Moated site, Bolyconor, Co. Westmeath
Sitting atop a low north-south ridge in the rough pasture of Bolyconor, County Westmeath, this medieval moated site offers commanding views across the surrounding countryside.
Moated site, Bolyconor, Co. Westmeath
The monument appears on the 1910 Ordnance Survey map as a subrectangular earthwork, though today it presents itself as a roughly circular enclosure measuring about 42 metres across. From above, modern satellite imagery reveals its distinctive tree-lined banks forming an almost rectangular shape against the pastoral landscape.
The site’s most striking feature is its substantial earth and stone bank, which creates a formidable boundary around the interior space. This bank rises gently on the inner side but drops steeply on the exterior, reaching heights of two to three metres in places. Running around the outside of the bank, a shallow defensive ditch, or fosse, once provided additional protection, though centuries of agricultural activity have seen parts of it filled with field clearance stones. The enclosed area itself slopes gently upward towards the centre, its uneven surface bearing witness to centuries of weathering and use.
Medieval moated sites like this one were typically constructed between the 13th and 14th centuries, serving as fortified homesteads for Anglo-Norman settlers or prosperous farming families. The combination of bank and ditch would have provided both defence and drainage, whilst the elevated position on the ridge offered early warning of approaching visitors or threats. Though the original structures that once stood within the enclosure have long since vanished, the earthworks remain as an enduring reminder of medieval life in the Irish midlands.