The Porch Fields is an area of medieval farmland outside

Trim Trim or TRIM may refer to: Cutting * Cutting or trimming small pieces off something to remove them ** Book trimming, a stage of the publishing process ** Pruning, trimming as a form of pruning often used on trees Decoration * Trim (sewing), or ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

with a medieval roadway that forms a National Monument.

Location

The Porch Fields are a green area in Trim, located on the north bank of the

River Boyne The River Boyne ( ga, An Bhóinn or ''Abhainn na Bóinne'') is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows towards the Northeast through C ...

, between the old

town wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

and

Sheep Gate The Sheep Gate is a City gate, town gate in Trim, County Meath, Trim, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a National Monument (Ireland), National Monument. History The Sheep Gate is the only surviving gate of five that once provided access to ...

to the west and

Newtown Abbey Newtown Abbey is a medieval monastery and National Monument (Ireland), National Monument located in Trim, County Meath, Trim, County Meath, Ireland. Location Newtown Abbey is located about 1.2 km (¾ mile) east of Trim town centre, on the ...

to the east.

History

The Porchfield lies between the Anglo‐Norman town of

founded c. 1180 and the rural borough of Newtown Trim founded c. 1220. The two towns were connected through the open field via a medieval sunken lane road about 1 km (⅔ mile) in length. The new burgesses were awarded of land each. They used

ridge and furrow Ridge and furrow is an archaeological pattern of ridges (Medieval Latin: ''sliones'') and troughs created by a system of ploughing used in Europe during the Middle Ages, typical of the open-field system. It is also known as rig (or rigg) and f ...

agriculture to grow crops, and each narrow strip was one

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Per ...

(5 m / 16½ feet) wide — this may is how the Porch Fields acquired their name. However, it could also derive from the French ''porte'' meaning "door", referring to the

. The name " Portual Field" appears on a nineteenth-century map. It is claimed that

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

's troops made

camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

on the Porch Fields before the 1649

Siege of Drogheda The siege of Drogheda or the Drogheda massacre took place 3–11 September 1649, at the outset of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The coastal town of Drogheda was held by the Irish Catholic Confederation and English Royalists und ...

References

{{reflist National monuments in County Meath Trim, County Meath