1995:201 - DROGHEDA: Abbey and Hospital of St Mary d'Urso, Louth

A watching brief was carried out at the site of the abbey and hospital of St Mary d'Urso, Drogheda, in June 1995. The site is located to the south of the priory church and was partially excavated by Eoin Halpin in 1989 (Excavations 1989, 39–41), at which time significant archaeological deposits were shown to be present, including the remains of cloistral buildings. The site is currently being developed to include a new Garda station, and the watching brief was carried out in response to a request from the National Monuments Section of the Office of Public Works for archaeological supervision of all ground disturbance. The Garda station was already built to the south of the cloistral buildings in an area that was previously excavated. North of the station it was proposed to construct a carpark and underground storage tanks. This involved the removal of up to 1.5m of material over most of the northern part of the site, including the area of the cloistral buildings. This area had been partially excavated in 1989. Quite an extensive area had already been disturbed before monitoring took place. A hard core base had been placed over much of the central part of the site and the only areas which remained undisturbed prior to the watching brief were in the eastern and western portions of the site.

The site had been significantly disturbed over the centuries since the dissolution of the priory. This disturbance began in the post-medieval period and resulted in a very thick layer covering the entire area monitored. Several features of post-medieval date were exposed during excavation. Towards the east end of the site, these included a stone-lined drain, a brick flue and two circular pits. All four features were cut into the post-medieval layer, indicating that they date from a relatively recent period. The stone drain is typical of examples found from the 17th century onward. It consisted of mortared side walls with large stone lintels and an unusual cobbled floor. It was cut at its west end by a red brick flue which is possibly associated with one of the industrial premises which formerly occupied this site. The two other features discovered were circular pits, which were filled with animal feet bones and may represent elements in the tanning process. A tannery was known to have existed on the site up until the 20th century.

Towards the west end of the site, several other post-medieval features were uncovered, which included a French drain running in an east-west direction and an 18th-century cobbled surface. Both these features lay above the post-medieval layer. However, when this layer was removed, a second cobbled surface was exposed. It was defined by the west and east walls of the west range of the priory buildings, which indicates that these walls must have been partly upstanding when the cobbles were laid. They covered an area of 15m2 and rested on a layer containing 17th-century material. Near the south end of the cobbles a flat stone drain was incorporated into the surface. Above the cobbles at the south end was an east-west wall which probably belongs to the late 17th/early 18th century.

Substantial evidence was retrieved during the watching brief for the existence of priory buildings to the south of the church. This comprised both internal and external walls of a west and south range as well as the remains of an ambulatory and cloister garth. Sadly, no evidence was retrieved for the east or north range, probably owing to later industrial activity. A walled partition of medieval date was uncovered in the west range, which effectively divides the west range into one long north room and a much smaller room to the south with a doorway between the two. The south range would appear to have been one long room as no evidence of partitions was uncovered. The ambulatory consisted of a walkway, probably covered in, around the cloister garth. The foundations for the ambulatory wall were only fragmentary and may suggest that it was arcaded, which is common in medieval priories.

Substantial archaeological deposits exist within the ranges, ambulatory and cloister garth, but these were not excavated on this occasion as they will not be disturbed by the development. No conclusive dating evidence was recovered for the walls of the priory buildings. Two test-trenches excavated on the site suggest a possible 14th-century date for the southern portion of the west range and a 13th-century date for the northern internal wall of the same range. The external wall of the west range, which still stands on the site, probably belongs to the 15th century. A protective plastic membrane was laid over the priory walls and deposits and the whole covered by 1.5m of hard core, which will provide a substantial foundation for the proposed carpark.

30 Laurence St., Drogheda, Co. Louth