Moated site, Jamestown, Co. Westmeath

Moated site, Jamestown, Co. Westmeath

The moated site at Jamestown in County Westmeath sits atop a gentle rise in the pasture, commanding views across the surrounding countryside.

Moated site, Jamestown, Co. Westmeath

This medieval earthwork takes the form of a rectangular enclosure, measuring approximately 18 metres from northwest to southeast and 16 metres from northeast to southwest. The site’s defining features include a broad earthen bank paired with an external fosse, or defensive ditch, which would have originally surrounded the entire perimeter.

Time and agriculture have taken their toll on the monument, leaving it in varying states of preservation. The southwestern portion remains the most intact, with the bank and fosse still clearly defined along the south, southwest, and northwest sections. In contrast, the northeastern half has suffered more degradation; here the bank appears low and weathered whilst the fosse has become shallow, particularly along the northern, northeastern, and southeastern edges. The interior slopes gently towards the southeast, suggesting either deliberate landscaping or natural erosion patterns over the centuries.



Today, visitors to the site might struggle to make out its full outline from ground level, though modern technology offers a different perspective. Digital aerial photography reveals the faint but discernible traces of this levelled monument, its rectangular footprint still etched into the landscape after centuries. Such moated sites typically date from the Anglo-Norman period and would have served as fortified homesteads for minor lords or prosperous farmers, combining defensive capabilities with agricultural management of the surrounding lands.

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Jamestown, Co. Westmeath
53.49459662, -7.47505303
53.49459662,-7.47505303
Jamestown 
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