1992:177 - THE GATEHOUSE, Fore Abbey, Westmeath

Archaeological excavation in advance of OPW conservation work took place at the 13th-century gatehouse of Fore Abbey, Co. Westmeath. The Benedictine Abbey of Fore, or Priory as it is sometimes called, is thought to have been found by one of the De Lacy's in the late 12th century. It was founded as a dependency of the Abbey of St Taurin at Evreux in Normandy, France, and is one of the only certain and substantial remains of an Anglo-Norman Benedictine House in Ireland.

Three external (nos 1-3) and 2 small internal cuttings (nos 4-5) were excavated.

Cutting 1
Located to the front, on the eastern side of the gatehouse, Cutting 1 encompassed the (blocked up) centrally placed entrance archway together with the in situ foundations of a 15th-century garderobe tower. Much had been added to the north-east corner of the gatehouse. The small village of Fore is world renowned for its 'seven wonders' one of which is the 'abbey built on a bog'; this proved to be a veritable truth! The foundations of the gatehouse were found to have been constructed upon a 0.3m-0.6m depth of natural bog. Two parallel lines of a post and wattle fence were exposed built directly upon the bog, and enclosed an area of rough gravel and stones, which was interpreted as a pathway over the obviously difficult terrain. A number of 13th-century pottery sherds together with a single bone die was recovered from this level.

This phase of activity was followed by the construction of the 13th-century gatehouse. Substantial deposits of stone and compact clays were placed over the bog and were eventually covered by a metalled surface extending out from the gatehouse in an easterly direction. This metalled surface was only identified in the area in front of the entrance archway.

In the early 15th century (AD 1423, 1428) the priory is recorded as having been raided by the O'Reillys and the O'Farrells and its buildings were incorporated into the towns fortifications. It was probably at this time that the original 13th-century entrance way was blocked up and relocated to the external, southside of the gatehouse (Cutting 2). A two storey garderobe tower was added to the north-east corner of the gatehouse and a substantial stone wall (probably a reorientation of the 13th-century precinct wall) was identified extending northwards from the garderobe tower. The garderobe was fully excavated and removed, its chute and outflow channel having been 'cleaned out' at a latter date, leaving only a stoney loam fill in situ with no trace of any organic deposits. The tower was constructed on a bed of timber piles driven into the underlying peat.

In 1815 a painting of the abbey depicts the gatehouse in a fairly ruined and dilapidated state. It is known to have been reconstructed in c. AD 1850 when a substantial stone porch was added to the front of the building and a doorway knocked through the blocked up 13th-century archway.

Cutting 2
Located to the southern side of the gatehouse, the earliest feature exposed was a stone wall constructed on a natural bog, extending south, and contemporary with the gatehouse foundation stones. This is most likely to be the remains of the 13th-century precinct wall. It was superceded by a metalled surface, bounded on the north by the gatehouse wall, and on the south by the pier of the 15th-century relocation of the arched entrance-way. The remains of the arch could be seen extending out from the upper part of the gatehouse wall, where a doorway led from the top of the gateway into the upper storey of the gatehouse.

A substantial buttress was added to the west-end of the gatehouse wall and a metalled surface related to the 19th-century occupation of the house was identified.

Cutting 3
Located on the west (back) side of the gatehouse, Cutting 3 extended for c. 9m along the gatehouse wall. Natural bog was identified over its full length, which was covered by a c. 0.2m depth of stoney, gravel and clay fill upon which a metalled surface was identified. A number of 13th-century pottery sherds were retrieved from this surface. It was superceded by a second metalled surface upon which a number of c. 19th-century outhouse buildings were constructed. There was no evidence for an archway in the gatehouse masonry on this side of the gatehouse.

Cuttings 4 and 5
These were 2 small cuttings located inside the gatehouse building. In both cases natural bog was exposed beneath a elm depth of an homogenous 19th-century clay fill, upon which a tiled floor was set. It seems most likely that the 19th-century occupant of the gatehouse relaid the internal foundations.

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