County: Westmeath Site name: BARRADRUM
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 2:29 Licence number: 01E0173
Author: Rosanne Meenan
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 633743m, N 770318m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.681508, -7.489219
An assessment was carried out on this site, on which it was proposed to build ten dwelling-houses. The development was located in the south-east corner of Street village, south-east of the crossroads, east of the motte and north of the church and graveyard.
The manor of Street is recorded in the Pipe Roll of 14 John for the years 1211–12 under the names Manybreki and Moybrecken. The existence of a townland called ‘Burgessland’ at the north-east corner of the village suggests that there may have been a borough there in the medieval period. However, Street lay in an area of Westmeath outside strict control from Dublin to the extent that Brehon law prevailed there until the end of the 16th century. A motte (SMR 2:27) lies to the south-west of the village; a church and graveyard (SMR 2:28) lie south of the village; a site of castle (SMR 2:29) is marked on a location immediately south of the development site.
Eight trenches tested this site. Drainage features were exposed in six of the trenches. The most substantial was a box drain in Trench 3. The others were less substantial; they were cuts into the natural boulder clay and were generally filled with loose grey silty clay. Trench 7 showed evidence for the remains of an old field fence that ran east–west across the field.
None of the drainage features produced artefacts, apart from the brick chips that were present in the grey silt exposed in Trench 6.
There was no evidence to suggest that the drainage features were medieval in date.
Roestown, Drumree, Co. Meath
