1995:097 - FINGLAS: Holy Faith Convent, Cappagh Rd., Dublin

This site assessment was undertaken in response to a constraint in a planning application, inserted owing to the fact that the site lies in a zone of archaeological potential and is listed in the SMR of the OPW as the possible site of a manor marked as 'Fortwilliam' on the 1890 OS 6" map. The assessment took place in May 1995. The site lies within the grounds of the Holy Faith Convent and is triangular in shape, bounded to the north by Cappagh Rd., to the south-east by Church Rd. and to the south-west by the recently built Patrickswell Place.

A series of seven trenches were machine-excavated down to undisturbed natural and were located in the areas of the site which were under direct threat from the proposed development.

Three trenches were located along the line of Church Rd., which forms the south-east perimeter to the site. A series of walls were uncovered, apparently running perpendicular to the line of Church Rd. In all, three walls were found, each being some 0.6m wide, and consisting of rough-hewn, mortar-bonded stone. Each survived to a maximum height of some 0.5m. The similarity of the form and construction of the walls suggested that they were part of the same structure. A second trench was dug to locate the western return of the structure, with a further trench excavated to find the structure's southern return.

The walls appear to describe a rectangular, two-roomed structure, 20m long and at least 4.5m wide. The long axis seems to run parallel  to Church Rd. The structure was probably a roofed building, as by far the most common finds were roof-tiles. There was also tentative evidence that the building was two-phased. All of the walls, bar one, were found on undisturbed natural. The foundations were shallow and appeared only to have been excavated directly into the skeletal soil horizon, without layers suggesting previous occupation in the area. The floor level associated with the original building consisted of a discontinuous compacted soil and rough cobbling .

A layer of redeposited gravels was dumped on the original floor, on which a second phase of occupation developed. A small section of wall, located to the south of the middle wall, was inserted through the redeposited soils. From the evidence of the assessment the function of this piece of masonry was not clear; however, it may have been a buttress. The ground to the south of the southernmost wall fell away quite sharply. The natural scarp was made up with silts and sands which, on excavation, quickly filled with water. It may have been, therefore, that this area of ground suffered from some subsidence. Finds from in and around the stone building suggested a c. 17th-century date for its occupation. A single sherd of late medieval pottery was recovered from the primary floor deposit, but this may have been a stray find and it would be unwise to place emphasis on a correspondingly early date. It was remarkable, however, that during the assessment in this area very few finds were recovered, except for pieces and fragments of roof-tiles. An explanation for this paucity of domestic pottery might be that the primary function of the building was something other than occupation.

Nothing of archaeological significance was found elsewhere on the site.

The original manor was founded in 1181; in 1228 it was expanded to an episcopal residence which consisted not only of the main house, but also of outbuildings and a brew-house with furnace. The manor went into decline during the Dissolution, but prospered again in the mid-17th century, when it was noted to contain a stone house, malthouse, kiln, five tenements, garden orchard and thirty acres of land.

It is unlikely that the remains of the stone structure uncovered running parallel to the line of Church Rd represent the manor house. However, both medieval and 16th- to 17th-century material was recovered from the floor surfaces, placing it in the correct date bracket. However, as little in the way of domestic finds was recovered, it is possible that the remains are those of one of the outbuildings mentioned above. It is also possible that Church Rd, now a minor laneway, was once a main route into medieval Finglas. Clearly further excavation is required to resolve these matters.

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