County: Meath Site name: TRIM: Trim Courthouse, Manorland
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 96E0247 ext.
Author: Avril Purcell, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: Courthouse and Religious house - Franciscan friars
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 680133m, N 756821m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.555189, -6.790607
This excavation and associated monitoring were undertaken before and during the extensive refurbishment of and extension to the courthouse building during the summer of 1999. The courthouse was constructed in the early 19th century, and it is widely held that it was erected on or near the site of the early 13th-century Franciscan friary (Moore 1987, 147; NMI files).
An initial assessment was conducted on the site in 1997 by Dominic Delaney (Excavations 1997, 145–6). At this time two test-trenches were opened. Two burials, which appeared to be in situ, were revealed, one in each trench, with a possible third also revealed.
During excavation and monitoring undertaken in 1999, additional burials were uncovered, as well as finds, both of which suggested that 13th-century activity underlies the 19th-century courthouse building. Seven burials (most of which were incomplete owing to 19th-century disturbance) were revealed. Six of these appeared to be medieval in date and thus associated with the friary. One of the burials was later than the others and probably dates to the mid- or early 19th century. A significant amount of disarticulated bone, both human and animal, was revealed throughout the site during monitoring of general ground reduction. It is likely that a substantial number of burials were disturbed during the construction of the courthouse.
Finds from the site included sherds of medieval floor tiles, medieval pottery and a bronze stick-pin (the pin is probably a 'spatulate-headed' type A and thus dates to the late 12th to mid-13th century (O'Rahilly 1998, 29)).
Three small areas of walling were revealed. These were composed of one surviving course of small stones sitting in lime mortar. They appear to have been partially collapsed or robbed out but were probably medieval in date. Their full extent was not revealed as only very limited areas of the site were available for excavation. It is likely that these relate to medieval structural features, possibly even the friary itself, but given the limited area opened it was impossible to be certain.
A large, U-shaped cut feature was revealed; however, owing to the small area opened and extensive disturbance, it was not possible to determine the nature or extent of this feature.
References
Moore, M. 1987 Archaeological inventory of Co. Meath. Dublin.
O Rahilly, C. 1998 A classification of bronze stick-pins from the Dublin excavations 1962–72. In Conleth Manning (ed.), Dublin and beyond the Pale. Dublin.
2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
