Following on from the Blog's first Official Open Day , the Blog met with specially invited members of the Togher Facebook page at the Togher Community Centre on September 29th 2013 for an ad hoc meeting before setting off on the first impromptu Fieldwork Trip.
Fergal Dennehy was on hand to admit the group to the premises and was then off on business. Scanning equipment was quickly set up and Eamonn Pearse busied himself with the task of digitizing several photographs and parts of books. Mary O'Riordan touched on several items of interest which had been raised on the Facebook forum and ideas and quips were swapped back and forth. A day with something new learned , is never a wasted day.
Fergal Dennehy was on hand to admit the group to the premises and was then off on business. Scanning equipment was quickly set up and Eamonn Pearse busied himself with the task of digitizing several photographs and parts of books. Mary O'Riordan touched on several items of interest which had been raised on the Facebook forum and ideas and quips were swapped back and forth. A day with something new learned , is never a wasted day.
Mary O'Riordan consulting the " Land
Of The Finest Drop " by Richard Henchion
Ted O'Riordan musing over
" 21 Years Of Togher News "
Dan O'Riordan sorting through potential
scanning material for the Archives
Eamonn Pearse transferring the printed memories
onto hard drive for future study
Billy O'Brien pointing to the first ever
aerial photo of Togher taken circa 1944
Billy O'Brien , Dan O'Riordan & Ted O'Riordan
The first port of call was Feirm Bawn or Whites Farm on the right junction road up from Togher Cross. This sadly now dilapidated building is apparently condemned so they gingerly intruded to capture its image before it finally succumbs to the wrecking ball. To the left of the building there were originally three workman's huts , reputedly built in the 17th Century but long since gone. Initially Feirm Bawn was two separate cottages which were subsequently joined together with a second story added on , however still retaining two separate front door entrances. This gave it a slightly spooky appearance. One of the last residents was an Englishwoman - " Lady " Harris who returned to the U.K. in the 1960s. It finally was abandoned in the early 2000's and has since been subject to various forms of vandalism including fire. The site is now closed off with many warning signs in place.
View of Feirm Bawn in the grounds
Close up view of the corbelled entrance and old
chimney stacks , built of natural stone and brick
Original stone driveway now all but reclaimed by
nature , as seen coming in off the main road ,
with Society Photographer Eamonn Pearse busy in
the background covering all the angles
One of the teams next stops was the search for the famed St Bartholomew's Well. This Well was renowned in times past for its healing powers and when the Cork Bandon Railway Company laid down their tracks back in the early 19th Century during the height of the Famine and completed it in 1851 , the Well was a casualty of the new line. The tracks ran right past it , so in order to prevent flooding of the line by its seeping waters , it was sealed off with rocks. It is currently located just out from the Doughcloyne Railway Bridge down from Philippine House ( Fellowship ) where legend has it , a giant Oak tree grew in protest from its rocky prison.
Giant Oak Tree to the left of Doughcloyne Railway
Bridge as viewed from Fellowship House direction
Doughcloyne Railway Bridge , site of St Bart's Well
Video of natural sandstone mound near St Barts Well
Billy O'Brien also took the time to video a stunning natural sandstone formation just before the Well. It has quite weird looking trees reminiscent of mangroves sprouting from its rock-face with strange twisted roots. The Blog's first foray into the world of video archiving. It literally cried out to be documented as it is featured on maps of the field going back almost 200 years , though its age is certainly much older than that.
They also decided to have another look at some replicas and plaques erected by the Community Association over the last number of years. This group has done sterling work in acknowledging some important aspects of Togher's recent past. Many thanks to Fergal Dennehy for supplying information on the various relics.Below is shown the route map the group took with stops highlighted with a red box.
The piece which came up for special attention was this beautiful replica of a street Water Pump. Erected by the Community Assoc. with the ground donated by Keiran Whyte of Centra , it is not unlike the one which was originally sited at the entrance to the now Vicar's Road. Such a hand pump would have been used by the locals for drawing water on a daily basis long before the advent of indoor plumbing for the masses. Besides this , other water pumps would have been available , some public , some private around the general area. However some kind Landlords had wells dug on their lands which were then funneled through to water spouts attached to their outside walls where locals could access it free of charge. Dan O'Riordan intimated the existence of other water spouts further up the hill in Lehenaghmore which will be investigated in the new year.
Fieldwork Trip no. 01 route map
The piece which came up for special attention was this beautiful replica of a street Water Pump. Erected by the Community Assoc. with the ground donated by Keiran Whyte of Centra , it is not unlike the one which was originally sited at the entrance to the now Vicar's Road. Such a hand pump would have been used by the locals for drawing water on a daily basis long before the advent of indoor plumbing for the masses. Besides this , other water pumps would have been available , some public , some private around the general area. However some kind Landlords had wells dug on their lands which were then funneled through to water spouts attached to their outside walls where locals could access it free of charge. Dan O'Riordan intimated the existence of other water spouts further up the hill in Lehenaghmore which will be investigated in the new year.
The Blog aims to conduct more Fieldwork research trips in the near future to identify and catalogue all of Togher's fantastic heritage and history. This it is felt deserves a wider audience for what is thankfully still here for the enjoyment of future generations. Keep checking back to keep up to date with future Fieldwork trips.
2 comments:
What a shame to hear that Feirm Bawn has been abandoned and condemned. I used to live across the road in Forest Ridge from 1997-1999 and remember the house well. I was only 11 or 12 back then and my friends and I loved the place; we called it 'the fairy house'. Once, we even built up the courage to knock on the door just so we could get a peek inside! Thanks for piecing together some of the history and for including some photos. Catherine
It is a great shame Catherine that such a lovely quaint building has been subject to neglect and vandalism. Soon we feel it will be no more. And will go the way of the 3 single storied structures which existed alongside it a few years back. They had the rather Tolkien sounding name of Blue Bag!
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