Tullynally Castle was attached to a large estate in north Westmeath and has a significant archive with documents dating from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
These documents include maps, rent receiving books, and wage ledgers. The historic maps, some of which pre-date the Ordnance Survey maps, are beautifully executed and provide detail on the extent of landholdings and the conditions of the lands at the time.
The written documents record the day to day running of the estate lands in Westmeath and offer a valuable insight into the social history of the time. They contain details on the size of individual land holdings, the cost of rent and the names of those who lived and worked on the estate lands over the years. The wage ledgers have details on the many different jobs that were required to keep the estate going and detail how staff numbers, jobs and rates of pay changed over the years.
We are delighted that many of these documents have been digitised and are now available through the local studies section of the library here in Mullingar. These documents will be of interest not only for the information they provide on social history but are also a valuable resource for those looking to track down family history.
The digitisation of these archives was funded by the Creative Ireland Programme from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and enables wider access for researchers and those looking into their family histories to expand on the story of Tullynally and the community that lived and worked there.
Wages Book Extract 1853
Please contact archivist@longfordcoco.ie for Longford enquiries and library@westmeathcoco.ie for Westmeath enquiries.
