2003:0062 - FARNHAM HOUSE, Farnham, Cavan

Monitored testing took place at Farnham House, Co. Cavan, during December 2003, in advance of development for hotel accommodation, a conference centre and related features. The site lies in a rolling, drumlin landscape, between 200 and 400ft, and consists of a mixture of pasture, parkland and forest plantation surrounding Farnham House and its associated outbuildings. These range in date from the 18th to the end of the 20th century. A possible ‘bawn’ castle of the early 17th century is believed to be the earliest surviving feature of the site. However, it has been covered in ‘pebble dash’ facing and, at this time, any comments as to its original form are speculative. After 1713, John Maxwell, 1st Baron Farnham, built a house on the site, which was incorporated into a house of c. 1780 designed by James Wyatt. This was a three-storey structure over a concealed basement. Both of these portions of the house were pulled down during the 1960s. The only surviving portion of this phase is the portico, which was moved to the north-east face of the surviving building. Around 1802 Francis Johnson extended the original buildings, which still stand.

Twenty trenches were placed across the foundations of the demolished house and throughout the environs of the associated yards and outbuildings. The majority of these produced evidence of 19th-century drainage and garden features. Two trenches (H and I) were placed across the area of the 18th-century house. Evidence for brick-built walls and vaulted passages was discovered, along with a flight of steps, interpreted as the original servants’ entrance into the house from the Dairy Yard. Larger-scale excavation is planned for early 2004.

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