Enclosure

The National Monuments Service's description

In average pasture.
Shown on the 1837 OS 6-inch map as a subrectangular area outlined by a dashed line, annotated as ‘Graveyard’; depicted on the 1919 edition as a hachured subrecatangular area, annotated as ‘Children’s burial ground’.
A slightly raised rectangular area (38.8m NNE–SSW; 37.6m WNW–ESE) defined on the NE side by a low stone bank (Wth 2-3m; int. H 0.3m; ext. H 0.45m) and on the SW and NW sides by a sod-covered stony scarp (Wth slope c. 2m; ext. H 0.9m, at NW). The SE side is incorporated into a drystone field wall; immediately inside the field wall there is a slight stony rise, possibly a remnant of the original enclosing element. A sod-covered stony rise (5m NW–SE; 2.3m NE–SW) abuts the enclosing scarp at SSW, possibly a field clearance heap. There is a break (Wth 5.8m) in the enclosing scarp at NW at the intersection of the WNW and NNE sides, and a low area (Wth 3.2m) at the E end of the NNE side; it is not clear if either of these represents an original entrance.
Approximately three quarters of the interior space is raised above exterior ground level, leaving a relatively narrow strip (Wth 8-10m) of slightly lower ground on the NE and E margins of the interior. The roughly square, elevated area (c. 21m NNE-SSW; c. 20m WNW–ESE) was used as a children’s burial ground (MA062-123002-). According to local information, there is a bullaun stone (MA062-123003-) associated with the enclosure.
Grass cover, with hawthorn bushes growing on the perimeter at S-SW and along the field wall at E. Conifers are planted in the field immediately to N.

Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 26 January 2021