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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

House - fortified house

Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915) covering the location of House - fortified house, Letterkenny, County Donegal, with a pin at the register's coordinates
Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915), covering this location. Courtesy of the National Library of Scotland. The pin is ours, placed from the register's coordinates.

The record

Townland
Letterkenny
County
Donegal
Country
Ireland
Coordinates
54.94935, -7.73909
SMR number
DG053-042002-

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

4 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1881 map "Ireland to Illustrate the Military Condition of the Country." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).

Historical maps covering this location

  • 1881 · Ireland to Illustrate the Military Condition of the Country. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1891 · Ireland 16 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1900 · Ireland (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1904 · Sheet 1. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗

The National Monuments Service's description

During the seventeenth century plantation of Donegal, 1000 acres in Letterkenny was granted to Captain Crawford. Near to his house Sir George Merbury 'hath erected a market town called Letterkenny, consisting of 50 thatched houses whereof 13 have clay and stone walls, and one watermill (DG053-044)' (Treadwell 1954-5, 41). This settlement was described in the 1654 Civil Survey of Donegal as 'there is therein a Towne (DG053-042) called Litterkenny wch hath a Markett every ffryday,and two faires in the yeare wth a Larg dwelling Stone house (DG053-042002-) haveing a Bawne (DG053-042001-) of fower fla[n]ckers a fair Church (DG043-043001-) And a bridg[e] (DG053-042004-) at the End of the sd. towne over the sd. River of Swolly'. This seventeenth century plantation bawn containing a large dwelling house appears to have been located near to the site of Conwal C of I church. Castle Street running S from the C of I church down towards the Market Square originally ran down to the castle which appears to have been located near the S angle of Mount Southwell. On the latest ed. OS 6-inch maps there is an area marked as Castle Gardens and Fort Well. These two placenames appear to mark the location of the seventeenth century house and bawn. There is a large two storey house beside Castle Gardens which may have been built on the site of the castle. There is a large stone wall enclosing this house which may have been part of the 17th century plantation castle.

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload/revision: 19 July 2010

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Sites and Monuments Record data: National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Record text is reproduced unchanged. National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland · CC BY 4.0
All House - fortified house in Donegal All County Donegal records All Ireland Heritage registers Historical markers (US)National Register of Historic Places (US)
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