Bawn

The National Monuments Service's description

On a relatively flat plain, with land rising gently to the N and NE and a hill rises behind Meldrum House c. 400m to the E. The Civil Survey (1654-6) describes 'a good stone house with a bawne about it' in Meldrum where 'James Sall of Moeldrom Esqr Irish Papist' was the proprietor in 1630 (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 226). The building (TS061-056001-) marked as 'Meldrum Castle' on the OS 6-inch maps appears to be the stone house described in the Civil Survey. According to the OS letters (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 1, 110 (295)) the remains of the house were 'surrounded by a trench ten feet [3m] wide and four feet [1.2m] deep'. On an aerial photograph (CUCAP 19 July 1971, BGO 18) the outline of a rectangular bawn is clearly visible, possibly as a cropmark. This bawn, possibly a moat, ran E-W c. 20m N of the house and c. 40m S of the house and ran N-S c. 10m E and W of the house, providing an overall diam. of c. 70m N-S and c. 40m E-W. No visible trace of the bawn (TS061-056002-) survives at ground level. A deep modern field drain appears to cut through the area of the SW angle of the bawn. On the 1st (1840) ed. OS 6-inch map a watercourse is show running in a south-easterly direction from an area which corresponds with the S line of the bawn or moat and runs into a stream which runs in a north-easterly direction.

Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Date of upload: 26 August 2011

References

Simington, R.C. (ed.) 1931 The Civil survey, AD 1654-1656. Vol I: county of Tipperary: eastern and southern baronies. Dublin. Irish Manuscripts Commission.

O'Flanagan, Rev. M. (Compiler) 1930 Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Tipperary collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1840. Bray.