1994:162 - LIMERICK: 3–6 Nicholas St., Limerick

This site is located on the west side of Nicholas St. within the Englishtown and is erroneously identified as "St Nicholas Abbey" on the OS 1840 map and "St Nicholas's Abbey, (remains of)" on the 1870 edition. There was no St Nicholas Abbey in Limerick, but there was a medieval parish church dedicated to St Nicholas further north where the "Widows Alms Houses" are now, immediately south of King John's Castle. The church was demolished after the siege of 1692 and the Alms Houses built by the then Corporation.

The substantial walls stretching east-west along this site are, in fact, the remains of two late medieval castellated town houses which fronted onto Nicholas St. Three cuttings were opened: the first in No. 3, the second in No. 6 and the third to the rear of No. 5. The first two were infilled cellars. It was hoped that the third would be undisturbed but this was, in fact, infilled with cut stone masonry rubble. It appears that it was also originally cellared. Judging by the quality of the stone—some architectural fragments were found and an arched doorway in the northernmost wall was noted by the Urban Survey—the rubble may be from the late medieval houses which were partly demolished prior to houses being built in the 1930s. Unfortunately, most of the dividing wall (between Nos. 4 and 5), which had survived the various rebuilds of this site, was demolished in 1992, under the Dangerous Buildings Act, as was part of the northernmost wall where the door is located. The southern wall which is the wall of the house to the south of the site was in very poor condition and was recently repaired.

No archaeological deposits were identified within the cuttings. The surviving late medieval walls are to be retained within the new development.

City Hall, Limerick