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A Look at Slane Village
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Featured May 17 , 2007
The Village of Slane had its beginnings in the mid-1700's, shortly after the Conyngham family took over the Lordship of the Manor. Most of the structures that date from the 18th century are of a similar design and construction. They were all built to the requirements of William Burton Conyngham. For this reason, Slane is refferred to as an "Estate Village". Come take a look at the architecture, and you will see what I mean.
Slane Village
The Village of Slane (Baile Shláine, in Gaelic) grew up around the intersection of two major roads. The east-west route (now N51) is called Main Street, which connects Drogheda with Navan. The north-south way (now N2) is known as Chapel Street, and connects Dublin with Ardee. The village stands hard upon the left bank of the River Boyne, built mainly on the steep hillside leading up to The Hill of Slane. The current population is about 1,100 with another 500 people living on outlying farms and such. Much of the character of Slane can be credited to Viscount William Burton Conyngham, Earl of Slane, at the time. It was he who specified the basic size, shape and materials for essentially all of the structures within his demesne. In general, the buildings are two or three storeys high and three to five bays wide. The material is typically ashlar limestone from a local quarry, square cut and smooth-dressed. Most windows are square with limestone sills and caps, and double-hung wooden sashes. Many of the doorways have ornate, semi-circular fanlights above them and, like in Dublin, the doors are frequently painted in bright colors. Most of the original construction dates from the latter eighteenth century (1740 – 1790), and is concentrated along the two thoroughfares. Churches of Slane The village boasts two fine churches, both named for St. Patrick. The Roman Catholic Church is located part way up Chapel Street and was built in 1795. It is surrounded by the traditional graveyard and set off by a fine free-standing belfry. Just down the hill is what once was the rectory for the church. Built in 1805, it is now a private home.    Click to Enlarge The other St. Patrick’s belongs to The Church of Ireland, and is located on upper Main Street. The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion, which traces it’s roots to the original mission of St. Patrick, himself. This is another fine old building with a plaque on the Bell Tower / Church Entrance which reads, "MDCCXCVII", or 1797. This building was recently refurbished and a number of medieval artifacts from the old church in nearby Stackallen (demolished in 1959), have been incorporated into one wall. These include a door frame and several iconic crosses.   Click to Enlarge The Square The intersection of the two streets, Main and Chapel, forms the Village Square. In actuality, it is more of an octagon shape, as there are four nearly identical houses set diagonally on the four corners. Collectively, these are known as "The Corner Houses". In the Pubs of Slane, you can hear several apocryphal tales of why this was. One tells that Sir William had four sisters who did not get on with each other and were forever sticking their noses in the other’s business. Supposedly, he built a house for each, situated so they could keep a sharp eye on the comings and goings of the other three. Another story has it that His Lordship built them to house the representatives of religion, medicine, law and order. Indeed, at one time in the late 1800’s, they were inhabited by a priest, a doctor, the local magistrate, and the constable. This, however, was much later than the original construction, which was around 1760.     Click to Enlarge Each of these buildings on The Square is set off from the street by a sturdy wall of limestone blocks. Access is gained via decorative wrought iron gates. Each structure had one or two outbuildings, set along the adjacent streets. Some were detached, while others were attached by "curtain walls" of stone. Most of these outbuildings have now been turned to other purposes. For a time, one was used to house a Girls’ School. Today, they are all either shops, private dwellings, or a combination of the two.    Click to Enlarge Chapel Street Going south from The Square, down the hill, there is the Slane Mill and Bridge, and a fine view of Slane Castle. Going north, however, Chapel Street is lined with a mixture of shops and private dwellings which date from the mid 1700’s. Most of the structures are built along the same lines; two storey, grey ashlar limestone, slate roof, wood sash windows and panelled timber door. Many of the doors also sport the semi-circular fanlight, made of cast iron. The frames of these doors are frequently in the "block and start" pattern, while the doors without the fanlight will usually have some sort of decorative carved pilasters at the sides. Set back from the road at the top of the hill is the Mount Charles Lodge. Though the overall design is basically similar to the other buildingss on the street, the Lodge has been treated with stucco over the grey limestone. This property is also surrounded by a low limestone wall with decorative, wrought iron gates.    <    Click to Enlarge Main Street Main Street, both east and west of The Square, is primarily populated with a mixture of shops and dwellings. With a few exceptions, these were built during the early growth period of the village (ca. 1755 – 1765). Here, you will find a number of small retail outlets, the Post Office, The Conyngham Arms Hotel, and several Pubs. Many of these buildings add a little color to the street scene, off-setting the grey of the traditional limestone. The addition of a bit of paint, stucco, and the like, tend to brighten things up a bit.       Click to Enlarge So, now you have had a brief tour of The Village of Slane. The photographs here are only a sampling of the actual place. Read what John O’Donovan had to say about Slane in 1836: "This is a small, neat village containing 64 houses, a Church, Chapel and 3 schools. Of the houses, 5 are three stories, 41 are 2 stories and 9 are one-storey; only one is thatched, the rest are slated. The trades reepresented are 5 carpenters, 3 blacksmiths, 1 mason, 1 slater, 8 shoemakers, 2 tailors, 1 butcher, 12 publicians, and 8 grocers. There is a fairly comfortable Inn, which is much frequented by persons going to or returning from Dublin, who, having to make a journey too long to make in one day, stop a night in Slane. It is a Post and Fair village. A market to be held on Thursdays was granted by Charles II, but this has been discontinued for a long time. The Mail Coach from Dublin arrives at 10:30 p.m. en route to Derry. A mail bag is dispatched to Collon at 7 a.m., also for Drogheda, which lies at Collon from 7:30 a.m., the hour that it arrives, till 5:30 p.m. when it is forwarded to Drogheda, where it arrives at 7 p.m., 12 hours after it leaves Slane. The bag from Collon returns at 6 p.m. Four Fairs are held by charter, on 2nd April, 2nd June, 12th September and 8th November, for the sale of horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, hardwware, etc., and no tolls or customs are exacted. Besides the Londonderry Mail, a coach from Omagh to Dublin passes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5:30 p.m., which returns from Dublin on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 10 a.m. A coach from Strabane to Dublin also arrives and returns on the same days as above at 4 p.m. and 10 a.m. A car leaves Slane at 7 a.m. to meet the Coach from Navan to Dublin and returns at 7 p.m." Sources and Credits: "Slane", C. E. F. Tench, National Trust for Ireland, 1976. "Slane Town Trail", C. E. F. Tench, Meath Association, 1995. "A Tour of Ireland", Arthur Young, June 1776. Wikipedia – Slane Photographs courtesy of the National Institute of Architectural Heritage. Please note, these pictures are copyright (© DOEHLG/NIAH) and are used with permission. You can see more of their fine collection at Buildings of Ireland. |
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