“Burgage” whispers a tale of medieval land ownership. Today we explore its story in Dublin. Burgage is a medieval land term. It was well established by the 13th century in Great Britain and Ireland. A burgage was a rental property in a town. Think of a “borough” or “burgh”. It was owned by a king or lord. The property was called a burgage tenement. It usually included a house on a long narrow plot. This plot had a narrow street frontage. Scots called it a toft. Rental payment was usually in money. Each “burgage tenure” arrangement was unique. It could include services too.
As populations grew burgage plots could be split. Smaller additional units were created. Amalgamation wasn’t common until the 19th century. Burgage tenures were usually money-based. This contrasts with rural tenures. Rural tenures were usually services-based. In Saxon times the rent was called a landgable or hawgable.
Burgage grants were common in Ireland. Wexford received its royal charter in 1418. English settlers were encouraged to move there. They were given burgage plots. Rent was one shilling per year. The term translated into Irish as buirgéis. “Borris” survives in many Irish place names. Rothe House in Kilkenny is well-preserved. It shows us what a medieval burgage might have been like.
Burgage in Dublin is in the Electoral Division of Coolock ED 1901. It is in the Civil Parish of Balgriffin. It is in the Barony of Coolock. Burgage’s Irish name is Burgáiste. It is located at 53° 24′ 46″ N latitude and 6° 11′ 20″ W longitude. Burgage is the 53805th largest townland nationwide. Within Co. Dublin it is the 796th largest. Burgage was added to OpenStreetMap on 1 Aug 2015. A volunteer named brianh added it.
Once upon a time the parish was called Burgage. Then the town and church were erected in 1683. The parish comprises 17570 statute acres. The land is mostly tillage and pasturage. There are large tracts of mountain waste too. Turf bogs dot the landscape. Agriculture has improved considerably. The subsoil is chiefly limestone gravel. The mountains hold granite. It’s quarried and sent to Dublin for buildings.
Today Burgage is a place of quiet fields. Imagine the medieval town. Picture the long narrow plots. Hear the Saxon rents being paid. Burgage whispers stories of land and life. It links us to Dublin’s past.