2012:128 - 128. Bellaghy Bawn, Bellaghy, Derry

The Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork was contacted by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency to monitor the invasive groundworks associated with the installation of drainage pipes at Bellaghy Bawn, Bellaghy Co. Derry. Bellaghy Bawn is located south of the town of Bellaghy, approximately 0.5km from its centre. The bawn is a state care monument, having been acquired by the NIEA during the late 1980s. A series of archaeological excavations took place within the bawn prior to its refurbishment. The construction of the bawn began in 1619 following the allocation of the area to the Vintners’ Company during the Ulster Plantation. The bawn and plantation town are depicted in a map drawn by Raven in 1622, and shows a square bawn with two large towers at diagonally opposite corners (Jope 1960, 108; Donnelly 1997, 116). The bawn was taken over and subsequently damaged during the rebellion of 1641, but was reoccupied in the late 17th century (see Nick Brannon’s report in Excavations 1989, No. 15). The occupation of the bawn carried on continuously until the monument came into state care in 1987 (Donnelly 1997, 117). On the whole, the bawn survives today as a ‘complex, multi-period monument’ with the original early 17th-century features visible alongside 18th- and 19th-century additions and modifications’ (ibid, 116).

Trench One was located adjacent to the exterior of the eastern wall of the bawn, running north-south between the upstanding turret and the ‘doctor’s house’. The trench was manually excavated to aid the installation of a drainage pipe, and measured 3m in length (north-south) by 0.3m and had a maximum depth of 0.4m. A single deposit of light to mid brown sandy loam was encountered which produced sherds of 19th- or 20th-century ceramics. Nothing of archaeological significance was encountered in this trench, which was backfilled following the installation of the drainage pipe.

Trench Two was aligned north-south and was positioned parallel to the upstanding remains of the western wall of the bawn, in an area that that had previously undergone archaeological excavation by Nick Brannon following the acquisition of the site by the State in the late 1980s. The trench measured approximately 13m in length (north-south) by 0.5m and had a maximum depth of 1m. At the northern end of the trench, it turned to the west for 3m to allow the runoff of water from the drainage pipe. A simple stratigraphic sequence was encountered during the excavation of this trench which consisted of a single deposit of mixed greyish brown sandy loam. This deposit was interpreted as representing the backfill from the 1980’s excavation and artefacts recovered included small fragments of animal bone, shell and plastic.

The east-west return of the service trench was located at the northern end and measured approximately 3m (east-west) by 0.5m. Excavation of this portion of the trench revealed a brick and mortar wall that followed the line of the upstanding remains of the bawn wall. This wall comprised of red handmade bricks bonded with a whitish buff mortar and survived to a depth of six courses. At the northern end of this wall it appeared to be bonded into another brick wall that was orientated south-west/north-east. It is postulated that this latter wall represents the remains of the circular turret that is depicted on Raven’s map of 1622. As these walls were deemed to be archaeologically significant as construction elements of the bawn, they were left in situ. No finds or other features of an archaeological nature were encountered in this trench, which was backfilled following the installation of the drainage pipe.

References
Donnelly, C., 1997. Living Places: Archaeology, Continuity and Change at Historic Monuments in Northern Ireland. Institute of Irish Studies, Queen’s University Belfast.
Jope, E. M., (1960) ‘Moyry, Charlemont, Castleraw and Richill: Fortification to Architecture in the North of Ireland 1570-1700’ Ulster Journal of Archaeology Vol. 23 1960 97-123.

Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork, School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen’s University Belfast, BT7 1NN