LANDSCAPES
The coastal edge is under pressure for further development. In this view, extensive planting around the house on the right has helped to overcome the coastal exposure. Planting for shelter is needed for the newer house on the left.
Caravans, a coastal protection concrete retaining wall, and post-and-wire fencing composed in this manner neither recognise the intrinsic beauty of the area, nor provide a good tourist amenity
Coastal industry
LANDSCAPES
The Cooley Peninsula and the foothills of Slieve Gullion
This is predominantly a mountainous area, wild and little inhabited. The coastal strip running along Carlingford Lough, and the southern coastline of the peninsula, are areas with a long history of inhabitation. The mediaeval town of Carlingford and the rural settlements, many of which also date from mediaeval times, form clusters of settlement along the coastal plain. This landscape zone contains areas which are very sensitive in relation to development. A large portion of this area is designated for protection as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and as a Scenic Coastline.
A sheep farm in the mountains above Carlingford. A wild and barely inhabited landscape such as this needs to be protected from any development which will detrimentally alter the balance between man and environment. The visual impact of unsuitable development would be disastrous to the natural beauty. Not only housing, but inappropriate forestry, masts for telecommunications, and ill-located wind farms need strict controlling in this area.
LANDSCAPES
The Drumlin Area
Drumlins, formed by glacial deposits, create a special landscape of small scale, with limited horizons and rounded hillsides divided by hedgerows and lines of trees.
Buildings can be located successfully in sheltered enclaves between the drumlins in what is primarily a rural area with few villages, and served from Carrickmacross and Ardee.
The gentle shapes of drumlins are emphasised by the hedgerows which divide them. Development on the hillsides should be kept below the horizon and in the valleys between drumlins, which is the natural location for shelter.
A long view over the drumlin area in County Louth. This is a very gentle, undulating landscape which is visually pleasing, with short horizons and a variety of outlook.
LANDSCAPES
The Central Plain
This relatively flat area covers a large part of the county, from north of Dundalk as far south as Dunleer, and from east to west across the centre of the county. The two main north-south routes cross the area and form the focus for development, with towns and villages along the routes at river-crossing points.
The area is very fertile and contains the richest agricultural land in the county. The flat topography means that landscape elements such as tree screens and hedgerows make the most impact and strongly influence the appearance of buildings in the landscape.
Mature landscape - Stone walls, trees and hedgerows provide the setting for well-sited rural houses and farm buildings. Roadside housing can destroy this pattern.
Undulating landscape between the Central Plain and the Ridge, where the imprint of the fields and their boundaries structures the landscape
LANDSCAPES
The Ridge
South of the Central Plain is a ridge, formed by a geological fault, which crosses the county from Collon in the east to Clogherhead on the coast. This upland area rises to over 600ft at Mount Oriel and Belpatrick, just west of Collon. This part is designated an Area of High Scenic Quality, along with another rural area south of Monasterboice. They are characterised by a rolling landscape, with mature planting of trees and hedgerows and stone walls, creating landscape environments of the highest quality, and, consequently, pressures for residential development. At the western end of this area, Clogherhead is classified an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in order to protect it from inappropriate development.
The village of Collon is contained by the hilly landscape, which is planted with mainly deciduous trees
Trees in the landscape at Mount Oriel
LANDSCAPES
The Boyne Valley
The River Boyne forms the border with Co Meath, and flows for only a few miles before being absorbed into the urban area of Drogheda. Nevertheless, this is designated an Area of High Scenic Quality, and needs careful protection because of its proximity to Drogheda and the resultant pressure for development. East of Drogheda, the estuary of the Boyne creates a unique landscape environment. Queensborough, the estate village related to Beaulieu House, and the traditional village of Baltray form attractive built frontages to the estuary.
Queensborough faces the estuary of the Boyne at the edge of the Beaulieu demesne, which provides a backdrop of deciduous woodland
LANDSCAPES
Country road in the Boyne valley with
mature canopy of trees
SETTLEMENTS
McGOEY
Bureau de
Change
PHARMA
Chapter 2 - The settlements of County Louth
The settlements chosen in this
chapter serve to illustrate the breadth
of settlement types to be found in
County Louth. With the exception of
Whitestown and Queensborough, the
settlements have been identified in
the County Development Plan as
development centres. Chosen here to
suggest both the urban and the
landscape context within which
development can be considered, they
provide a structure for which design
guidelines may be proposed. The
following settlements are described
and illustrated:
• Termonfeckin: Arcadian village
• Whitestown: agricultural settlement
• Baltray and Queensborough:
settlements of the Boyne estuary
• Clogherhead: coastal village
• Collon: landlord village
• Castlebellingham: landlord and
brewery town
• Carlingford: mediaeval borough
Trees form a canopy over the churchyard in
the mediaeval town of Carlingford
Village life, Louth Village
opposite - Refurbished shops beside
Ardee Castle
SETTLEMENTS
Termonfeckin
Arcadian village
The pattern of the village is of
individual houses in dispersed plots,
set in a landscape of trees which
dominates the form of the village and
its buildings. The village lies in a
valley, on either side of a small river.
The churches are set away from the
road, within churchyards which are
also dominated by trees. The sense of
enclosure and shelter is quite
different from the exposed coastal
areas nearby.
Lewis wrote of the village in 1840:
‘The village ... was partly rebuilt and
greatly improved by the late Mrs
Brabazon of Rath House; it now
contains eighty-nine houses, most of
which are very neatly built...’
The map shows that the number of
houses in the village proper has not
grown much, except for the addition
of a housing estate relatively
recently, suggesting that the layout
was extended from the coastal road,
which was running in a north-south
direction.
Figure-ground plan of Termonfeckin
