More information : [SC 26748444] The Court [NR] (1)
Remains of a fort at the head of a slight hollow, a circular mound 53
yards diam is enclosed by a rectangular earthen bank 90 yards by 60
yards. Many stones were removed from the mound some years ago. (2)
There is nothing left of this feature. It may have been a courtyard
farmhouse but I have found nothing on the surface when the land is
under the plough. (3)
The earthwork is grass covered and has been under the plough to such
an extent that all features have been spread though otherwise as
portrayed on OS 25" of 1868-9. It consists of a ditch which, from A -B, seems no more than the normal south side of a water course -
probably natural slopes. From B - D is a vague ditch 15.0m wide and
0.4m deep with the best preserved portion at 10.0m wide and 0.6m deep
being from C to D.
At D is a weak N-S water course which completes the enclosure by
flowing through A.
The central mound is spread with no very definite termination but is
about 20.0m across and 1.0m high with a rather flat top.
Between the foot of the mound and the ditch to the NE is the site of a comparatively modern building now demolished as judged by the building material fragments that remain. Immediately to the south of the ditch which skirts the southern side of the mound is ground higher than the mound could ever have been. The ditch cannot seriously be classified as defensive.
No stonework or surrounding bank is visible. In attempting to
classify this earthwork two points at once spring to mind. They are
the name - The Court - and the weak ditch. Both name and ditch have
their parallel at Bishop's Court is removed from the early 12th C
Cathedral of St German's - for which see SC 28 SW 5 by more than 8
miles this site is barely 2 miles away. For Bishops Court see [SC 39
SW 8].
There is little early documentation of the island and it seems
possible that this site is a temporary Bishop's Palace or the
predecessor of the present Bishop's Court. Resurveyed at 25". (4)
I had once thought that it might have been the site of a Bishop's
residence. The name The Court survives as a place name in various
parts of the Island.
Mr Leask the late inspector of Ancient Monuments for Eire compared the ditch at Bishop's Lands though boundaries may have changed. I am not convinced that it is the site of a Bishop's Palace. (5)
Since the AO investigation the field in which this feature was
situated has been ploughed up. No trace of the ditch remains and it
has been deleted from field document.
The mound is only identifiable with the 6" Sheet, and there are many
natural undulations nearby. (6)
(SC 26748444) The Court (NR) (Site of) (NAT) (7)
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