County: Antrim Site name: CARRICKFERGUS: Irish Quarter West
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: Alan Reilly, NAC
Site type: Historic town
Period/Dating: Post Medieval (AD 1600-AD 1750)
ITM: E 741071m, N 887333m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.714271, -5.810515
Monitoring of a sheltered housing development took place at Irish Quarter West/Albert Road junction, Carrickfergus town, Co. Antrim. The site lay beyond the walls of the medieval and 17th-century town, outside the 'Irish Gate'. This area of the town was not occupied until the 17th century, according to surviving documentation. Previous excavations indicated a medieval pottery kiln in the area. Much of the road frontage where the 17th/18th-century houses were situated would have been destroyed in road-widening operations etc. The area monitored was open land before the 17th century and back gardens or yards thereafter.
Mechanical excavation of foundation trenches c. 2m deep and c. 0.6m wide was monitored. The area consisted of a series of dumps that were shallow at the seaward end and up to 2m deep inland. Some intermittent cobbling was noted in section. The areas close to the pavements were very disturbed.
The finds consisted overwhelmingly of 18th-century pottery, with lesser amounts of 17th-century and medieval examples.
Unit 6, Farset Enterprise Park, 638 Springfield Road, Belfast
