County: Louth Site name: DARVER
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 11:96 Licence number: 97E0055
Author: Kieran Campbell
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 700454m, N 798614m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.927128, -6.470453
A residential development of twelve houses was proposed for an area of parkland on the east side of Darver Castle. The castle is a four-storey tower-house with a two-storey Regency-period house adjoining, and is located at the south-west corner of a complex of farm buildings which appear to be of 19th-century date. A two-storey gatehouse of medieval appearance stands on the entrance drive 20m south-east of the castle.
An archaeological assessment of the site was requested in advance of the planning decision. The investigations were confined to six house plots located within the clearance area required by the National Monuments Service, which extended 80m east from the boundary of the castle farmyard. The dimensions of the site were 80m east–west by 195m north–south.
Eight trenches with a total length of 185m were excavated by machine. Glacial till was exposed in the trenches at depths of 200–350mm below the surface. Post-medieval deposits of 18th/19th-century date were recorded in two trenches.
The castle and lands have since been sold and the housing development has not proceeded as yet.
6 St Ultan’s, Laytown, Drogheda, Co. Louth
