1999:461 - KILMURRY CASTLE, Slieveroe, Kilkenny

The site is at the south end of the county, just 2km to the north-east of Ferrybank, in Waterford City, and almost the same distance to the north of the River Suir. It consists of a small late medieval tower-house, with an adjoining two-storey dwelling-house, surrounded by farm buildings. Further to an application to Kilkenny County Council to renovate the dwelling-house, the owner engaged the writer to conduct an assessment of the building. This was carried out during 1988.

The assessment revealed that the dwelling-house incorporated a later medieval church or chapel that was attached to, and built at the same time as, the tower-house. An original doorway at ground level gives access between the two buildings. In parts of late medieval Leinster, tower-houses were built at the west end of some churches, as a residence for clergymen. Kilmurry Castle is such an example. Documentary evidence suggests that it may have been built in the 1430s.

During the 16th century and first half of the 17th century the site was the property of the Fitzgerald O'Dee family of nearby Gurteens Castle. The church was a chapel of ease. Internally it measures 9.15m x 4.62m. Inside and to the east of the south doorway is a stoup. In the south-east corner is a piscina. The east window is a large single-light with an ogee head.

Subsequent to the Cromwellian Settlement the chapel was renovated with the use of clay-bonded masonry. It was turned into a dwelling, adjoining the tower-house (Phase 2). In effect the two buildings functioned as a single house. In the later 18th or early 19th century they underwent a programme of renovations (Phase 3), and again about a century later (Phase 4). Further work (Phase 5) was carried out before the 'Castle' was abandoned in 1955.

On foot of the building's assessment, planning permission was granted to proceed with the proposed renovations with conditions, one being that the late medieval chapel would be preserved within the fabric of the dwelling-house. A limited archaeological excavation was also required for the laying of a new floor within the building and for the laying of services outside. This work was carried out during 1999. Before its commencement it was not known whether a disused graveyard existed within and around the old chapel. The excavation was conducted in three areas.

Area A involved the excavation of a linear trench running from the south-east corner of the old chapel, across the yard to the south, for a distance of 17.8m, to the south boundary wall. It was dug to a depth of 1.2m and was c. 0.9m wide. Beneath a layer of topsoil a cobbled surface was encountered, which dated to the Phase 3 renovations. This in turn overlay a layer of topsoil, in which some late 18th- or early 19th-century artefacts were found. Underlying this was a thin layer of subsoil, which in turn overlay very hard glacial clay. No evidence of a graveyard was found.

At the north end of the trench it was found that the south-east corner of the old chapel rested directly upon the natural clay, while in the southern half a wide and shallow cut was encountered, which was a late feature.

Area B was within the interior of the old chapel. During the later renovations this area had been subdivided into two rooms. The floor of the eastern room (kitchen) was 0.15m lower than that of the western one. It was proposed to replace these with one level floor.

The concrete floor of the kitchen was removed to reveal a cobbled surface underneath. The excavation found that beneath the western flagged floor was a thick layer of loose material, consisting mainly of ash and other material from fire hearths. This layer ran east beneath the cobbled floor of the kitchen and was a bedding for cobbles. This shows that the Phase 4 flagged floor of the western room replaced a cobbled one. Artefacts recovered from the bedding layer included many wine bottle fragments of post-1750 date.

The work also showed that the bedding layer overlay the natural glacial clay, indicating that the original (Phase 1) floor of the chapel, as well as the Phase 2 floor, had been destroyed during the Phase 3 renovations (later 18th/early 19th century). At the west end it was found that the offset footing of the tower-house was built into a foundation trench, which was dug into the glacial clay. The natural ground slopes away to a stream to the east of the present dwelling-house. The foundation of the chapel slopes with this gradient. It was also found that the east wall was built directly on the natural clay. As was the case in Area A outside, no human burials were encountered within the chapel.

Area C was in the modern extension to the east of the old chapel. On the ground floor this consists of a single room. Here it was found that the Phase 3 extension overlies the remains of a Phase 2 lean-to shed, constructed with clay-bonded masonry. Within the room the excavation found that the natural clay had been dug into for the laying of the same bedding layer that was found within the chapel (Area B), for the setting of Phase 3 cobbles. The latter had been removed by the laying of later floors. Again, as in areas A and B, no human burials were encountered in Area C.

Primrose Hill, Three Castles, Co. Kilkenny