House - 17th century

The National Monuments Service's description

On ground sloping to SW towards the River Tar. Field reclaimed, now lush meadow. Area adjacent to castle (TS87-006001-) was excavated prior to construction of Cork-Dublin pipeline in 1981 (Cleary 1987, 116-127). This excavation uncovered a mid-17th-century house, c. 60m N of the castle. According to the Civil Survey (1654-6) 'noe cabbins or other improvements' were present in Drumlummin (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 366), however the Hearth Tax money records for 1665 record four houses in this townland, only one of which had two hearths. The excavated house has two hearths and this evidence, together with the datable finds, suggest that this may be the house referred to in the Hearth Tax records, built between 1654 and 1665 and belonging to William Sheppard. Foundation trenches revealed a T-plan house with three rooms on a N-S axis (dims. 14m x 5.5m) and two rooms W of these (dims. 13.3m x 6m). Walls, constructed of limestone and sandstone rubble, survived three-four courses high (H 0.2-0.4m). According to the excavator the superstructure would have been in both wood and stone (1981, 119). An external rectangular paved area (dims. 4.1m x 2.7m) probably defines the main entrance immediately E of the central E room of the house. This room has the remains of a back-to-back fireplace on S wall, the second fireplace served to room immediately to S which is the only room with remains of a timber floor. The two W rooms are also divided by a double fireplace, the hearth in the most westerly room also has a circular wall oven. The foundation trench is missing along S wall of this room and it is possible that it has its own access to exterior. The only room without a fireplace, most northerly of the 'T', has no obvious internal or external entrance. Rooms without evidence of timber flooring may have had stone flags which were removed when the house fell into disuse. The clay in these rooms was not compacted enough to suggest that they had clay floors. Though no windows survive, strips of lead, including one with a fragment of yellow tinted glass, suggest that leaded glass windows were in use. No slates were found though it is probable that the house had a thatched roof. Finds included earthenware pottery of mid-17th century date, a money token dated to 1650-1660s and clay pipes falling into an early to mid-17th century date range. The house is not visible above ground.

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.

Cleary, R.M. 1987c Drumlummin, Co. Tipperary. In R.M. Cleary, M. F. Hurley and E. A. Twohig (eds), Archaeological excavations on the Cork-Dublin gas pipeline (1981-82), 116-41. Cork Archaeological Studies No. 1. Department of Archaeology. University College, Cork.