Survey Data
Reg No
15318014
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Previous Name
Middleton House
Original Use
Gates/railings/walls
Date
1800 - 1900
Coordinates
234783, 243799
Date Recorded
28/09/2004
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Field gate, erected c.1850, comprising a pair of rubble stone gate piers, on circular-plan with large capstones over, supporting a pair of wrought-iron flat bar gates. Pier to the east possibly rebuilt. Rubble stone wall runs away to the east. Located to the east of Castletown Geoghegan and to the north of Middleton Park (15318019).
Appraisal
This is a good example of a vernacular gate pier and wrought-iron gate. Simple vernacular entrance/field gates of this nature were once very common features of the rural landscape of Westmeath but are now becoming increasingly rare on account of clearance to accommodate modern agricultural needs and road widening schemes etc. Although construction was primarily functional, they exhibit visual appeal in the rural countryside. This particular example has unusually large capstones, which help to give this gateway a robust and imposing nature. The pier to the east of this gateway may have been rebuilt in recent years but this has been done in a sensitive manner consistent with the original form and vernacular character. The good quality boundary wall running away to the west adds significantly to this unassuming composition, which is an attractive feature in the landscape to the east of Castletown Geoghegan and an integral element of the vernacular heritage of the local area.