County: Clare Site name: Ballyhannan Castle, Castlefergus, Quin
Sites and Monuments Record No.: CL042-059---- Licence number: 14E0203
Author: Kate Taylor
Site type: Post-medieval walls
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 538759m, N 672633m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.801211, -8.908185
Test trenching was carried out in June 2014 on a small area of land adjacent to Ballyhannan Castle, Quin, Co. Clare in advance of the construction of a boiler and plant room and a fuel store for the castle. A single test trench was excavated, 9.95m long and 2.75m wide. The trench reached a maximum depth of 0.9m at the northern end and 0.55m at the southern end, corresponding with or exceeding the formation level of the proposed development. The underlying natural geological deposits were exposed in part of the trench and were seen to be limestone bedrock outcropping through pale sand glacial till with limestone chips.
The testing identified stone walls beneath the modern ground surface at the southern end of the trench. It was not possible within the limited area of the small trench to identify the nature of the structure(s) to which the walls related or whether they were contemporary, although it is likely that some at least relate to two small structures illustrated in this location on the 1888 OS map. It is also possible that a drain flowed between two of the walls, discharging into a pit or natural hollow in the central part of the trench. The possible drain continues beneath one of the standing walls that is illustrated on the 1848 OS map, indicating that it pre-dates the mid 19th century.
Although the walls themselves cannot be directly dated, the fill of the possible drain and the various overlying deposits and dumps of rubble contained a large quantity of 18th- to 20th century domestic refuse and building demolition debris, including pottery and glass bottles, roofing slates, window glass and brick fragments. It is likely that this corner of the field was used as a dump for both household waste and also perhaps for material cleared from the site of Castlefergus House that stood to the south-west and was demolished in the early 20th century. It is also possible that material cleared from elsewhere around the castle was dumped here during renovations in the 1970s.
TVAS (Ireland) Ltd, AHISH, BALLINRUAN, CRUSHEEN, CO. CLARE
