placenamesJamestown
Baile Thaidhg Dhuibh
Jamestown’s surviving houses connect Georgian building with the materials and family labour involved in maintaining thatch.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Baile Thaidhg Dhuibh · Irish · main form · non-validated name
- Jamestown · English · main form
Place & story
Jamestown House
The architectural inventory dates Jamestown House to around 1740. The two-storey house has three front bays, a central round-headed doorway and extensions behind, with a stable complex on the site. Its recorded townland is Jamestown or Ballyteigeduff, distinguishing this Laois property from houses of the same name elsewhere. [2]
Keeping Abbeyview’s roof
Laois County Council’s 2011 thatch study records Michael Dempsey maintaining Abbeyview Cottage, a house belonging to his family since the early twentieth century. In 2010 his sons Oliver and Martin helped him rethatch it. Repairs revealed pine rafters joined with oak pegs and layers of different cereal straws, evidence of construction and repeated renewal beneath the visible roof. [3]
A harvest for conservation
The Heritage Council’s 2012 report documents another roof-renewal project at Jamestown Cross. Oats were specially grown for the work, harvested with a reaper-binder and threshed to preserve the straw. The local thatcher secured it with hazel scallops cut from hedges. Adults and children participated in the harvest, linking conservation of the house with agricultural skills. [4]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Jamestown. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Jamestown House,NIAH12800915,2004survey · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Thatch:Voices from the Traditional Houses of County Laois2011,pp24–27 · Mary Ann Williams, Sinéad Hughes and Bronagh Lanigan; Laois County Council
- Heritage Council Annual Report2012,p22:Jamestown Cross roofconservation · The Heritage Council
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.