Glebe
Townland in the civil parish of Drumkay, barony of Newcastle, Co. Wicklow
- Area
- 2.8 ha
- 7 acres
- Land parcels
- 15
- registered freehold, median 1,105 m²
- Zoning
- R2
- Existing Residential
- Planning
- 5
- applications since 2010
Land parcels
Registered freehold land, Tailte Éireann
15 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Glebe, from 18 m² to 8,391 m² (0.84 ha, 2.07 acres). The dashed line is the townland's boundary; 6 neighbouring parcels touch it.
Download the townland: DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its boundary, parcels and buildings; GeoJSON or KML.
Zoning
Development plans, national zoning
- R2Existing Residential (Existing residential)
Wicklow Town - Rathnew Local Area Plan, Wicklow · 6 parcels The zoning objective in the plan - S5Community & Education (Mixed/general community services/facilities uses)
Wicklow Town - Rathnew Local Area Plan, Wicklow · 4 parcels The zoning objective in the plan - C2.1Employment (Industrial, enterprise, employment)
Wicklow Town - Rathnew Local Area Plan, Wicklow · 2 parcels The zoning objective in the plan - G3Natural Areas (Conservation, amenity or buffer space, corridor/belt, landscape)
Wicklow Town - Rathnew Local Area Plan, Wicklow · 1 parcels The zoning objective in the plan
Source: Tailte Éireann and the Department of Housing (MyPlan), national zoning, CC BY 4.0.
Planning applications
Sites that touch the townland, newest first
17 Jun 2022Conditional
the development will consist of modifications to Phase 2 of the Primary Healthcare Centre granted under planning Ref. 19/1017. The proposed modifications comprise:- 1) provision of a partial basement accommodating plant and an additional full level of accommodation at 3rd floor accommodating HSE clinical and administrative rooms; 2) Revised internal layout and elevations; 3) Revised car parking layout with an additional 24 no. car parking spaces (total = 236 spaces); 4) revised site boundary to incorporate ESB substation; 5) Landscaping, screened plant compound, signage and all associated site works and services
Permission · Wicklow County Council, 22683
16 Sept 2019Conditional
3 storey building as Phase 2 of the Wicklow Primary Healthcare Centre. The building will accommodate Tusla services, HSE mental health and social care services, primary care administrative offices, as well as ancillary accommodation including staff facilities, offices, meeting rooms, reception / waiting areas and plant rooms. Phase 2 will be accessed via the existing Phase 1 entrance and access road. The proposal will remove 83 no existing car parking spaces and provide 211 no new car parking spaces. The application also provides for service compound, bicycle parking, landscaping and boundary treatments and all ancillary site works and services
Permission · Wicklow County Council, 191017
24 Sept 2018Conditional
finger post sign
N/a, 1 home · Wicklow County Council, 181046
30 May 2017Conditional
provision of 57 no additional car spaces to include the alteration of 3 no existing car spaces to 2 no accessible car spaces and assocaited ancillary site works
Permission · Wicklow County Council, 17619
22 May 2017N/a
57 no additional car spaces to include the alteration of 3 no existing car spaces to 2 no accessible car spaces, and associated ancillary site works
Permission · Wicklow County Council, 17583
Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.
Nature and heritage
Designated sites and recorded monuments
Designated sites
No designated site (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, Natural Heritage Area or proposed one) touches the townland of Glebe.
Recorded monuments
- WI025-011001 Church
Description
Situated at a break in a marked S/SE-facing slope. Traditionally the site of the church of Drumkay; not visible at ground level. A Romanesque doorway (Leask 1955, 160-61) and a tub-shaped limestone font (H 0.42m; Wth 0.56m; basin diam. 0.24m) with cushion capitals at the front and sides were removed from here and placed in the Protestant parish church in Wicklow Town. The location of this church site is incorrectly indicated on all editions of the OS 6-inch map. In 2006, fourteen archaeological features/deposits were uncovered during test excavation under licence no. 06E0273 in Glebe townland, Co. Wicklow. The test excavation was undertaken in advance of a proposed housing development at the site. The deposit types identified in the assessment consisted of ditches (field enclosures dating from between ad 1000 and 1800) and 18th-century brick-manufacturing deposits. The most interesting discovery was the identification of a substantial hearth within a rectangular house foundation in Trench 13. A rectangular ‘church’ building is illustrated on the first-edition of the OS as ‘site of the church of Drumkay’ in this location (WI011–025). Other features and deposits such as pits, a possible corn-drying kiln and the foundations of a masonry wall were also identified throughout the remainder of the site. There was no definitive evidence to suggest that the features identified in the separate trenches were contemporary. Archaeological deposits similar to those described above were also uncovered in an assessment carried out by William O. Frazer close to the site (Bennett 2004, 542-3). Significantly, no characteristic church-type deposits, burials, church masonry or ecclesiastical structural remains were found in the test-trenches. The testing demonstrated that the church of Drumkay was not located within the RMP constraint circle, although a ‘building’ with a hearth was discovered within the constraint circle. It is clear from the OS mapping that this structure was no longer standing in 1837, although the foundations must have been visible and recorded in error as the church site. These findings suggest that either the church site of Drumkay is located beyond the current test-trench locations, or that the nature of the recorded monument is not consistent with a typical church site. Postscript: Subsequent to the testing on this site, archaeological excavations in a neighbouring part of Glebe townland uncovered the church and graveyard of Drumkay (Bennett 2009, 574-5). In 2006 a significant excavation under licence no. 06E0091 was undertaken in Glebe townland under Knockrobbin Hill. A previously unlocated church and cemetery site was discovered adjacent to the Rathnew/Wicklow town road. A total of 191 burials were uncovered, enclosed within a series of ditches. The burials date from the early medieval period (c. ad 600) and appear to continue in an unbroken sequence up to at least ad 1600. The foundations of a stone church were also recorded during the excavations. It is suggested that the discovery is the church site of ‘Drumkay’. Previous documentary and cartographic evidence suggested that the site was located c. 400m to the north-east (Bennett 2009, 578). The church, Phase I The foundations of a substantial stone church were uncovered in the centre of the site. The primary church building measured 14.65m east–west by 7.3m externally. The walls were between 1 and 1.3m wide with an interior space of 12.35m east–west by 5.18m. The southern wall of the church was orientated east–west (280°W, 100°E). It was c. 15m in length, with the south-west corner located beyond the limit of excavation. It survived to a maximum height of 0.85m. The wall was constructed with roughly hewn limestone blocks, light to mid-grey in colour. The size of the stones varied considerably, with the largest measuring 0.69m by 0.34m by 0.12m and the smallest 0.22m by 0.12m by 0.04m. It appeared to be constructed of random coursing. This wall turned north at the east end and continued for c. 3.7m, where it was removed by later phases of activity. The church, Phase II The east wall of the church was clearly removed at some point. A new east wall was constructed 1.6m to the west. Thus the remodelled church (Phase II) was shorter than the original building. The Phase II structure measured 12.05m east–west by 7.3m externally. The walls were once again between 1 and 1.3m wide with an interior space of 9.35m east–west by 5.18m. The new east wall was 5.1m long. It is probable that this wall abutted the northern wall of the church, which was visible in test-trenches located outside the road-take. The wall survived to a width of 1m at its south end and widened to 1.5m to the north. It was constructed of very mixed masonry. Four large granite boulders formed the core of the wall. Three of these were of a similar size and measured c. 0.74m by 0.61m by 0.51m, while the fourth was approximately half that size. The rest of the masonry consisted of a mix of limestone and shale. There was no evidence of mortar, but clay had been packed between the stones as a bonding. There was no obvious coursing. There was some evidence of facing on the east side, but this was not substantial. The wall survived to a maximum height of 0.58m, with some sections as low as 0.13m. The church, Phase III A walled annexe or ancillary building was added to the eastern end of the church. The annexe measured 4.2m east–west by 5.5m externally, with internal dimensions of 3.5m east–west by 4m. The east wall of the annexe building (F841) was 4m to the east of the Phase II church and parallel to the earlier east wall. The annexe wall was built from rubble. It was clearly later than the Phase I and Phase II building, as the base of its foundation was higher than the bases of the other walls; it was also stratigraphically above the east end of the Phase I church wall. It measured 5m long and survived to a width varying between 0.2 and 0.51m. It was of mixed rubble construction, which included limestone, granite, sandstone and a small amount of mudstone. A number of burials were interred over this wall, including Burial XXX, which was directly over it. The wall was robbed-out in places, with a gap where a later burial cut through it. A large sandstone boulder (0.55m by 0.59m by 0.29m) at the north end of F841 marked the corner between it (F841) and the north wall (F776) of the annexe. The north wall ran east–west. It survived only to a height of one to two courses and was constructed of smaller stones than the rest of the walls associated with the church, with a mixture of sandstone, limestone and mudstone. The stones varied from 0.15m by 0.08m by 0.08m, to 0.36m by 0.26m by 0.06m. This may suggest that it was associated with a separate phase of construction, probably contemporary with F841. F776 survived to a total length of 3.75m (including the sandstone boulder linking F776 with F841). It measured 0.47m in width at the western end, widening to 0.61m at the point where it turned to join the east wall (F841). Ditches and boundaries The church was surrounded by three enclosure ditches and a fourth post-medieval field boundary. The earliest of these was also the innermost ditch, which was located at the brow of the hill. It was excavated to a length of 26.5m and continued under the western baulk of the site. The terminal of the ditch was quite ephemeral and appeared to slope gradually upwards to the east. This ditch had a maximum depth of 0.75m and contained two fills. The lower fill was a mid-brown silty clay, with moderate inclusions of small stones (c. 0.05m in diameter) and a maximum depth of 0.34m. The upper fill was mid-orangey-brown silty/sandy clay with similar inclusions to the lower fill. This fill had a depth of 0.24m. There were no finds from this ditch. It was cut on its southern side by the second ditch. This was recorded over a 19m length, with a maximum depth of 0.6m and width of 2m. No definitive terminus was identified
- WI025-011004 Settlement deserted - medieval
Description
Testing under licence no. 02E0226 was undertaken in April 2002 in Glebe townland, Wicklow, as part of an assessment for a route-selection study for the proposed Wicklow Port Access Road. The route passes c. 55m from the protected area around an early ecclesiastical site (SMR 25:11). The assessment was in a large field, amalgamated from smaller land parcels after boundary removals in the last 170 years, that sloped steeply down to the south. Geophysics and the presence of low-relief landscape features on the hill slope south of the SMR protected area facilitated the selection of test-trench locations. Field inspection identified hand-dug lazy-bed cultivation ridges in the far western part of the field, well outside the route of the proposed road. They lay near an extensive (sand?) quarry that has cut away most of the centre of the hill that forms much of the field. An old trackway leading from this quarry to the present R750 road was visible as a hollow way stretching south from the quarry entrance. East of this a disused field boundary was visible as a bank with an infilled fosse on either side, oriented north-north-east/south-south-west up the main hill slope. Test-trenches were positioned on a level area farther east, on the southern slope of the field (Trench 3) and over a visible platform (Trench 1). Another trench (Trench 2) was excavated upslope to the north and east of this level area, on the opposite side of a trackway visible as an earthwork lynchet/causeway that extended north-east up and across the hill to the far corner of the field. The final trench (Trench 4) was south of the level hillside area and visible platform. Trenches 2 and 3 were opened using a mechanical excavator with a toothless bucket. Trench 4 was started by mechanical excavator and continued by hand. Trench 1, over visible earthworks, was excavated entirely by hand. The assessment identified archaeological deposits of probable medieval date in Trenches 1 and 3, including a pit, ditches and a charcoal-flecked spread that yielded pottery and bone. A number of unstratified, prehistoric topsoil finds may indicate prehistoric activity in the vicinity, near the hilltop to the north, outside the route of the proposed road. Also, the assessment indicated the probable eastern and southern extents of the main (medieval) archaeological deposits. A second geophysical survey has confirmed these. Mid- to late 18th-century activity in the assessment field is especially well represented, by scattered finds recovered during test excavation from the topsoil, 0.35–0.7m deep. A north–south-oriented ditch in Trench 1 appeared to have been open (or recut?) during that time, although it may originally have been a medieval feature. A reasonable, though tentative, supposition is that such finds are the result of more intensive farming activity at the time (manuring etc.) and that late ploughmarks unearthed in Trench 2 date from this era, as perhaps does the (later) trackway that leads from the centre of the testing area to the north-east corner of the field. An extensive 1960s/1970s water management programme was encountered in the form of 4-inch (105mm) ceramic field drains in Trenches 3 and 4. Waterlogged deposits in the ditch in Trench 1 also indicate an earlier concern with water management, as does the placename ‘the mote field’, a probable reference to the ditch in Trench 1. On the basis of the above evidence, alterations to the route of the proposed road were recommended to mitigate the impact on the archaeology present and to increase the existing 55m buffer between the route and the edge of the SMR site. An environmental impact assessment (archaeology) is now under way on the preferred Port Access Road route option (Bennett 2004, 542-3). Date of upload: 22 October 2012
- WI025-011006 Graveyard
Description
In 2006 a significant excavation under licence no. 06E0091 was undertaken in Glebe townland under Knockrobbin Hill. A previously unlocated church (WI025-011001-) and cemetery site was discovered adjacent to the Rathnew/Wicklow town road. A total of 191 burials were uncovered, enclosed within a series of ditches. The burials date from the early medieval period (c. ad 600) and appear to continue in an unbroken sequence up to at least ad 1600. The foundations of a stone church were also recorded during the excavations. It is suggested that the discovery is the church site of ‘Drumkay’. Previous documentary and cartographic evidence suggested that the site was located c. 400m to the north-east (Bennett 2009, 578). The church, Phase I The foundations of a substantial stone church were uncovered in the centre of the site. The primary church building measured 14.65m east–west by 7.3m externally. The church, Phase II The east wall of the church was clearly removed at some point. A new east wall was constructed 1.6m to the west. Thus the remodelled church (Phase II) was shorter than the original building. The Phase II structure measured 12.05m east–west by 7.3m externally. The church, Phase III A walled annexe or ancillary building was added to the eastern end of the church. The annexe measured 4.2m east–west by 5.5m externally, with internal dimensions of 3.5m east–west by 4m. The east wall of the annexe building (F841) was 4m to the east of the Phase II church and parallel to the earlier east wall. The annexe wall was built from rubble. It was clearly later than the Phase I and Phase II building, as the base of its foundation was higher than the bases of the other walls; it was also stratigraphically above the east end of the Phase I church wall. It measured 5m long and survived to a width varying between 0.2 and 0.51m. It was of mixed rubble construction, which included limestone, granite, sandstone and a small amount of mudstone. A number of burials were interred over this wall, including Burial XXX, which was directly over it. The wall was robbed-out in places, with a gap where a later burial cut through it. A large sandstone boulder (0.55m by 0.59m by 0.29m) at the north end of F841 marked the corner between it (F841) and the north wall (F776) of the annexe. The north wall ran east–west. It survived only to a height of one to two courses and was constructed of smaller stones than the rest of the walls associated with the church, with a mixture of sandstone, limestone and mudstone. The stones varied from 0.15m by 0.08m by 0.08m, to 0.36m by 0.26m by 0.06m. This may suggest that it was associated with a separate phase of construction, probably contemporary with F841. F776 survived to a total length of 3.75m (including the sandstone boulder linking F776 with F841). It measured 0.47m in width at the western end, widening to 0.61m at the point where it turned to join the east wall (F841). Ditches and boundaries The church was surrounded by three enclosure ditches and a fourth post-medieval field boundary. The earliest of these was also the innermost ditch, which was located at the brow of the hill. It was excavated to a length of 26.5m and continued under the western baulk of the site. The terminal of the ditch was quite ephemeral and appeared to slope gradually upwards to the east. This ditch had a maximum depth of 0.75m and contained two fills. The lower fill was a mid-brown silty clay, with moderate inclusions of small stones (c. 0.05m in diameter) and a maximum depth of 0.34m. The upper fill was mid-orangey-brown silty/sandy clay with similar inclusions to the lower fill. This fill had a depth of 0.24m. There were no finds from this ditch. It was cut on its southern side by the second ditch. This was recorded over a 19m length, with a maximum depth of 0.6m and width of 2m. No definitive terminus was identified and it gradually petered out to the east. The basal fill consisted of a mid-orangey-brown sandy clay. The secondary fill consisted of a brown silty clay. A stone perforated pendant was found within this fill. The upper fill of the ditch was a mid-brown silty clay with some sand and occasional mottling of yellow clay. The second ditch was in turn cut by a later ditch located immediately outside it. The third ditch had an excavated length of 32m, with a maximum depth of 0.9m and a maximum width of 2.4m. It had a maximum of six fills, with only three visible in some sections. The lowest fill was a clayey silt that was very similar to the surrounding natural. It is probable that this was a natural silting of the ditch. The remaining fills consisted of a clayey silty sand and silt. The three enclosure ditches followed the same course on the site, along a break of slope roughly parallel to the wall of the church. A fourth ditch of post-medieval date cut across the earlier enclosures at a different angle. It appears that the later post-medieval ditch followed the line of the earlier enclosing elements of the site and removed evidence for them as it continued north-east and north. The enclosure ditches mirror the orientation of the church walls marking the limit of the burial-ground. The burials were mainly contained within the line of the two inner ditches. Three burials (Burials I, LXXV and LXIV) were within the upper fill of the two innermost ditches. This supports the interpretation that the ditches were not contemporary and were realigned as the cemetery expanded. The overall dimensions of the enclosing ditches, including the extents uncovered within the test-trenches, surround a site c. 33m north–south by 47m. Burials A total of 191 burials were excavated on the Glebe site. This number includes truncated burials, where later activity (often burial) removed part of the earlier burial, and burials where some or all of the bone has degraded. In cases where bone has completely decayed, evidence for the presence of a burial was recorded through the observation of a visible grave-cut into the boulder clay. Fifteen infants, 48 juveniles and 120 adults were excavated on the site. There were eight empty grave-cuts, where the skeletons had disintegrated completely. Additional burials are likely to have been interred at the site where neither the bone nor grave-cut has survived. The predominant burial rite was extended inhumation in the supine position, while a small number had flexed limbs. The majority of the burials were orientated east–west, with the skull to the west, indicating a Christian tradition. They were tightly clustered within and outside the walls of the church. The burials varied in date, with some pre-dating the church, such as the lintel grave (Burial CLX) which ran under the southern wall of the church. Burials XC and LXXXIII ran under the north–south wall of the church and were therefore earlier than the church structure. Burials such as CXXXIV and LVI were more accurately orientated in line with the church than others, such as Burial LIX. This would suggest that some individuals were buried in a period where the orientation of the church was less influential, perhaps pre-dating the church, or from a period after it fell out of use. Other burials, such as Burial XXX, which lay directly over the stones of the north–south wall, clearly post-date the building (Bennett 2009, 578-9). Date of upload: 22 October 2012
- WI025-011007 Building
Description
Fourteen archaeological features/deposits were uncovered during test excavation under licence no. 06E0273 in Glebe townland, Co. Wicklow. The test excavation was undertaken in advance of a proposed housing development at the site. The deposit types identified in the assessment consisted of ditches (field enclosures dating from between ad 1000 and 1800) and 18th-century brick-manufacturing deposits. The most interesting discovery was the identification of a substantial hearth within a rectangular house foundation in Trench 13. A rectangular ‘church’ building is illustrated on the first-edition of the OS as ‘site of the church of Drumkay’ (WI025-011----) in this location. Other features and deposits such as pits, a possible corn-drying kiln and the foundations of a masonry wall were also identified throughout the remainder of the site. There was no definitive evidence to suggest that the features identified in the separate trenches were contemporary. Archaeological deposits similar to those described above were also uncovered in an assessment carried out by William O. Frazer close to the site (Excavations 2002, No. 1993, 02E0226). Significantly, no characteristic church-type deposits, burials, church masonry or ecclesiastical structural remains were found in the test-trenches. The testing demonstrated that the church of Drumkay was not located within the RMP constraint circle, although a ‘building’ with a hearth was discovered within the constraint circle. It is clear from the OS mapping that this structure was no longer standing in 1837, although the foundations must have been visible and recorded in error as the church site. These findings suggest that either the church site of Drumkay is located beyond the current test-trench locations, or that the nature of the recorded monument is not consistent with a typical church site. Postscript: Subsequent to the testing on this site, archaeological excavations in a neighbouring part of Glebe townland uncovered the church and graveyard (WI025-011006-) of Drumkay (Bennett 2009, 574-5). Date of upload: 22 October 2012
Architectural heritage
No building of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage stands in the townland of Glebe.
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, landslides, flooding
- Radon
- About 1 in 10 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home
- Landslides
- Susceptibility moderately low, low, low (inferred), on the 1:50,000 map.
- Terrain model
- LiDAR of the Office of Public Works, flown in 2011, at 2 m: tile OPW_3389 (ZIP).
- Flooding
- The flood maps of the Office of Public Works: floodinfo.ie.
Radon Risk Map of Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency; Landslide Susceptibility Classification, Geological Survey Ireland; both 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.
Homes sold
Property Price Register
No address of the register names Glebe with five sales or more. The sales of the area are on the page of Co. Wicklow.
The townland
- Name
- Glebe
- Area
- 27,974 m² (2.8 ha, 6.91 acres)
- Civil parish
- Drumkay, and its townlands
- Barony
- Newcastle
- Electoral division
- Wicklow Rural, the unit of the census
- Census 2022
- Wicklow Rural electoral division: 10,247 people in 3,334 households; 73% of households own their home; 56% of homes were built since 2001; 4% of dwellings stood vacant on census night, and 3% were holiday homes.
- Neighbouring townlands
- Bollarney North, Burkeen, Knockrobin
- Placenames
- Glebe on logainm.ie, the Placenames Database of Ireland
Townlands, civil parishes, baronies and electoral divisions, National Statutory Boundaries, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. Census 2022, Small Area Population Statistics by electoral division, Central Statistics Office, CC BY 4.0. A townland is the smallest land division of Ireland, and the unit of a rural address; old registers such as the 1901 and 1911 censuses file it under its civil parish and barony.