Moated site, Mylerspark, Co. Wexford

Moated site, Mylerspark, Co. Wexford

In the quiet countryside of County Wexford, a rectangular earthwork sits amongst the fields, its grass-covered interior measuring roughly 69 metres northeast to southwest and 66 metres northwest to southeast.

Moated site, Mylerspark, Co. Wexford

The site is defined by substantial earthen banks topped with hedges, rising between 2.8 and 3.8 metres on the exterior, with distinctive projecting bastions at the eastern and western corners that extend 13 to 14 metres outward. A moat surrounds the entire structure, typically 6 to 7 metres wide at the top and narrowing to around 2 metres at the base, though the southwestern side features a smaller moat where the original bank has been removed.

This impressive earthwork has been tentatively identified as Ballyconnor, a moated site that once belonged to the manor of Old Ross. The Bigod accounts from 1283-4 provide detailed descriptions of this site, offering a fascinating glimpse into medieval land management and defensive architecture in southeastern Ireland. The original entrance appears to have been on the southwest side, where a causeway still crosses the reduced moat, whilst a more recent entrance and causeway have been added on the northeast side.



The location was carefully chosen, situated on level, low-lying ground with natural water sources nearby; a small stream runs west to east about 200 metres to the north, whilst another flows south to north approximately 380 metres to the east. These waterways would have provided both practical water supply and additional defensive advantages to this medieval stronghold, which stands as a well-preserved example of Anglo-Norman settlement patterns in medieval Wexford.

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Barry, T.B. 1977 Medieval moated sites of south-eastern Ireland. British Archaeological Reports, British Series 35. Oxford. Hadden, G. 1964 Some earthworks in county Wexford, Journal of the Cork Historical and Arachaeological Society, vol. 69, 118-22. Colfer, B. 1996 In search of the barricade and ditch of Ballyconnor, county Wexford, Archaeology Ireland, No. 36, 16-19.
Mylerspark, Co. Wexford
52.35741353, -6.87783189
52.35741353,-6.87783189
Mylerspark 
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