Moated site, Grange, Co. Westmeath
The moated site at Grange in County Westmeath sits on low-lying land that's prone to flooding, offering expansive views across the northern and northwestern countryside.
Moated site, Grange, Co. Westmeath
Located about 200 metres west of the River Inny, this medieval earthwork takes the form of a roughly rectangular enclosure measuring approximately 48 metres from northwest to southeast and 45 metres from northeast to southwest. A motte, another type of medieval fortification, can be found about 750 metres to the northwest, suggesting this area held strategic importance during the medieval period.
The site’s defences consist of multiple elements that would have provided security for its medieval inhabitants. A fragmentary earthen bank defines the inner perimeter, beyond which runs a wide, shallow fosse (or defensive ditch), with traces of an outer bank still visible on the northeastern side. Time and agricultural activity have taken their toll on the monument; the fosse has been filled in at the southeastern and southwestern sections, whilst a modern field fence now curves around the southern portion of the site, possibly following the line of an earlier outer bank that once stood there.
The interior of the enclosure slopes gently from southeast to northwest, with remnants of low banks visible in both the northwestern and southeastern sectors. These internal features might represent the foundations of buildings or additional defensive structures that once stood within the protected area. Despite its weathered condition, the site remains a tangible link to Westmeath’s medieval past, when such moated sites served as fortified homesteads for Anglo-Norman settlers or Gaelicised families adapting to life in medieval Ireland.