County: Wexford Site name: Barrystown
Sites and Monuments Record No.: WX045-055 Licence number: 23E0711
Author: COLM MORIARTY
Site type: 19th-century mine engine house
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 685104m, N 612297m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.255795, -6.753461
Conservation works were carried out on a 19th-century mine engine house at Barrystown, Co. Wexford in October and November 2022. The engine house dates from the 1840s and it was used to pump excess water from the mine works. It consists of a single-bay structure of a square plan that has an attached ventilation chimney. The mining complex at Barrystown is a Recorded Monument (RMP No. WX045-055). Funding for the conservation measures was supplied by the Community Monuments Fund (CMF23-1-WX003).
The works to stabilise and conserve the mine engine house involved flaunching wall-tops, filling in masonry voids, tying in free-standing masonry elements, repairing window opes, re-pointing degraded mortar joints and some rebuild. The repairs were archaeologically supervised to ensure that existing historic features were retained. The removal of vegetation, loose mortar and earth was also monitored and particular consideration was given to the possibility that small finds may have been concealed behind masonry or in crevices. However, no archaeological artefacts were identified during the course of the works. It should be noted that no sub-surface excavation occurred at the site.
The Hill, The Leap, Davidstown, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford
