Castlearchdale, County Fermanagh; Archaeological Report

2.3.1 Introduction

2.3.1.1 Location
The forest site is located approximately 20km north-west of Enniskillen on the eastern shore of Lower Lough Erne, Co. Fermanagh (Figure 1).

2.3.2 Receiving Environment

2.3.2.1 Placenames
County
Fermanagh or in Irish "Fear Manach" so called from the tribe of Fir-Monach, (O' Dugan), 'the men of Monach', who were originally a Leinster tribe, so named from their ancestor, Monach, fifth in descent from Caluvmore, monarch of Ireland from A.D. 120 to 123 (Joyce 1856, 23).

Townland
Drumpeen: no placename derivation could be sourced for this townland. However, "Drum" meaning "a hill-ridge"; is the anglicised forms of "Druim" and "Drumman" (Joyce 1995ed., 23).

Barony
Lurg; meaning "a track": sometimes it is merely shortened from Lurga meaning "a shin" or "long hill", "a long strip of land" (Joyce 1995ed., 492).

Parish
Derryvullan: no placename derivation found. However, 'Derry' or in Irish 'doire' meaning 'oak grove'.

2.3.2.2 Topography
The topography of the site comprises:
(i) gently rolling dry land.

2.3.2.3 Cartographic Sources
An analysis of Ordnance Survey maps from the early nineteenth century to date gives a picture of the development of the townland over time. No Down Survey map (circa 1656) was available for this county.

The first edition Ordnance Survey map (1834) provides good detail on the townland of Drumpeen and the surrounding district (Figure 3). The townland contains 88 acres and shows no recognisable field plots or apparent houses within the townland. There is no visible forested land evident on the map except in the north-eastern corner where two small rectilinear portions are evident. To the north-east and east two old laneways or roads are shown which do not lead to any building or feature. The pathways exit onto the road north of Lisnarrick village. Some buildings are evident fronting onto this road. The northern portion of Drumpeen is divided by an east-west running road with a building located on the southern side of the road to the west. To the north-west of the road an area of wet ground is denoted on the map.

Lisnarrick village to the east of the forest site appears well laid out in 1834. There is a triangular junction in the centre of the village with houses fronting onto the main streets to the south-west, north and south-east. The houses all exhibit gardens to the rear of the properties. The back-gardens on the south-west are particularly well laid out and form rectilinear plots running in an east-west direction. The gardens have been laid out in beds with a circular ornamental, raised bed noted in one back garden to the south-west. SMR FE173:013 is visible to the north of the forest site, represented by a circular enclosure which is fully planted by trees. SMR FE173:014 is visible to the east outside Lisnarrick village and both SMR FE173:054 and FE173:017 are evident to the south-east if Lisnarrick village.

Bunaninver townland to the north of Drumpeen townland containes 213 acres 3 roods and 21 perches. Castle Archdale house is located in the northern portion of the townland with a tree-lined avenue running north-west south-east through the centre of the townland towards the house, defined as "Castle (in ruins)" on the map. Portions of this townland show densely forested land to the north-west and to the south-west while a lightly forested area forms the south-western corner of Bunaninver townland where it adjoins Drumpeen townland. A tree-lined circle is evident directly north of the northern boundary of Drumpeen townland. Its shape is peculiar given there is no building within the area only SMR FE173:013 in the north-west quadrant. Bunaninver townland has been laid out in field plots, some of which are rectilinear in plan.

The townland of Ballymactaggart is located to the west of Drumpeen and south-west of Bunaninver. It contains 122 acres and 14 perches. A lightly forested area is evident bordering Drumpeen townland to the east while more densely forested areas are located in the north-west of the townland. "Ballymactaggart Fort" is clearly shown (SMR FE173:026) in the south-west quadrant of the townland. Drummonaghan townland is located to the south-west of Drumpeen. The townland contains 95 acres and 38 perches and has been subdivided into large sub-rectangular field plots with a cluster of houses located almost centrally within it. The south-west corner of the townland shows wet ground but there is no evidence of forested land in the townland. Drumarky townland is located to the south-eastern of Drumpeen. The northern portion of the townland is divided by a road running north-east south-west. There is no forested land directly adjoining Drumpeen but to the south-west there is a line of trees just north of the road. In the north-west corner of Drumarky where it adjoins Drummonaghan and Drumpeen is an area called "Old Dam" which represents a reservoir of some sorts on the map.

The third edition Ordnance Survey map (1909), the townland of Drumpeen shows some subdivision and containes 87 acres 2 roods and 21 perches (Figure 4). The townland is divided into two halves with some rectilinear field plots in the south-east corner close to Lissnarrick village. Traces of a pathway or trail is clearly evident running north-west south-east centrally through the townland. The northern half of the townland shows a right-angled, linear, tree-lined avenue running off from the trail. A portion of the avenue runs parallel to the pathway and then turns in a north-east south-west direction. It leads to a large square shaped building with outbuildings in the north-east corner of the townland. This building is located on the southern side of the roadway identified in the 1st edition map (1834) which divides the northern portion of the townland. The area to the north-west of this roadway

appears lightly wooded in 1909. The area flanking the road north of Lisnarrick has developed with further areas portioned off into rectilinear field plots.

A portion of Drumarky townland where it adjoines Drumpeen to the north is lightly wooded. This area is off-square in plan and a line of trees are denoted running from the north-east corner in a north easterly direction away from Drumpeen townland. Ballymactaggart townland to the west is now densely forested throughout where it adjoines Drumpeen. Likewise Bunaninver townland to the north is more densely wooded throughout as are areas along the borders of Drumpeen townland by 1909. The townland of Drummonaghan to the south-west of Drumpeen is as yet unforested in 1909.

2.3.2.4 History
"The 'Fir Manach' or men of Fermanagh are thought to have reached the Upper Lough Erne before the southern invasion had begun. They hailed from Leinster. According to one story, they killed Eanna, the king's son, and had to leave. They moved north, searching for somebody to take them in. In Ulster, the clan split in two. One group came north-west, entered the county from the east and settled along the north shore of the lake. It is probable that Lisnaskea was the centre of their settlement. From here they ruled their small kingdom and gave it the name: Fir Manach, 'the men of Manach'. Fermanagh came into existence thus. Moreover, north of the lake, the Fir Lurg, an Oriel tribe, had taken over the modern barony of Lurg. Other Oriel families began to move south from Clogher. At the coming of Christianity, Fermanagh was partly independent, partly under the Oriel tribes and partly under Connaught influence" (Livingstone 1969, 6).

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the effects of the Ulster Plantations were seen. By 1610 the plan for planting Fermanagh was ready. Conor Rua was to be given most of Magherasteffany. The remainder of the county was to be given to three different kinds of land-owners:
(i) English and Scottish 'undertakers'; so called because of their undertakings.
(ii) Servitors; British army men who had served in Ireland.
(iii) Native Irish 'undertakers'.

English undertakers were primarily granted the barony of Lurg. Estates were generally of three sizes: (i) 2,000 acres (ii) 1,500 acres and (iii) 1,000 acres. An 'acre' was described as 'an acre of arable land and multiplied by five', according to the Plantation documents (Livingstone 1969, 63-64).

There were various conditions on which each landowner was granted his estate. 'It was intended that each estate would be a new social and defensive unit. It was to form a parish. The centre of the estate was the manor, a castle surrounded by a wall. Nearby was to be a village where some of the planters' followers could live. Each landlord was to train a number of men to defend the manor. The landlord was to build a church and he himself was to hold court twice a year. The foreign undertakers got their lands for one and one third d. per acre per annum rent. Those who got two thousand acres had to build a strong castle and a bawn around it. Those who got 1,500 and 1,000 acres had to build a strong house surrounded by a bawn. They could take in only British tenants who had to take the Oath of Supremacy. They had to keep a number of armed men and review them twice a year. The landowners

also had to reside in their estates for the first five years' (Livingstone 1969, 64-65).

"West of Tirkennedy and still north of Lough Erne lies the Barony of Lurg. It contains the modern villages of Irvinestown, Ederney, Kesh and Belleek. In later times three main families emerged to control the barony-the Archdales, the Irvines and the Caldwells (later Bloomfields). One English undertaker, Sir John Archdale from Suffolk was granted, in 1612, the 1,000 acre estate of Tallanagh. He was a planter and quickly built a three storied house and a bawn. He had a watermill, two villages and six freeholders when Pynnar visited in 1619. Soon Archdale added the adjoining estate of Dowrosse, with the village of Lissnarick, to his own, and as the years passed the Irish grew fewer on all these lands" (Livingstone 1969, 71-72).

Archdale or Archdall are considered one of Fermanagh's notable families since the Plantation period. The name appears as one of the families of Staffordshire during the War of the Roses. In the 1530s a John Archdale was bailiff of Stafford Borough. His second son, Martin, became merchant in the parish of Barking-by-the-Tower, London, and he also bought a number of estates. Martin's eldest son, John, was born in 1578 and became Master of Abbott's Hall, Darsham. He sold his estate and came to Ireland, having obtained a grant of Manor Archdale in the Ulster Plantation, dated July 13th 1612. He reached Fermanagh in 1614 and began the Archdale family in the county. Castlearchdale derives its name from a castle, now in ruins and built in 1617 on Castle Hill, townland of Bunaninver by John Archdale of Suffolk. The present house was built by Colonel M. Archdale in 1775 (McKay P. 1999, 37). John built Castle Archdale in 1617 and added to his estate considerably, by purchasing land from some of the other planters. He was high sheriff of Fermanagh in 1616 and died in 1621.

John's son, Edward, succeeded him and held the estates during the Rising of 1641. At this time Castle Archdale was burned and all Edward's children were killed except William who was saved by an Irish nurse. William added to the Archdale property, purchasing Kiltierney, Killadeasa, Ballymactaggart and Lisgoole. William married Elizabeth, a daughter of Sir Henry Mervyn, the Trillick landlord. He fled the country during the Williamite Wars when Castle Archdale was again destroyed. William was succeeded in turn by three of his family, Mervyn (1722-1726), Edward (1726-1728) and Angel.

Mervyn was high-sheriff in 1714 and was reputed to be a 'priest-hunter'. Edward held the estates for only two years when Angel succeeded. She married Nicholas Montgomery, who became an Archdale and added his own property at Derrybrusk and Derrygonnelly to the Archdale possessions. Nicholas ruled the property from 1728 until Angel's death in 1745. Nicholas represented Fermanagh in the Dublin Parliament from 1731 to 1760. His son, Colonel Mervyn, held the Archdale estates from 1745 to 1813. In 1776 he inherited the Mervyn estates at Trillick. In 1773 he laid the foundations of the modern Castle Archdale. He died in 1813 and was succeeded by his two sons, General Mervyn and William. General Mervyn was first to hold the estates followed by William. They had a younger brother Edward whose son, Capt. Mervyn succeeded to the family estates in 1857 and he held them until his death. From the 33,015 acres in the Archdale possession ha had an annual income of £17,000. His brother William Humphrey, succeeded him in 1895.

William Humphrey's nephew, Edward Archdale, held the estate between 1899 and 1916. Edward sold the estate to tenants in 1906. Edwards's brother, William Blackwood, had a son, Henry Blackwood, who ruled the family estates until his death in 1939. He in turn was succeeded by his cousin Mervyn" (Livingstone 1969, 447-448). Castlearchdale was the location of an RAF base in World War II.

Lewis gives an accurate account of the parish as follows:
"Derryvullan, a parish, partly in the barony of Tyrkennedy, but chiefly in that of Lurg, county of Fermanagh, and province of Ulster, on the road from Enniskillen to Kesh; contains with the post-town of Irvinestown, 10,646 inhabitants. This parish comprises according to the Ordnance Survey (including islands and detached portions), 23,645 and three quarters statue acres, of which 15,070 ad three quarters are in the barony of Lurg; 2,576 and one quarter acres are in Lower Lough Erne, and 571 in small loughs. It is in six detached parts, which are severally on the roads from Enniskillen to Pettigoe, Lisnaskea, Tempo, Ballynamallard and Irvinestown, and from Maguire's-bridge to Florence-Court: this last portion includes part of Ennismore island, half of which is in this parish and the remainder in Cleenish. The land is of middling quality, and the state of agriculture is improving; the arable land is estimated to comprise 12,000 acres and there are 500 acres of bog. The gentlemen's seats are Castle Archdall, the residence of Gen. Archdall; Rosfad, of J. Richardson Esq; Doraville, of Capt. H. Irvine; and Riverstown, of C. Archdall, Esq. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Clogher, and in the patronage of the Provost and Fellows of Trinity College, Dublin: the tithes amount to £606.8.9 and three quarters. There is a glebe house, with a glebe of 600 acres. The church is at Irvinestown, and there is a chapel of ease on the road from Enniskillen to Lisnaskea. In the Roman Catholic divisions the parish is partly in the union or district of Enniskillen, and partly the head of a district, called Whitehall; it contains three plain chapels at Lisson, Whitehall and Lissaroe. The Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists have each a place of worship. The parochial school-house was given by the Earl of Belmore; there are also eight other schools, in which circa 460 boys and 300 girls are educated; circa 270 boys and 140 girls are taught in nine private schools, and there are five Sunday schools" (Lewis 1837, 455).

The Irvine family had small beginnings in Fermanagh. The progenitor, Christopher, came as a tenant with Thomas Barton who got the estate of Drumumshyn. Barton also bought Neckarney. Both these estates passed into the hands of Gerard Lowther. A second Sir Gerard Lowther bought Dowrosse in 1630 and leased all to Christopher Irvine in 1632. The Rosguire estate passed into Lowther's hands too and all four were Irvine property after 1667.

In general, these lands were quickly planted. At the time of the surveys the village of Irvinestown had begun to appear. Lowther's bawn was a large one and the modern Irvinestown then held 10 British families. Several English had arrived to begin a clothes factory,. There were still Irish on the estate but there was a nucleus of hard-working tenants.

The Blennerhassetts had been granted two estates in the west of the barony and the total stretched from Belleek to the River Bannagh, including Kesh, Ederney, Pettigo, Boa Island and Belleek itself. Thomas Blennerhassett built Creevish Castle near Kesh. He built Kesh itself and brought in some English.

In 1624, however, he had still 95 Irish tenants. Francis Blennerhassett built Castlecaldwell, in 1622 a village of 8 houses and a mill. The territory eventually fell to the Caldwell family and later to J.C. Bloomfield" (Livingstone 1969, 71-72).

Castle Archdale house is located to the west of the forest site. Castlearchdale according to Bence-Jones is " a noble house of 1773 on the shore of Lough Erne, built by Colonel Mervyn Archdale to replace a "Plantation Castle" originally built by John Archdale in 1615. It is three storeys over a basement; six bay entrance front with a two bay break front centre; tripartite doorway with ionic pilasters, entablature and pediment, the latter breaking forwards on two Ionic columns to form a porch, which appears to have been a subsequent alteration. The three bay side elevation, the bottom storey of which has venetian windows with gothic astragals in its outer bays. The building is boldly rusticated" (Bence-Jones 1988, 61).

2.3.2.5 Folklore
No material was revealed during an examination of The Department of Irish Folklore archive in UCD.

2.3.3 Field Inspection

2.3.3.1 The field survey area of this forest consists of an 11 hectare area of a much larger forest including both planted conifers and semi-natural deciduous woodland. The forest is located north-west of Enniskillen and extends east from the shores of Lough Erne. The study area was walked in its entirety and consists of mature coniferous plantation (Plate 5) and newly planted deciduous trees. No archaeological sites were identified within the survey area. No field walls or vernacular buildings were located during the survey.

2.3.3.2 New Sites
While no new sites were located within the study area, the surrounding forest contains a number of recorded archaeological sites and sites of interest. One site of interest, Castle Archdale house, located to the west of the forest, was visited on the day of survey (Plates 6 and 7).

2.3.4 Desk Study

2.3.4.1 The Recorded Monuments (Figure 2)
The Sites and Monuments record (SMR) of Dúchas-The Heritage Service, Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands refers to the following sites within and in the environs of Castlearchdale Woodland, County Fermanagh.

From the 6" Ordnance Survey maps, a list of the archaeological sites and their proximity to the woodland site was compiled.

SMR No. Distance to Castlearchdale Woodland Site Type
FE173:013 75m NW Tree Ring
FE173:064 30m W Church (site of)
FE173:026 600m SW Rath
FE173:014 200m E Rath
FE173:054 300m SE Graveyard
FE173:017 400m SE Platform Rath

There are no recorded archaeological monuments within Castle Archdale Woodland.

Within the environs of Castle Archdale Woodland the following SMR sites are recorded:

SMR No. FE173:013
Townland Bunaninver
Barony Not Indicated
Site Type Tree Ring (Remains of)
NGR H 1888 5932
Height O.D. 100 feet OD
Description The site appears on all editions of the Ordnance Survey maps. The site is located on top of a low ridge 1.3km NE of Castle Archdale. It is shown as a tree-ring on the 1835 and 1839 editions of the Ordnance Survey edition maps, but marked as an antiquity on the current Irish Grid map. This enclosure remains as a circular, rush-covered, domed interior 35m in diameter. Slight traces of an enclosing bank and outer ditch survived but were too faint for measurement. Large tree-trunks scattered about the interior indicated the use of the enclosure as a landscaping feature. On a subsequent visit it was discovered that the enclosure had been destroyed by ploughing and reseeding, although a dark patch of grass at the south-east indicated the ditch there was 2.50m wide.
Classification C
Area of Interest 30m
Distance 75m NW

SMR No. FE173:064
Townland Ballymactaggart
Barony Not Indicated
Site Type Church (Site of)
NGR Not Indicated
Height O.D. Not indicated
Description Church, site of, unlocated. Townland now mainly forested, the chapel is listed in early seventeenth century sources and shown on 1609-1610 map.
References "The church or chapel of Ballymactaggart stood on the eastern shore of Lower Lough Erne about one quarter of a mile due east of Davy's Island. No trace of this island now exists, but until about twenty years ago a few of the stones still lay on the site. It was probably still in use at the beginning of the seventeenth century, and was most likely served by a vicar appointed either by the Augustinian Canons or by the Rector of Derryvullan, in which parish it lay, and for the northern part of which it probably served as a chapel-of-ease" (Lowry-Corry 1919, 224).
Classification C
Area of Interest 100m
Distance 30m W

SMR No. FE173:026
Townland Drumaran
Barony Not Indicated
Site Type Rath
NGR H 1857 5818
Height O.D. 200 feet OD
Description Located immediately east of the summit of a high ridge overlooking a stream which forms the townland boundary, and commanding a good view of the surrounding hilly pasture. Designated 'Drumaran fort' on the 1908 Ordnance Survey edition map and the current 3rd edition Ordnance Survey map. The interior of this rath is oval measuring 27m N-S by 33.50m E-W and slopes gradually down to the south-east. It is enclosed by a well preserved bank and an outer ditch. The bank is 8.20m wide, 1.40m above the interior and 2.20m above the ditch which is 7m wide and 1m deep. The original entrance was probably at the east where there is a 1.40m wide gap in the bank adjoined by a 6.50m wide causeway across the ditch. The site is scheduled under the Historic Monuments Act (NI) 1971.
Classification C
Area of Interest 30m
Distance 600m SW

SMR No. FE173:014
Townland Coolist
Barony Not Indicated
Site Type Rath
NGR H 1953 9886
Height O.D. 200 feet OD
Description Located immediately north of Lisnarrick village on a ledge on a lower south-west facing slope of a high ridge, overlooking a steep ravine to the south and south-east. This sub-circular rath with diameters 34m N-S by 37m E-W, is formed by an earthen bank running along the ravine edge at the south. The bank is 8m wide, stands 2.30m above the interior and 4m above the surrounding land. There are no visible traces of a ditch. The original entrance is at the east where there is a 5m wide gap in the bank. A gap in the bank at the north-west is modern. The rath has been slightly damaged along the north-west edge by the widening of a farm lane. It is scheduled under the Historic Monuments Act (NI) 1971.
The site is overgrown by rabbits. The main threat to this site is not the rabbits but along the north-west edge a 'scarping' has been removed from the outside edge of the platform/bank to improve the access on this farm lane. It is not a significant piece of damage but continuous nibbling might be a problem in the future.
Classification C
Area of Interest 30m
Distance 200m E

SMR No. FE173:054
Townland Drumshane
Barony Not Indicated
Site Type Graveyard
NGR H 1973 5863
Height O.D. 200 feet OD
Description Located in improved grassland on top of a gradual south facing slope of a hill overlooking the townland boundary immediately to the south and 200m south-east of the centre of Lisnarrick village. Designated 'G.Yd' on the current Ordnance Survey map and listed by Lowry-Corry 1919 in her Table II as 'an ancient graveyard measuring approximately 40m N-S by 36m E-W which is enclosed by a modern wall'. The graveyard contains a large number of gravestones dating from the 18th century to the 20th century. There are no visible remains of an earlier enclosing element or of any architectural fragments, nor is there anything apparent to indicate that this is the site of an ancient graveyard.
Small rectangular walled graveyard well maintained by FDC. Contains 18 to 20 gravestones. Surrounding field is level ground which breaks slope at the graveyard and falls quietly away to the south. No visible indications of an enclosing bank or ditch.
Classification C
Area of Interest 100m
Distance 300m SE

SMR No. FE173:017
Townland Drumshane
Barony Not Indicated
Site Type Platform Rath
NGR H 1981 5858
Height O.D. 200 feet OD
Description Located in good pasture on the top of a hillock, 300m SE of Lisnarrick village and adjacent to a road which forms the townland boundary. This largely destroyed rath survives as an oval platform standing 0.70m high and measuring 28.50m N-S by 37m E-W. It is enclosed by traces of an outer ditch 4.50m wide and 0.30m deep. The original entrance may have been at the south-east where there is a very gradual outward slope from the interior.
Classification C
Area of Interest 30m
Distance 400m SE

2.3.4.2 Desk study revealed no archaeological sites within the forest site while six known archaeological sites are recorded in its environs.

2.3.4.3 Stray finds
The Topographical Files of the National Museum of Ireland were examined in which all stray finds are provenanced to townland. The following is a list of the townlands within and in the environs of Castlearchdale forest.

Townland Proximity to Forest
Drumpeen Within
Coolisk Adjacent to East
Lisnarrick Adjacent to South-East
Drumarky To South
Drummonaghan Adjacent to South-West
Bunaninver Adjacent to North-West
Shallany To North-East
Caranbo To East

There were no stray finds recorded from the townland within which the forest is located. In addition there are no stray finds recorded from adjacent and surrounding townlands in the vicinity of Castlearchdale forest site.

2.3.5 Predicted Impacts
The scale of works planned for this site will involve both clearfelling and planting. Both of these processes are inherently destructive with ground disturbances associated with the use of heavy machinery (for tree removal) and preparation of the land for planting (with the excavation of drainage ditches).

While the areas to be affected have been surveyed in an attempt at locating and identifying previously unknown archaeological sites, no new sites were revealed. However, it must be borne in mind that archaeological remains with little above ground surface expression may survive below the ground surface. Such features would only be revealed during earthmoving and ground preparation works where such archaeological sites would be directly compromised by these subsequent works. Please see the mitigations and recommendation section in volume 1 for suggested mitigations.

*Please note that it was not possible to reproduce figures for inclusion on the website version of the reports.