County: Dublin Site name: DUBLIN: James's Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 99E0660
Author: Margaret Gowen, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Post Medieval (AD 1600-AD 1750)
ITM: E 713822m, N 733958m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.343594, -6.290653
This licence refers to a preliminary archaeological appraisal of a proposed residential development site, currently comprising eight properties, at 126–133 James's Street, Dublin 8. The site is on the northern side of the street and extends to within two properties on the corner of Steeven's Lane. At the north the site is bounded by a portion of the Guinness brewery complex, and on the east it extends as far as the boundary wall of St James's churchyard. This church was a medieval foundation. The facades of Nos 131–133 are to be retained within the proposed development, along with the interior of No. 132, which is a List 2 building in the Dublin City Development Plan, 1999. Elsewhere, the proposed development seeks to provide an extensive basement for carparking as part of a proposed residential scheme.
This assessment, based on just three test-trenches owing to restricted access and standing buildings on the site, was conducted in order to address the potential archaeological issues for the proposed basement that forms part of the scheme. The trenches were opened on the only accessible portions of the site, in the areas known as Nash's Court (1st edition OS) and Lamb's Court. Many of the buildings, outbuildings and yards within the site are currently in use, and the one vacant site on the street-front portion of the proposed development area could not be examined for safety reasons.
It was understood by all concerned that a further, more detailed phase of archaeological investigation is necessary, but this can only be undertaken when access to a far greater portion of the site is gained.
The results provided the basis for an evaluation of the archaeological potential of the site and the scope of further archaeological requirements. They suggested that there may be very limited areas of the site that possess archaeological deposits in situ (only one area, which has never seen development or building, on the north-east of the site revealed a very thin organic deposit, which was interpreted as old ground level). The results also suggested that the primary phase of building development on the site in the late 17th/early 18th century, as depicted by Rocque, had been very largely replaced above ground, and possibly below ground also, by later, 19th-century development.
2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
