2001:956 - CORBALTON HALL, Skreen, Cookstown, Meath
County: Meath
Site name: CORBALTON HALL, Skreen, Cookstown
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 38:28
Licence number: 01E0804
Author: Edward Danaher, Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd.
Author/Organisation Address: 15 Trinity Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth
Site type: House - 18th century
Period/Dating: Post Medieval (AD 1600-AD 1750)
ITM: E 697290m, N 758501m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.567380, -6.531243
An assessment was carried out on this site in advance of the construction of a two-storey extension and associated works. The site of the proposed extension is to the north-west of the existing Corbalton Hall, encompassing much of the western half of the original house. The original stone house may date from the 17th century. Three vaulted rooms as well as associated walls of the original house were incorporated into the main house (built in 1801) and are currently present underneath a paved terrace, while further walls from the original house extend beyond this area.
Five test-trenches were excavated within the site and all but one revealed archaeological stratigraphy in the form of one or more of the following: in situ structural walls, tiled and mortared floor surfaces or collapsed building rubble possibly from when it was demolished in 1970. Finds were all modern. The walls exposed in Trenches 2 and 5 are probably those of the original house, while the archaeological deposits present within Trenches 1 and 4 are probably associated with a possible later building that extended north-west/south-east from close to the north-east corner of the original house. This structure is not included in the plans for the original house but is visible from a photograph taken during the 1950s.
The development as proposed, specifically the proposed extension, will directly affect a large area of the original walls throughout the western half of the original structure. In order to facilitate the construction of the stair tower two of the vaulted rooms will have to be completely removed. Although the greatest impact on the original structure will be made by the proposed extension, other features of the proposed development, such as the new brick wall and pier along with the new avenue that runs from the front of the main house to the coach house/stable yard, are also likely to encroach upon specific areas of the above-mentioned deposits, especially those associated with Trenches 1 and 4.
Further work is due to be undertaken in 2002, including removal of the vaulted rooms and monitoring of an access route and other services.