2000:0278 - DUBLIN: 9 Merchant's Quay, Dublin

No. 9 Merchant’s Quay comprises what were originally two four-storey-over-basement dwellings from the 1720s. Substantial alterations in the late 18th century resulted in the two houses being amalgamated into one large house, which functioned over the years as both a private house and business premises. The house has remained largely unoccupied for a number of years and is in a state of disrepair. As part of Dublin Corporation’s ‘Historic Heart of Dublin’ Project, it is being restored to its late 18th-century altered condition.

Slipway F8
Initial excavation of infill rubble material laid down in earlier times to raise the basement floors revealed the existence of a south–north-sloping slipway on the western side of the basement of the existing house. The fully exposed slipway was 4.5m long x 1.5m at its widest point, at its northern end, and 0.5m wide at its narrowest, at the southern end. It comprised mainly large rounded and oval river cobbles averaging 0.15m by 0.15m in size. The stones varied in type and colour, consisting of pinkish granite, smooth blackstone and greenstone. The stones were set in a hard, sandy grit and small stone chip, compactly and evenly placed together.

Sections of the slipway extended underneath the west wall of the house; however, a small section of the complete width of the slipway was evident centrally along its western edge, where six complete edging stones were revealed. These flat edging stones were set east–west and ranged from 0.18m x 0.3m to 0.1m x 0.15m in size. At its southern end it would appear that the slipway did continue southwards, but a 0.5m section is missing, possibly destroyed during the construction of the present building. Where the slipway finishes at its southern end a gritty, brown silt is present.

The eastern edge of the slipway comprises edging blackstones and red bricks built over large square block stones, which form the west wall of an adjacent water channel. A 2m section of the eastern edging stones at the southern end of the slipway was missing, exposing the top of the west wall stones of the 0.35m-wide channel. At its northern end the slipway extended underneath the northern wall of the building, where a bridging stone built into the base of the wall creates an outlet 0.5m wide by 0.28m deep, allowing tidal River Liffey water to ebb and flow in and out of the basement. The redbrick edging stones set along the northern end of the eastern edge may be a later build or repair.

Water channel/drain F9
The water channel adjacent to the slipway was built before it, as the eastern edging stones of the slipway are built over the large rectangular blackstones that form the western north–south wall of the channel. Having an internal width of 0.45m, the water channel or drain extends the length of the basement room and continues underneath both the north wall and southern party wall by means of bridging stones, set underneath these walls for drainage purposes. The large bridging stone at its northern end was 0.64m long x 0.14m deep. A 0.17m section of the bridging stone projects from the northern wall of the building.

The east wall of F9 is 0.35m wide and constructed of smaller stone blocks with an average size of 0.2m by 0.2m. The topmost course comprises blackstone and redbrick edging stones, which define the inner edge of the eastern wall. One stone, which forms part of the uppermost course, displays evidence of fine tooling; this reused stone may have formed part of a shallow, grooved stone drain or stone window tracery. The drain was deepest at its southern end at 0.6m, becoming more shallow, c. 0.2m, at its northern end. The base of the drain was not paved but consisted of a rough surface made up of a compact, hard mixture of mortar and redbrick fragments. The drain was filled with a combination of infill material and river silt; some 18th- and 19th-century pottery sherds were retrieved from this fill.

Quay Wall F10
Flush with the outer edge of the eastern wall of the channel were the remains of a quay wall. Extending north–south, it was 2.75m long by 0.76m wide. The quay wall was well built, of regular-faced blackstones averaging 0.2m x 0.25m in size; it was 0.36m deep on its west face and 0.28m deep on its east face. It was bonded with a compact, grey/white mortar, encasing a rubble blackstone and mortar central core. These large uniform blocks, one course deep, were set on a base course of flat blackstones 0.06m thick. The west face of the quay was 0.36m deep, its east face 0.28m deep.

An approximately 1m section at the southern end of the wall was missing, possibly demolished, while at its northern end it appears to extend beyond the north wall of the existing building, which was constructed over the quay wall. The wall conveys a slight tilt westwards towards the channel and the slipway. At its northern end a 0.5m-wide ope in the wall on its western face revealed a step stone (0.06m deep) 0.3m down from the top of F10, extending east–west at 0.5m in length. The west edge of the step stone was flush with the east wall of F9. The quay wall continues under the north wall of the existing building.

Quay Wall F11
Extending out from underneath the quay wall on its eastern base were the remains of an earlier quay wall F11. It was 2.5m long, 0.57m at its widest point and 0.55m deep. Comprising two courses of blackstone, its construction was similar to F10. though F11 was not as evenly or as well built. It conveyed evidence for stone removal or demolition. The eastern face of F11 was uneven in construction, bulging slightly along its eastern line. Like F10, it appears to have been demolished at its southern end and built over by the north wall of the existing building. F11 was subject to stone removal and some demolition activity.

A 0.46m-deep layer of compact, grey/white mortar and stone chip fill covered F11 up to the level of the top of F10 in the north-east corner for 2m in length. It appears to have formed part of the general infilling of the basement by the rubble material prior to being stone-flagged. Under this mortar fill, brown river silt was revealed on which F11 was built. The evidence suggests that F10 was built partially on top of F11.

Oak timber remains F12 and F13
With the removal of the F7 infill material in the south-east corner of the western basement room, several rectangular oak planks were revealed lying flat on natural gravel. The timber remains, partially criss-crossed, did not form a particular pattern and appear to have been thrown or laid down on an ad hoc basis, prior to the erection of the existing building. Two timbers extended underneath the party wall between the front western basement room and the eastern basement room, forming part of additional timber remains revealed in the south-west corner of the eastern basement room with the removal of 0.4m of overlying silt. These reused timbers may have been used to build a small-scale fence structure, which was possibly associated with the slipway and quay wall. The timbers appear to have been subsequently flattened during the construction of the present upstanding building.

Artefacts retrieved from the basement consisted mainly of 18th/19th-century pottery sherds, clay pipe remains and glass fragments from the infill material laid down to raise the level of the floors.

An entry in Gilbert’s calendar of ancient records of Dublin, vol. 2, 489, refers to a ‘slipway near the north—end of Skipper’s Alley, derelict to be repaired—608’. This appears to be a definitive written reference to the excavated remains uncovered in the basement of No. 9. The grid reference for the slipway mentioned in the Ancient records locates it at the site of No. 9 Merchant’s Quay. It was in existence in at least 1610 in a ‘derelict state’, which suggests it was in use as a slipway for some time prior to this date.

The archaeological evidence supports the description of the slipway in 1608 as ‘in need of repair’. A later quay wall (F10) is partially built over an earlier wall (F11). There also appears to be some redbrick repairs to the eastern edge of the slipway at its northern end. The quay wall, water channel and slipway remains are in a relatively good state of preservation. The excavation down to the slipway allowed for the natural ebb and flow of the Liffey tidal waters under the front elevation of No. 9 up the slipway again. The wall remains (F20/F19) and associated paving (F18) are the remains of an earlier house structure. Its situation further away from the river frontage, and its apparent east–west aspect, is not unlike the alignment of houses shown in the vicinity of Merchant’s Quay/Rame Lane on Speed’s Map from 1610.

It is intended to preserve the basement room with the slipway and quay wall intact for public viewing.

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