County: Dublin Site name: DUBLIN: St Patrick’s Cathedral
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 01E0695
Author: Helen Kehoe
Site type: Cathedral
Period/Dating: Medieval (AD 400-AD 1600)
ITM: E 715111m, N 733537m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.339535, -6.271462
Monitoring was carried out in Minot’s Tower, St Patrick’s Cathedral, during the installation of visitor toilet facilities and upgrading of associated underground sewerage pipe-work outlets. The ground-floor level of the tower was used as a robing room with existing sink/urinal facilities. A new first-floor level was to be inserted 3m from the existing ground level of the tower. There was a 0.6m-deep concrete floor slab inserted several decades ago, in the ground-floor level of the tower, which encased old ceramic service pipes. These existing runs were reused to install new service pipes.
The removal of a modern plaster layer over the internal walls of the tower revealed recesses on either side of the existing doorway for the original wooden beam bolting mechanism. These recesses will be left exposed.
An external trench was opened on the west side of the cathedral to locate existing ceramic service pipes which had been inserted decades ago. Six human bone fragments were found mixed within the redeposited fill which overlay the service pipes. The bones were not articulated.
11 Norseman Place, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7
