Enclosure, Milltown, Co. Kilkenny

Co. Kilkenny |

Enclosures

Enclosure, Milltown, Co. Kilkenny

In a field near Milltown in County Kilkenny, the landscape holds a shape that does not quite fit the logic of ordinary agricultural boundaries.

A D-shaped enclosure, roughly 43 metres along its northwest to southeast axis and 38 metres across, sits partially absorbed into a field boundary, its straight western side stretching about 35 metres. That geometric precision, a flat edge on one side and a curved arc on the other, is a hallmark of early enclosures found across Ireland, where such forms often indicate the remains of a ringfort or ecclesiastical enclosure, both typically defined by an earthen bank and ditch encircling a domestic or ceremonial interior.

What makes the Milltown example particularly interesting is the contrast between what the ground shows now and what older maps recorded. The 1900 revision and the 25-inch Ordnance Survey map depict a somewhat different picture: a subrectangular area, smaller at approximately 30 metres by 18 metres, enclosed on its northern, eastern, and southern sides by a band of trees between five and ten metres wide. The trees appear to have been following, or perhaps preserving, the line of an older earthwork, while the western side was left open or had already been lost. Over the intervening decades the enclosure has been partially incorporated into working field boundaries, which is a common fate for such features across the Irish midlands and southeast, where centuries of tillage and land reorganisation have quietly dismantled or reoriented ancient earthworks without entirely erasing them.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Enclosure, Milltown, Co. Kilkenny. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement