2024:599 - Walled garden, Westport Demesne, Westport, Co. Mayo, Mayo

Seven test trenches were excavated across the interior area of Westport House walled garden to investigate anomalies identified in a previous geophysical report (Dowling 23R0368), a number of features of historical interest were identified. Potentially the earliest of these features was a south-west to north-east aligned gully, 0.4m wide and 0.3m deep and sealed by a soil deposit that contained possible 18^th-century bottle glass. A wall foundation was built over the soil layer. The wall, which survives as just one course, 0.7m below the modern ground surface, is aligned north to south. It is likely that this feature represents the remains of the original eastern garden wall, pre-dating the construction of the south-eastern extension.

Several trenches were excavated to examine lines of paths indicated on historic mapping. In one case the remains of a footpath, with a drain cut through its centre, was found at a depth of 0.2m below the modern surface. The path had no surviving surface or edging, but appeared to largely be formed of gravel and clay. The drain was filled with broken stone and slate pieces and may originally have been slate capped. Another trench targeted the line of the main path through the central part of the garden, as seen on historic maps. No path surface survived in this area, however a line of stone rubble with some brick fragments and crumbs of mortar was found immediately beneath the sod in a position that corresponds with a wide geophysical survey anomaly and it is possible that the rubble was the foundation of a path that had a gravel surface.

At the north-east of the garden a trench targeted the edge of a terrace that is marked as a rectangle on some maps of the garden. The terrace, that creates a relatively flat area on a steeply sloping hillside, is clearly visible today. No structural remains were identified here, with a small gully found along the edge of the terrace. One of the trenches targeted an area of garden beds seen on historic mapping. Despite careful examination of the soil deposits, no evidence was seen of any bed layout within the 0.4m thick topsoil.

A small trench was excavated by hand in the interior of a former garden building, presumably a glass house, indicated on late 19^th- to mid-20^th-century maps. The trench was intended to examine whether any original floor survives within the structure and it is clear that there is no intact floor or internal structural elements, at least in the location of the trench.

A metal detecting survey identified only relatively modern waste.