Oldborris

Area

4,275 m² (0.43 ha, 1.06 acres)

Buildings

4 buildings touch it. Their footprint covers 272 m².

Zoning

G4 Open Space/Amenity (Laois County Development Plan 2021–2027 including Ministerial Direction (as varied) by Variation No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3) The objective
M2 Village Centre (Laois County Development Plan 2021–2027 including Ministerial Direction (as varied) by Variation No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3) The objective

Townland

Oldborris

Planning applications on this parcel

No planning application touches this parcel in the national file, which goes back to 2010.

Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.

Designated sites

No designated site (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, Natural Heritage Area or proposed one) touches this parcel.

Recorded monuments around it

This parcel is in the zone of notification of 5 recorded monuments.

• LA016-017 Settlement deserted - medieval
  Description

  According to Carrigan the parish of Offerlane or Upperwoods, 'formed one parish from remote times, till the year 1839, when it was broken up into two new parishes, viz., Castletown and Camross (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 171). In 1290, Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester surrendered to the King his castles of Kilkenny and Offerlane (Castletown) and received a regrant of them the next month. In 1306 'it was stated that the manor attached to the castle of Offerlane, located in the far north of Ossory, had once been worth £26 6s 6d per annum to the earl of Gloucester (O'Cleirigh 1999, 171). In 1307 it belonged to Joan, Countess of Gloucester, widow of Earl Gilbert. Thomas de Cantewelle was constable of the castle in 1309 and held it for the crown. In 1600 the castle and town of Castletown were burnt to the ground by Teige Fitzpatrick at the approach of the Lord Deputy and his army (O'Hanlon and O'Leary 1907, vol.1, 493). Medieval settlement may have been located in the townland of Oldborris to the N of the Fair Green and to the W of Castletown Bridge. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 December 2007

• LA016-017001 Castle - unclassified
  Description

  Situated on high ground overlooking Castletown bridge (LA016-017004-) which crosses the River Nore to the N. In 1290, Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester surrendered to the King his castles of Kilkenny and Offerclane (Castletown) and received a regrant of them the next month. In 1306 'it was stated that the manor attached to the castle of Offerlane, located in the far north of Ossory, had once been worth £26 6s 6d per annum to the earl of Gloucester (O'Cleirigh 1999, 171, Cal. doc. Ire. 1302-07, no. 670). An "Extent" of the possessions of Joan, Countess of Gloucester, widow of Earl Gilbert, dating 1307, states 'that there is a castle [viz., that of Castletown] in Offarclan, which belonged to the Countess aforesaid, in which are contained, as well in lordship as in demesne, 29 carucates and 60 acres of land, which formerly were wont to be worth £26 4s. 4d.; but as this castle lies in a strong march, all the lands aforesaid lie waste on account of the war of the Irish, so that nothing can be recovered there from; but the lord the King spends £40 a year of his own on the custody of the castle' (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 171-2). Thomas de Cantewelle was constable of the castle in 1309 and held it for the crown. In 1600 the castle was burnt down by Teige Fitzpatrick (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 171-172). Depicted on the 1563 map of leix and Offaly as a castle in 'Balachassan'. According to Carrigan in The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory the 'old castle which formerly stood on the site now occupied by the P.P. (Parish Priests) house, but of which nothing remains save a large piece of the courtyard wall, a broken turret or two, a gateway, and a half-filled-up fosse (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 171). The SW section of mural tower built of rubble limestone, roughly coursed and with remains of inter-mural stairwell and NE angle tower. A modern school occupies the site of the castle. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 December 2007

• LA016-017002 Mill - unclassified
  Description

  In undulating countryside, overlooking river. Not marked on the 1841 or 1909 eds OS 6-inch maps. Reference to corn-mills here on the Nore river (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 297). Standing remains of an 18th century mill. No earlier remains visible. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 December 2007

• LA016-017003 Castle - Anglo-Norman masonry castle
  Description

  Situated on high ground overlooking Castletown bridge (LA016-017004-) which crosses the River Nore to the N. A late medieval tower house site (LA016-017001-) is located 50m to the E. In 1290, Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester surrendered to the King his castles of Kilkenny and Offerclane (Castletown) and received a regrant of them the next month. In 1306 'it was stated that the manor attached to the castle of Offerlane, located in the far north of Ossory, had once been worth £26 6s 6d per annum to the earl of Gloucester (O'Cleirigh 1999, 171, Cal. doc. Ire. 1302-07, no. 670). An "Extent" of the possessions of Joan, Countess of Gloucester, widow of Earl Gilbert, dating 1307, states 'that there is a castle [viz., that of Castletown] in Offarclan, which belonged to the Countess aforesaid, in which are contained, as well in lordship as in demesne, 29 carucates and 60 acres of land, which formerly were wont to be worth £26 4s. 4d.; but as this castle lies in a strong march, all the lands aforesaid lie waste on account of the war of the Irish, so that nothing can be recovered there from; but the lord the King spends £40 a year of his own on the custody of the castle' (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 171-2). Thomas de Cantewelle was constable of the castle in 1309 and held it for the crown. In 1600 the castle was burnt down by Teige Fitzpatrick (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 171-172). Depicted on the 1563 map of leix and Offaly as a castle in 'Balachassan'. According to Carrigan in The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory the 'old castle which formerly stood on the site now occupied by the P.P. (Parish Priests) house, but of which nothing remains save a large piece of the courtyard wall, a broken turret or two, a gateway, and a half-filled-up fosse (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 171). Present remains consist of a large irregular shaped area (approx. int. dims. 114m N-S; 147m E-W) enclosed by a bawn wall (int. H 1.5m; ext. H 3-4m) that has been rebuilt on the N face overlooking the River Nore and has been re-faced on the W face by a Tidy Towns committee around the year 2000. The NW angle and part of the N end of the W face of the bawn wall appears to be original. There is narrow flat headed doorway in the NW angle of the bawn which gives access to a mural passage (Wth 0.6m) from which a circular angle tower (int. diam. approx. 1.5m; wall T 1.8m) on the NW angle is accessed and a square mural tower at the N end of the W wall. There is a high base batter (H 3m) visible on the W face of the bawn wall that was refaced in the clean up scheme. No other original features survive, Castletown National School built inside the bawn in 1951, water pump to N of school may be evidence for the reuse of an earlier medieval well situated in the centre of the bawn. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 17 December 2007

• LA016-017004 Bridge
  Description

  Spanning the River Nore with nearby castle (LA016-017001-) 150m to the SE and mill site (LA016-017002-) immediately to the N. This six-arch limestone bridge (road Wth 18m) with rubble limestone cutwaters, is a multi-period structure the earlier bridge is located on the upstream or W side. The arch rings (Wth 4.65m N-S; H 3.4m) on the upriver side consist of undressed roughly cut voussoirs while those on the downriver side consist of cut stone dressed wedge shaped voussoirs. On the underside of the bridge a straight joint is clearly visible where the bridge was widened by 9.1m in the 18th century. The earlier bridge measured 5.6m E-W wide on the underside of the arch, if this bridge had a parapet wall on either side thie original road over the bridge may have measured approx. 4m. The downstream or E face was added to the bridge in the 18th century possibly when the nearby Nore Flour Mills were constructed during this period (c. 1750) The earlier bridge appears to have been contemporary with the medieval castle that is located on the ridge looking down over the crossing point of the River Nore. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 17 December 2007

Architectural heritage

No building of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage stands on this parcel.

Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. Buildings: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Works at or in relation to a recorded monument need two months' written notice to the National Monuments Service (National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, section 12).

Ground and risks

Radon

At the centre of this parcel, about 1 in 10 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home

Landslides

The 1:50,000 map rates the landslide susceptibility here as low.

Terrain model

LiDAR of the Office of Public Works, flown in 2011, at 2 m: tile OPW_2004 (ZIP).

Flooding

The Office of Public Works publishes its flood maps on floodinfo.ie.

Radon Risk Map of Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency, and Landslide Susceptibility Classification, Geological Survey Ireland, both under CC BY 4.0. LiDAR: contains Irish Public Sector Data (Geological Survey Ireland & the Office of Public Works) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.

Download this parcel as DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its neighbours and buildings, for a drawing program. GeoJSON, in WGS 84, suits a map, and KML opens in Google Earth.

Registered freehold land, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. A parcel is the land of a title, not an address. The owner's name is in the Land Registry of Tailte Éireann: a copy of the folio can be ordered on landdirect.ie, for a fee.