Water mill - unclassified

The National Monuments Service's description

Standing on the N bank of the Camoge River 650m NW of Monasteranenagh Cistercian Abbey (LI031-050004-). Two eel-weirs (LI031-125001/002-) are located 70m to SW and 45m to S respectively. Depicted as a rectangular structure on the 1840 ed. OSi 6-inch map where it is annotated ‘Mill (in Ruins)’. Annotated ‘Creamery’ on the 1897 ed. OSi 25-inch map. According to Westropp (1889, 238) this mill may have stood on the site of the original medieval Abbey Mill. The 1654-56 Civil Survey of Limerick recorded that Lady Anne Southwell was the owner in Monasteranenagh of, ‘half a plow[lan]d w[i]th a mill seate and an Eele weare [LI035-125002-]’ (Simington 1938, 371).
The watermill depicted standing parallel to the Camoge River on the 1840 ed. OSi 6-inch map was converted into a creamery in the second half of the 19th century. The creamery was surveyed by the ASI in 2007 and described as a detached seven-bay four-storey structure constructed of roughly dressed limestone with dressed quoins. Extensions have been added to the north and south. The square headed openings at 4th floor level are blocked-up while elsewhere some have red brick voussoirs and limestone sills. The building has a pitched corrugated-iron roof. The mill race has been filled-in and the mill wheel removed to Croom village. Creamery described by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) as a; ‘Detached seven-bay four-storey creamery, built c. 1880, with recent extensions to front (north) elevation, rear (south) elevation and abutting shed to west elevation. Pitched corrugated-iron roof. Roughly-dressed limestone walls with dressed quoins’ (www.buildingsofireland.ie; NIAH Reg. No. 21903103).
Monitoring was undertaken by Rose Cleary under licence no. 02E1460 (Cleary 2002) the results of which were summarised as follows; ‘A proposed house development adjacent to a mill and mill-race required monitoring during the groundworks stage. The site is on the north-east side of the zone of archaeological potential surrounding the mill and mill-race. No archaeological features or finds were uncovered’ (Cleary 2004, 339). The mill building is now occupied by a creamery visible on OSi orthophoto taken between 2005-12 and on Google Earth orthoimage dated 14/02/2020.

Compiled by: Martin Fitzpatrick

Date of upload: 1 April 2021

References

Simington, R.C. (ed.) 1938 The civil survey, AD 1654-1656. Vol. IV: county of Limerick, with a section of Clanmaurice barony Co. Kerry. Dublin. Irish Manuscripts Commission.

Cleary, R. 2002 Report on Archaeological Monitoring at Monaster North, Meanus, County Limerick. Unpublished report (licence 02E1460) submitted to Duchas.

Cleary, R. 2004 Monaster North, No archaeological significance. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 2002: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 339, No. 1232. Bray. Wordwell.