Ballyknockan Development Plan for 1998
Introduction
The Ballyknockan Heritage and Community Group have prepared this document in order to place before Wicklow County Council the work which we as a group would like to see done in our Village . Some of the work has been completed and we are slowly getting there. The latest update in red highlights what has been accomplished with local effort.
1935 old pump
1) Pump. Our Village pump was removed by Wicklow County Council some years ago and was replaced by an unsightly hose and tap which were nailed to a piece of untreated timber at the the of the Pump Lane in the Centre of the Village. The Pump was made in Belfast many many years ago in the shape of a Lions head. We would like to have our pump located and restored, in perfect working order, to its former position on the large Granite Slab at the top of the Pump Lane as soon as possible.
Update Sept. 98. A Pump was donated to Ballyknockan by Stan Stacks and has been restored by the local people and placed in the original position. One of the local stonecutters (Andy Farrington) carved a 20" water trough which was placed next to the pump.
Ballyknockan Pump 1998
2) Lion. There is a very nice piece of History attached to the Ballyknockan Lion which was carved by the Daniel McEvoy family along with the two others which are situated at the entrance to Stormount Castle in Belfast. This piece is to be placed on the Winning Bank wall, where the Lion sits at the moment, facing in the direction of Valleymount . A piece needs to be built onto wall in order to place the Lion on it and a granite name lettering stone needs to be inscribed.
Update : Local Stone cutter Christy McEvoy made name plates and repositioned the Lion . It was decided not to place the lion on the wall as it may be dangerous for children who may climb on to the lions back.
3) Shoeing/Banding Stone. This beautiful large Ballyknockan Granite stone is currently to be found on the ground beside the Ballyknockan Lion. It was used in former times by he blacksmith in the Daniel McEvoy Quarry. It should be mounted into the wall near the gable end of the Daniel McEvoy homestead on the Quarry road and a name stone erected.
4) Cross. This Cross, which is currently located just inside the gate of the Daniel McEvoy Quarry, should be re-located at the gate and a name stone inscribed to the memory of all the stonecutters who worked in the Daniel McEvoy Quarry, and the adjoining quarries, and their families.
Update : This Cross was restored by Christy and placed on front of the Quarries in memory of stone cutters past.
5) Virgin. The Virgin is one of the best known and much admired pieced of crafted Ballyknockan Granite to remain in the Village. It was created by the Freeman family and it is situated near the bottom right side of the Hill Road. It needs to be remounted on a newly created Ballyknockan Granite base and a name stone needs to be inscribed and placed besides it.
Update : Completed with inscription 1864 carved by Ambrose Freeman
6) Jacks Well. Located at the top right hand side of the Bog Road. It would be nice to clean this up and place a rail in Ballyknockan granite on the side facing the road to stop people falling into it and a name place stone inscribed and mounted beside it. An entrance would need to be left at it, with granite steps leading down to the well itself.
7) Haggard. This building and the surrounding walled area is of special interest. The roof was blown down many years ago and the wall surrounding the piece of land including one of the entrance gate pillars has been damaged or removed over the years. This wall should be repaired and the area within the walls cleaned up.
8) Wart Stone. Located in a field down by the Scrub which is below the School House, this fine piece of Ballyknockan granite and a nice and unusual piece of history attached to it. A name stone should be inscribed and erected near it.
9) Granite Coins. These beautifully carved Ballyknockan Granite Quoins are located at the Ballyknockan Inn. They have been painted over. I would be nice to have these cleaned up and the paint removed from them and placed on display.
10) Horse Trough. The last remaining Ballyknockan Granite crafted Horse Trough is located at the end of the Pump Lane . It should be re-mounted on a new base and itself and the surrounding area should be cleaned up to allow it to be seen by all.
11) Horse Lane. This lane begins at one corner of the Stable Yard and continues for approx. ½ mile down to the Gable end of the Land grabbers cottage at the bottom of the Bog road. This is a particularly lovely lane with a beautiful view of the lakes. It is impassable during most of the year once the blackberry bushes begin to grow. It therefore needs to be cleared of all growth, drainage cleaned out and it be made passable. There are fine granite walls on both sides of this lane but the top part of the left-hand side of the wall has fallen down and needs to be rebuilt. Name stones needs to be inscribed and placed at both ends of this lane but because the top end is at the bottom corner of the stable yard and out of sight from those passing along the Lane, it has been suggested that the top name stone should be placed on the top corner of the old Haggard wall with an arrow pointing down to the Horse Lane.
Update: Phew !!! A lot of hard work was put in by the committee and local helpers to clear this lane. It now is a fabulous walk . It now has granite carved Name Plates along with all the other lanes identifying them to passers by.
12) The Sand. The top end of this lane begins at the Valleymount end of the village and continues down to the Lower Village at the back of the Ballyknockan Inn. There are beautiful granite walls with unusual recesses on the right hand side as you travel down the lane and one theory is that there were trees growing here and the walls had to be built around them. As with the Horse Lane this one has a problem with the walls at the top left hand side and the roadway needs to the drainage cleared out and a covering of some sort product placed on it. The top part of the lane roadway has been repaired by one of the residents recently but this needs to be continued down the rest of the lane. Name stones need to be inscribed and placed at the top and bottom ends of this lane.
13) Bull Lane. The Bull Lane is situated half way along the Old Road on the right hand side as you face Lacken. It runs up to the back of the Quarries and was used by workers to get to and from the Quarries each morning and evening. As with the Horse Lane this one is blocked with growth but the walls on either side are in good condition. This Lane needs to be cleared of vegetation, drainage cleared out and road covering placed on it. Name stoned need to be inscribed and placed at both ends of this beautiful lane. Done
14) Old Road. The Old Road is situated between the Picnic area and the centre of the Village of Ballyknockan. It is in daily use at the village end and the surface of the road is in fairly good condition here but the Lacken end of the road is covered in grass. The drainage is very bad at this end thereby making it impassable except by tractor for much of the year. About 2/3 of the road needs drainage work and covering placed on it. The walls need some work done to them but a large portion of them are in quite good condition. Name stoned need to be inscribed and placed at both ends of this lane.
15) Black Lane. This lane is a short one travelling from the bottom of the quarry road down to mid way down the Sands. The road surface needs a good deal of work done to it but the walls on both side are in good condition except for the top right hand side which is made up of a wall of an old ruin which has fallen down. Name stones need to be inscribed and placed at both ends of this lane.
16) Spring-well Lane. The Spring-well Lane is generally in good condition with a minimum amount of work needed on the road surface or the walls on either side of the lane. A Name stone need to be inscribed and placed at the village end only of this lane as it is a cul-de-sac.
17) Pump Lane.
This lane runs from the centre of the village to the top of the Stable Yard which in turn is at the top of the Horse Lane. The surface, although passable, is in a dangerous condition and needs to be completely redone. It has been said that there are Ballyknockan granite steps/flag stones under the mounds of earth which are presently covering this lane and it would be nice to have these uncovered and replaced/ added to as appropriate. The drainage in this lane is a serious problem and some thought needs to put into correcting it. The walls at the right hand side as you travel down towards the Stable Yard are a fine example of good granite walls but the problem with the left hand side is that there are a number of ruins which will make this side difficult to fix up until the new owner decides what use he is going to put the ruins to. A suggestion has been made to place flowerbeds at the right hand side of this lane once the shrubbery which is currently there is removed. It has also been suggested that this lane need lighting in its centre. This lane needs name stones inscribed and placed at both ends.
Update: This lane was cleared revealing the ruins and fine granite walls. The new pump has been placed at the top of the lane and Name Stones at both end . We are getting there .
18) Bog Road. The Bog Road has a fairly good drainage system and road covering for approx. 80% of its distance. It therefore needs a small amount of work on its roadway and its drainage system. Unfortunately the walls are in bad condition especially at the top right hand side as you face the old school house. This lane could badly do with lighting as it is too far from the centre of the village to benefit from the lighting there. Name stones need to be inscribed and placed at both end of this road.
19) Main Road. The Main Road runs through the Village between both bridges, which mark the boundary of Ballyknockan. The walls are in very bad condition on much of this road although there are fine examples of Ballyknockan Granite Walls running along both sides of this road in places. The walls on the right hand side of the road as you enter the centre of the village ( Johnny Foleys) are particularly beautiful and we feel that the repair of these should be a high priority. There are areas along the sides of this road where flowerbeds could be place if they were levelled off first. Examples of this are just below the village end of the entrance to the Old Road as you face Lacken, at the Valleymount end of the road before the top of the Sands etc. There are mounds of accumulated quarry sand along both sides of this road especially in the centre of the village and there are rocks and trees/hedging on both sides of the road which could do with being removed or cut back. Drainage in a number of areas along his main road needs work. The portion of the road at the top of the black lane is very dangerous and some work needs to be done here to make it safe again. Although there is some lighting on this main road, it is felt that this should be improved upon .
20) Picnic Area. This patch of grass and car park cum Bus terminus could be cleared up, nice granite walls built around the part of it which does not have walls already and nice flower beds / shubberies put in place. As the old picnic tables have disintegrated and have been removed it might be an idea to commission a number of Ballyknockan Granite picnic tables for here. Lighting need to be put in place in this area of the village because in the winter while waiting at the terminus for the number 65 bus that this area is very bleak and dark.
21) Stable Yard. This area needs to be cleaned up and heavy rubbish disposed of. Name stones should be inscribed and placed here.
22) Winning Bank. This area includes the largest and most beautiful Ballyknockan Granite wall in the Village. A number of the stones have become misplaced and needs work done to repair the walls and to generally tidy up this area.
23) Quarry Road. This is the road which stretches between the Main Road and extends up to the Quarries. The section nearest the Village has been worked on recently by some of the villagers and is an excellent example of how drainage was taken care of in the past. The upper section of this road has a major problem with drainage and at one point by the entrance to Granite House the road is very narrow and therefore dangerous. A name stones should be inscribed and placed at the village end of this road.
24) The Lane This lane which runs from the stable yard to the main road is particularly beautiful with fine examples of Ballyknockan Granite walls to be seen. The roadway is in good condition but some of the walls need to be repaired. Name stones should be inscribed and placed at both ends of this lane
25) Dangerous Buildings. There are a number of dangerous buildings in the Village which are causing worry to us. These include the fine Stable building and another house locally known as ‘The Boutique’ which is situated in ‘The Lane’ between the Stables and the Main road. Something needs to be done urgently to board these buildings as children could walk into them and cause damage to themselves.
Note : We in the Ballyknockan Heritage and Community group have over the last number of years began to get improvement works carried out in the village including the repairing of the gable end of the ‘Land Grabbers Cottage’, the erecting of Ballyknockan Granite welcome stones at both ends of the village, the planting of flower beds etc and are willing to help with the above works wherever possible. Local people have begun to get more interested in renovating the village and a number of them have carried out works adjacent to their homes including clearing and repairing the road drainage on the village end of Quarry road, the same on the Main Road end of ‘The Sand’, the upgrading of the road covering on ‘The Lane’ between the Ballyknockan Inn and the Main Road etc. We would be interested in getting the help of many local people in carrying out the above works if this would be beneficial. The local Roadstone quarry in Blessington have offered lorry loads of many types of materials at a nominal charge of £2 per load.