Sweathouse

The National Monuments Service's description

Located on a gentle SE-facing slope c. 50m N of a SW-flowing stream and built into a field wall which is still extant. It is marked only on the Cassini edition of the OS 6-inch map c. 100m NE of a house, and may still survive.
Recorded by G. Burns in 1992 as ‘intact’ (Wth. 1.7m; entrance H 0.5m; W 0.4m; D 0.9m) and confirmed when revisited by J. Bolton in 2005. Surveyed in 2022 by the Leitrim Sweathouse Project (A. Harte), where it was found heavily overgrown but otherwise relatively intact. The roof was collapsed inwards filling much of the circular chamber (int. diam. 1.56m) - not a basal measurement because of collapsed material – and the chamber was constructed of coursed rubble masonry which corbeled inwards at a height of 0.8m. An infilled entrance opens to WSW (H 0.3m; W 0.48m; D 0.55m).

See attachments:
• LE018-075----_1 Photo of well-preserved entrance in 1992. G. Burns
• LE018-075----_2 Photo of partially blocked entrance in 2022. A. Harte

The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Leitrim' compiled by Michael J. Moore (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2003). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Revised by: Gearóid Conroy

Date of revision: 21 November 2022