1997:580 - WATERFORD: Reginald's Tower, The Quay, Waterford

The excavation was carried out within the ground-floor area of the tower, to facilitate the lowering of the floor level and the laying of underfloor services. This became necessary in order to complete the restoration work to the building by the National Monuments Service. The tower is located at the junction of the Quay and the Mall, at the north-east corner of the city wall. The building, which is circular in plan, measures 13.5m in external diameter at ground-floor level. The lower two storeys of the tower were constructed around 1200, while the upper part is late medieval.

The excavation was carried out from 17 June to 18 July 1997 and reached a maximum depth of 1m beneath the pre-excavation floor level. In all, ten phases of activity or development were identified, dating from the construction of the tower in c. 1200 to the 20th century. These can be summarised as follows.

Phase 1: c. 1200
This involved the construction of the original stone tower. On the ground floor, the circular main chamber is 7.15m in diameter. To the west is the entrance lobby, which gives access from the outside and to the spiral stairwell to the upper floors. To the south and east are four embrasures with loops overlooking the area outside the city wall. The excavation revealed that the original stone floors of these alcoves had been destroyed during Phase 8 (below). To the north-west a small doorway gives access to a linear passageway within the wall of the tower. The excavation revealed a garderobe chute at the east end.

Phase 2: c. 1200
This involved the construction of the primary floor of the main ground-floor chamber. Although the foundation was not reached, the excavation revealed that subsequent to its construction the interior of the tower was backfilled with random rubble, roughly bonded with poured mortar, mixed with boulder clay. Over this, the primary floor was laid. It was a layer of set mortar, averaging 50mm in thickness. From this surface, one stepped up onto the floors of the surrounding mural alcoves.

Phase 3: post-1200
This consisted of a compact layer of set mortar over the primary floor of the main chamber. The surface functioned as a floor for a period of time.

Phase 4: late medieval
This involved a 0.2m build-up of mixed layers of redeposited clay, silt and rubble over the above floor. This horizon was sealed by a layer of set mortar, about 30–50mm thick. The trampled surface also functioned as a floor for a period of time.

Phase 5: c. mid-16th century
This involved a build-up of layers of humic material and redeposited clay over the mortar floor. The horizon was sealed by a cobbled floor throughout the main chamber. The cobbling was fragmentary and destroyed in places by later activity. Set between the cobbles were sparse fragments of late medieval line-impressed tiles. These may have come from the nearby Franciscan friary, which was suppressed in 1540.

This phase is associated with the construction of a blockhouse onto the east of the tower, which formerly extended out into the River Suir. The cobbled floor was extended into the embrasure to a round-headed doorway, which replaced an original loop, to give access out into the blockhouse. About this time gunports were inserted into the other embrasures that surrounded the main chamber.

Phase 6: c. later 16th century to first half of 17th century
This involved the construction of a large central stone pillar in the main chamber, 2–6m in diameter. The foundation was inserted through the Phase 5 cobbled floor. The pillar was demolished during the early 19th-century renovations to the tower (Phase 9), leaving only the bottom 0.3m above the foundation in situ.

Phase 7: c. 18th century
During this period, a circular well, 0.7m in diameter, was inserted through the floor in the eastern part of the main chamber. The upper part was stone-lined.

Phase 8: c. 18th century
This period is associated with industrial activity, probably iron-smelting, throughout the ground-floor area of the tower. It involved an accumulation of coal dust, ash and iron slag over the cobbled floor. Pits were dug through the stone floors of the embrasures surrounding the main chambers and backfilled with the dust/ash/slag. The central stone pillar was still standing during this period.

Phase 9: early 19th century
This involved major renovations to the tower after it became used as a prison by the local constabulary. There was a build-up of clay and ash deposits throughout the ground-floor area. A brick-lined culvert was inserted into this horizon. The central stone pillar was demolished and a brick floor was laid throughout the ground-floor area.

Phase 10
In 1860, the ownership of the tower passed from the Crown to Waterford Corporation, who turned it into a museum in 1955. This involved further renovations to the building, included the laying of a concrete floor over the Phase 9 brick floor.

Finds
A total of 120 registered artefacts were recovered from the excavation. The bulk (114) came from 18th/19th-century contexts (Phases 7–9). These included fragments of post-medieval pottery, bottle and window glass, clay pipes and metal artefacts. As noted above, fragments of late medieval line-impressed tiles were found inserted into the Phase 6 cobbled floor.