Demesnes: A Literature Review

This review is based on 4 key publications and focuses on key features of demesnes including the trees, water and its flora and fauna.
What is a demesne?
Demesnes have been part of the Irish landscape since their development around the seventeenth century. The term ‘demesne’ originates from Norman French. It refers to the area of land belonging to and adjoining an estate (Reeves Smyth, 1997). During medieval times, demesnes occupied more than 5 percent of the Irish landscape until the 20th century when the estate system was demolished (Reeves Smyth, 1997). Demesnes still remain a dominant feature of the landscape today, offering habitats to flora and fauna, both native and introduced.
Trees in the landscape
A distinctive feature associated

Trees such as the common sycamore (Acer platanus) beech (Fagus sylvatica), lime (Tilia) and the horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) are all examples of exotic trees which were introduced to the Irish landscape in demesnes in the 1700’s and have adapted well to the Irish climate (Costello, 2014). These trees were native to Britain but did not make it across the sea during the Holocene (Costello, 2014). The woodlands associated with demesnes usually consisted of a variety of trees, that varied in a mix of both the ancient, native trees and the introduced, exotic trees (Costello,

They were most popular during the 18th and 19th centuries. A dominant feature of the demesne landscape was the deer park (Reeves Smyth, 1997). Deer such as ‘Red deer’ are common land mammals found in Ireland (Carden, 2017). Many populations of red deer were introduced to the Irish landscape during the 17th and 18th centuries from Britain and Europe (Carden, 2017). Fallow deer are estimated to have been introduced to Ireland during the 13th century (Carden, 2017). In 1860, there were four sika (deer) imported from Japan to Lord Powerscourt’s Demense in Wicklow (Carden, 2017). Three of these sika, (one male, two females) were sent from Powerscourt’s estate to the Lord Kenmare’s Muckross estate in Co. Kerry in 1865 (Carden, 2017). There was a decline in the number of deer parks after the 14th century, however, they became popular again during the 17th and 18th centuries (Reeves Smyth, 1997). The majority of deer parks were gone by the start of the 20th century (Reeves Smyth, 1997). Due to their demise, many deer escaped and formed feral herds and roamed freely around the country.
Rabbits and hares were also hunted as another supply of meat, as well as fur. Pigeon houses were also found in demesnes and were extremely common during the 17th and 18th centuries (Reeves Smyth, 1997). They were also used as a food supply as they produced eggs as well as supplying meat (Reeves Smyth, 1997). The increase of interest