House - medieval

The National Monuments Service's description

Roughly mid-way along the S side of Main St, Fethard. The building was constructed on a slope, with the ground falling steadily to the S towards the Clashawley River. The building consists of a five-bay two-storey house over basement (int. dims. 13.46m E-W; 5.44m N-S; wall T 0.8m). An extension runs the length of the façade at ground level and currently houses the Post Office. There is a chimney stack on each gable. There is an angle fireplace, a late 17th/early 18th-century feature, in the SW angle on all three floor levels. The angle fireplace at basement level has a splayed recess (H 1.13m; Wth 0.7m), possibly a blocked loop, in the S wall, 0.53m from the W gable. There are a number of small blocked-up windows at basement level. The building has several features in common with the medieval house (TS070-040021-) to the E. It is likely that the basement was originally the ground floor, perhaps entered from the rear, as was the medieval house to the E. It is also on the same building line as that house, which is recessed from the present street line (O'Keeffe 1995, 71). These similarities, together with its wall thickness, suggest that this building may be late medieval in date.

Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Date of upload: 29 April 2015

References

O'Keeffe, T. 1995 Fethard, Co. Tipperary: an archaeological and historical survey. Unpublished report for The National Heritage Council.