Bawn

The National Monuments Service's description

Possible bawn of Naul castle located on the E edge of a ravine on the S bank of the Delvin River, with holy well (DU004-045003-) 155m to E, church (DU004-045004-), graveyard (DU004-045005-) 80m to S, watermill (DU004-045001-) 200m to W, bridge (DU004-045008-) and castle (ME034-010----) 165m and 330m to WNW respectively and a mill (ME034-009----) 85m to NNW.
The 1654-6 Civil Survey of Dublin recorded that in 'The Naal', there stood, 'one old Castle with an old Hall covered with straw one Orchard one garden plott tenn tenem[en]ts Valued by ye Jury at one hundred & seaventy five poundes'(Simington 1945, 30). On these lands there also stood 'one open stone Quarry also a grove of Ashtrees set for ornament' (ibid.).
The possible bawn of Naul Castle also known as ‘The Black Castle’ was described by McDix (1896, 244) as follows; ‘The Castle is built close to a kind of rough angle formed by a turning in the rock or cliff, and a portion of a wall, or perhaps it might be called a buttress, projects from the north-east corner along the edge of the rock. This might, however, have been a portion of the external wall surrounding the bawn or yard. There appears, from the roof-pitch on the face of the north wall, that a building had been erected here against the Castle at a later date'.
Geophysical survey (Licence no. 10R0077) was undertaken in the vicinity of Naul castle (DU004-045002-). A possible curving enclosure ditch was identified which corresponds to a possible ditch and bank identified as low earthworks. The ditch may represent an enclosing feature or bawn associated with the adjacent castle. A cluster of anomalies within the enclosing ditch may also indicate archaeological activity although no clear archaeological patterns are visible (Harrison 2010, 6).

Compiled by: Christine Baker

Revised by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of revised upload: 21 February 2023

References

Harrison, D. 2010, Geophysical Survey report: Naul Village Local Area Plan, Licence Ref.10R0077. Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd. Unpublished report submitted to the National Monuments Service, Department of Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht.

Simington, R.C. (ed.) 1945 The Civil survey, AD 1654-1656. Vol. VII: county of Dublin. Dublin. Irish Manuscripts Commission.

McDix, E.R. 1896 Notes on some lesser castles in Co. Dublin. The Irish Builder, 38, 224.