2000:1004 - WATERFORD: John's Lane, Waterford

This site lies on the south-west side of St John’s Lane, 45m inside the stretch of city wall between the standing French Tower and the site of Newgate. The earliest documentary references to this part of the wall date to the late 15th century (Bradley et al. 1988, 184). The churchyard of the Hospital of St John the Evangelist was located immediately east of the site. The ruins of the priory building are 45m further east. This was founded in the late 12th century.

There were two Quaker graveyards in the vicinity of the site. The early 18th-century burial-ground was to the north-east, across St John’s Lane. The second burial-ground, opened in 1764, was immediately south-east of the site. This year also sees the first mention of a tannery on the development site itself. In the 19th century this was replaced by a marine stores, and in 1869 Hanley’s clay pipe factory was opened on the property to the north-west. This remained in operation until the 1950s.

Nine test-trenches were opened from 30 March to 4 April. These revealed a natural slope in the subsoil from 13.2m OD in the north-west to 11.23m OD in the south-east. A layer of grey silt filled a cut in the subsoil, which included most of the southern two-thirds of the site, and a similar deposit filled a smaller, rectangular cut to the north-west. Both layers contained pottery dating to the 13th and 14th centuries. These silts did not contain much organic material, and they were interpreted as garden soil. Ryland’s map of 1673 shows a formalised garden in this area, and it is likely that the silts were part of earlier garden beds associated with the priory.

Along the south-western edge of the site the boundary wall for the later Quaker graveyard was uncovered. To the south-east were the remains of timber tanning pits. This area also contained dumps of waste clay and clay pipes from the factory. A number of drains and redbrick walls uncovered here were associated with either the pipe factory or the marine stores.

Reference
Bradley, J. et al. 1988 Urban Archaeology Survey. Part 13 (ii), Waterford. Unpublished, OPW.

The Mile Post, Waterford