2017:225 - Bremore Castle, Dublin

Bremore Castle, which is a recorded monument and protected structure (RPS No.14), is located at the end of a lane off Drogheda Street and to the west of the 19th-century Drogheda-Dublin railway line. Excavation of five trenches, concentrated within the walled garden, took place over 13 days between 14 and 28 July 2017. The Bremore Castle Big Dig 2017 was designed to address the research and knowledge gaps identified in the Bremore Castle Conservation Plan (2013): to assess the veracity of geophysical survey results undertaken by Target Surveys in 2011; to inform future restoration works of the walled garden by investigating the remains of possible garden features including paths, edging and possible tree planting pits, and to engage the local community with Bremore Castle.

Five trenches were opened as part of the excavation, four within the precinct of the walled garden and another (Trench 4) to the east of Bremore Castle. The excavation established the presence of a previously unknown ditch close to the surviving southern wall of Bremore Castle. Backfilled in the 17th century it may have been contemporary with a metalled surface which extended throughout what is now the walled garden. The veracity of the geophysical survey was confirmed in the unearthing of the indicated Victorian pathway and the interpretation of a feature as a well was clarified as a modern machine cut. In contrast to previous investigations which had found ‘no pottery dateable to earlier than the 17th century was recovered’ (Swan 1995), numerous sherd of 12th-15th-century medieval pottery, including a basal sherd of the imported Saintonge, was recorded during this excavation. However the majority of the 111 artefacts registered were post-medieval to modern in date.

Reference:

Swan, D. L. 1995, Report on site at Bremore, Co. Dublin (Excavation Licence No. 95E 183), unpublished report for Fingal County Council.

Community Archaeologist, Fingal County Council