House - indeterminate date, Rathcore, Co. Westmeath

Co. Westmeath |

House

House – indeterminate date, Rathcore, Co. Westmeath

At Rathcore in County Westmeath, on a gentle east-facing slope now given over to pasture, there sit the ghostly outlines of what were once four rectangular rooms or buildings, their walls reduced to low banks of rubble stone.

The structures are arranged in a conjoined row running roughly north-north-west to south-south-east, the kind of quiet ground-level geometry that most walkers would step over without a second thought. Adding to the puzzle is a slight depression extending westward from one of the house sites, its purpose entirely unknown.

What makes the site particularly layered is its setting within a moated enclosure. A moat in this context is not a castle feature but a type of medieval enclosed farmstead, typically consisting of a raised platform surrounded by a water-filled or dry ditch, used by landowning families across Ireland from roughly the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries. The house remains here occupy the interior of precisely such an enclosure. Whether the rubble-stone buildings belong to that same medieval period or represent something earlier or later is not established; the date is recorded simply as indeterminate. The four conjoined areas suggest a domestic complex of some kind, perhaps a main dwelling alongside ancillary structures, though the evidence on the ground does not resolve the question.

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 House – indeterminate date, Rathcore, Co. Westmeath. 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