of the town probably stands on the site of an earlier church site (CO147-058002-). The presence of three quays along with a 'Fish Pond' to the N of the village of Crookhaven depicted on the first ed. OSi 6-inch map confirms the presence of the 'good harbour' mentioned in the terrier of the 1655-9 Down Survey parish map.

See attached Down Survey map of Carbury Barony and the 1655-59 parish map of Kilmoe.

The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 5' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2009).

Revised by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of revised upload: 13 August 2021

References

Kerrigan P.M. 1995 Castles and fortifications in Ireland 1485-1945. Cork. The Collins Press.

NLI, MS 712-3 - National Library of Ireland, The parish maps of the Down Survey for the county of Cork by Wm. Petty, 1655-9. Copied by Daniel O'Brien in 1786-7. A set of 132 maps in two volumes, with accompanying terriers. Dublin.

Hibernia Regnum: A set of 214 barony maps of Ireland dating to the period AD 1655-59. The original parish maps have been lost but the Hibernia Regnum maps are preserved in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris (Goblet 1932, v-x). Photographic facsimiles of these maps were published by the Ordnance Survey, Southampton in 1908.