Moated site, Fearmore, Co. Kildare
At Fearmore in County Kildare, the remnants of a medieval moated site occupy a gentle southwest-facing pasture slope, with a small stream flowing nearby.
Moated site, Fearmore, Co. Kildare
The site consists of a rectangular earthwork measuring approximately 26 metres from northwest to southeast and 22 metres from northeast to southwest. What remains today is a low earthen bank, heavily overgrown with vegetation, that once formed the perimeter of this defensive structure. The bank varies in height and width around the site; in some places it stands about half a metre high on the interior and up to 1.4 metres on the exterior, whilst along the northwest and southeast sides it has eroded down to a mere scarp.
The most distinctive feature of this monument is its outer fosse, or defensive ditch, which would have provided both drainage and protection for whatever structure once stood within. This ditch, measuring about 2.5 metres wide and ranging from half a metre to nearly a full metre deep, is best preserved along three sides of the site. Along the southeastern edge, however, the fosse has been filled in over the centuries, likely through a combination of natural silting and human activity.
Moated sites like this one at Fearmore were typically constructed during the Anglo-Norman period in Ireland, roughly from the 13th to 14th centuries. They served as fortified farmsteads for colonists and represented a middle ground between the grand stone castles of the nobility and the simple dwellings of ordinary farmers. The earthen banks would have been topped with a wooden palisade, whilst the interior likely contained a timber hall and various outbuildings. Today, this overgrown earthwork offers a tangible connection to medieval Ireland’s complex colonial landscape.