2000:0063 - CLONMONEY NORTH, Clare

An archaeological investigation was carried out in the townland of Clonmoney North in advance of the construction of the N18/N19 Ballycasey–Dromoland Road Improvement Scheme. The site was described in the EIS for the Scheme as a semi-subterranean structure, and it was further suggested that the drystone-built remains probably constituted a souterrain or a well (C. O Rahilly for Limerick County Council, 1997).

The site is located on the lower reaches of a gentle hill slope, the land falling from south to north. To the immediate north the terrain is extremely marshy and prone to flooding. A mature ash tree overhangs the structure on its southern side, forming the centrepiece of a small shady dell.

Excavation was completed over seven days in January 2000. The work revealed that the monument consisted of an irregular flight of steps leading down a gently sloping ramp onto a flagstone platform, which facilitated easy access to the water in the main body of a well. The water was fed into the well by means of a duct. A formally built rockery delimited the structure along its northern flank.

The well is approached from the east by a gently sloping ramp featuring an irregular flight of stone steps. Prior to excavation topsoil accumulation and slippage had given this feature the appearance of a sloping earthen ramp. Indeed the initial approach to the well consists of a gently sloping ramp, 1m long. This is succeeded by the irregular flight of steps covering an expanse 1.4m long. There are four steps of varying dimensions. The uppermost is roughly rectangular in shape: 0.46m long, 0.2m wide and 0.1m+ thick. The second is roughly subrectangular in shape: 0.36m long, 0.3m wide and 0.12m thick. The third is very irregular and of greater dimension on its northern side: 0.6m long, 0.4m wide, 0.08m thick. The bottom step/stone is the most substantial and regularly formed of the four stone steps: 0.6m+ long, 0.4m wide, 0.12m thick.

A firm indication of the ornamental nature of the well is evident in the neatly set arrangement of small stones that were placed along the eastern and northern flanks of this flagstone step. Those along the eastern side were set horizontally and flush with the step, while those along the northern side were set vertically and form part of the flanking wall. The horizontally set stones, in particular, would have been superfluous in a more perfunctory approach to the well.

Flagstone platform
Excavation initially exposed an irregular arrangement of loosely set rocks in the area of the platform. The presence of these rocks is problematic. They appear to be quite regularly placed but provided a very unstable footing. They also obscured a more substantial and solid arrangement of paving stones lying beneath. It is not impossible that they were a secondary, ad hoc reaction to an average water level that was higher than planned for.

The primary nature of the flagstone platform is evident in the manner in which the constituent elements are firmly bonded into the overall structure. The flagstones occupying the northern part of the platform area, for example, are undercutting the back wall. It is possible that originally there were four main flagstones in the platform area, as there is now a noticeable gap in the flagstone arrangement. The irregular arrangement of rocks (noted above) extended beyond the platform proper into the sump area of the well. The outer arrangement of rocks was firmer underfoot than the inner, loosely set rocks and thus may represent a more casually formed extension of the water drawing platform.

The well
The sump of the well was created by the digging of a roughly oval pit into the boulder clay and partially through the underlying bedrock. The bedrock is most in evidence in the southern face of the pit. Only the western and north-western flanks of the pit were subsequently faced with drystone walling. Not all of the constituent elements contributed structurally, many being mere ‘fillers’, i.e. for visual effect only.

The bottom of the well, while sloping down gently from south to north, maintains a relatively even plane. Prior to excavation the floor was covered by an accumulation of dark, rich humus up to 0.3m deep. There were surprisingly few collapsed stones in the latter fill. This observation, when considered in tandem with the lack of any vestigial indentations in the boulder clay, would seem to suggest that the sump of the well never featured a complete drystone façade. The maximum width of the sump varied from 2m (east–west) to 2.1m at the top and from 1.3m (east–west) to 1.54m at the bottom. Maximum depth attained was 1.3m.

The duct
In the north-western wall of the sump area of the well, a substantial lintel (0.54m wide, 0.18m thick and 30m+ deep?) signified the presence of an ancillary feature. Excavation revealed it to be the covering device of a stone-lined duct. The inner width of the duct was surprisingly narrow (in the region of 0.1m), as a result of the walls in the duct almost conjoining. The narrowness and constant influx of water prevented any further examination of the feature, so its full extent was not determined. The height in the visible section of the duct was 0.15m.

The rockery
The elevated area to the north of the flagstone platform and the stepped approach was occupied by a rockery. Owing to tree and scrub disturbance and debris accumulation, the precise original design of the feature could not be fully determined. The surviving evidence would suggest that, while the outer (i.e. northern) aspect of the rockery was quite casually laid down, there was a formal façade overlooking both the flagstone platform and a small terraced area flanking the stepped approach.

A number of degenerated bulbs were detected in the terrace and in the bank along the southern side of the steps. The presence of suitable flowers (such as bluebells?) would, naturally, have enhanced the visual appeal of the well. The north-eastern extremity of the rockery (i.e. to the immediate north of the outer reaches of the ramp approach) was fronted with some minor cobbling. A number of randomly placed rocks augmented the stepped approach to the well.

Discussion
When excavation commenced, the weather conditions were dry and amenable. The floor of the well, although covered with a rich, dark humus, was remarkably water-free. Indeed there were growing suspicions as to the actual working capabilities of the structure. Thirty-six hours of continuous rainfall was to dispel any lingering doubts. Not only did a body of water, on average 0.25m deep over several days, form on the floor of the sump but it also proved impossible to reduce the level of the water for more than a few minutes despite the use of a pump. The initial absence of water and its subsequent influx after the persistent downpour would seem to confirm that the presence or absence of water is totally related and dependent upon a rising (or falling) water-table as opposed to a spring.

The absence of a spring would also indicate that there was a choice in the selection of a location for the well (other than it being sited low enough on the hill slope to avail of the high water-table in the area of the marshy ground). This is probably the explanation for the central place occupied by the structure in the host field.

The presence of a landscape feature, a tree ring, in the neighbouring field to the south-west establishes that there was formal landscaping activity in the area. Local information indicates that the relevant land in Clonmoney North was part of the estate centred on Clonmoney House (located in the townland of Clonmoney West). Given the apparent relative ages of the tree ring and the tree overhanging the well, and the physical proximity of the two features, the balance of probability would suggest that these were contemporary landscaping creations. The absence of scarring and the root arrangement of the tree overhanging and embracing the sump of the well would suggest that its planting was deliberate and contemporaneous with the creation of the well. As the tree in question is a fully mature ash, it might be suggested that it is in the region of two hundred years old (Holbrook 1946).

This well is a 19th-century ornamental feature or folly, most likely constructed by the owners/ occupants of the nearby Clonmoney House.

Reference
Holbrook, A.W. 1946 A dictionary of British wayside trees (3rd edn). London.

Brehon House, Kilkenny Road, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny