Street or Streete ( or ''Sráid'') is a village and parish in
County Westmeath
County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. It lies on the
regional road between
Lismacaffery and
Rathowen
Rathowen () is a small village in County Westmeath, Ireland, on the N4 national primary route. Rathowen was designated as a census town by the Central Statistics Office for the first time in the 2016 census, at which time it had a population ...
. Its Irish name was historically anglicised as ''Straid'' or ''Strade''.
History and development
The remains of a
Norman-era motte-and-bailey castle
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...
, known as either the "Castle of Magh-Breacruighe" or "Caisleán na Sráide", are located to the south of the village. Largely destroyed between the 13th and 15th century, only partial remains of the "steep-sided mound or motte" remain. Close to the castle site is a 19th century
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
church, built on the site of an earlier ecclesiastical enclosure.
Other 19th century structures in the area include the village's community centre and "institute" (built ), a former
saw mill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
(), and a former
observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed.
Th ...
(built ).
This observatory is associated with astronomer
William Edward Wilson (1851–1908) and built within the ground's of his family's estate at Daramona House.
A large local amenity park and community centre was built to the north of the village in 2003.
See also
*
Street, County Westmeath (civil parish)
References
Towns and villages in County Westmeath
{{Westmeath-geo-stub