Building

The National Monuments Service's description

Building standing on the W side of the townland boundary with Newtown recorded by James Kyle  in 2003 while carrying out an archaeological survey of the lands at Newtown and Glencullen.  Vernacular structure described by James Kyle as follows; 'A ruined rectangular structure was located 70m northeast of the modern graveyard, 60m north of old St. Patrick’s Church, adjacent to the Glencullen/Newtown townland boundary, in the former townland, just on the western edge of the ZAP. The recent histories of the Glencullen Parish 4 are somewhat conflicted regarding this structure; there was a leaflet produced in 2009 for the centenary of the modern church, which lists the location of the 18th-century Mass House in Newtown townland, something which is reinforced by the parish website, however the centenary leaflet erroneously used a picture of the southern elevation of this small rectangular structure, which is located in Glencullen townland, as a picture of the Mass House. Indeed, that error was put to rights by Phillip Maguire, the current landowner; the Mass House is located close to his farmyard in Newtown townland, on the northern side of Newtown Hill. Mr. Maguire states that the tradition around the vernacular structure in Area 1 suggests that it may be monastic in its origin.  The remains of the building represent a structure built using large, squared granite blocks which are employed as alternating quoins at the four corners, with rough coursed walls of faced granite stones and blocks forming the elevations; the northern and eastern elevations are much collapsed and remain extant only to 0.8m in max height, whilst the southern and eastern  elevations survive to 2.1m in maximum height. Internally the structure measures 3.4m (north-south) by 3.7m (east-west), with a doorway and the remains of a window at first floor level in the south facing elevation.  Internally the structure is heavily obscured by collapse, thanks in no small part to the mature elder which is growing out of the northern wall and the Hawthorn adjacent to the eastern wall, however the internal wall surfaces continue to bear signs of a surviving plaster/render to first floor level, with the various structural details such as the dual level and internal render raising this structure above that of a simple byre. The site is not recorded as an RMP nor is it currently noted in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, it is however depicted on the 1837 1st-edition Ordnance Survey mapping and the subsequent 25-inch O.S. mapping of 1910' (Kyle 2023, 23-4).  

 

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by James Kyle

References

Kyle, J. 2023 Archaeological field survey Lands at Newtown and Glencullen, Glencullen, County Dublin. Unpublished report on behalf of Deirdre Black,  Heritage Officer, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, 2 Marine Road, Dún-Laoghaire, County Dublin.