County: Dublin Site name: INCHICORE: Spa Road
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 01E0745
Author: Claire Walsh
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 711940m, N 733401m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.338993, -6.319093
Test excavation was undertaken on the site of the former tramworks at Spa Road on 30 October 2001. The site lies close to the Golden Bridge, a bridge over the River Camac at the main crossroads of Inchicore.
The village of Inchicore retained a rural character until fairly recent times, with scant mention in 17th-century documents and records. The Civil Survey of 1654 records ‘at Inchicore the ruins of a brick house’. The Goldenbridge paper-mills are fairly late in date (mid-19th century), with significant medieval mills either further upstream at Drimnagh or downstream at Kilmainham. Rocque’s map of 1756 shows the site in fields, with no structures close by. Goldenbridge is annotated, and the L-shaped road to the south (Thomas Davis Street) is in existence. This was primarily an avenue off the old Kilmainham road to several large structures on the east side of the Camac.
Spa Road was previously known as Berry’s Lane. It is named after the Richmond Spa, depicted on the OS map of 1849, which appears to have lain some distance west of the present site. Nothing is recorded of the Richmond Spa.
The site and a large site adjacent became the works for the Dublin tram company in the late 19th century, and later a bus assembly works. The industrial buildings were demolished to make way for the new development.
Four trenches were excavated using a toothed bucket 1.5m in width. No archaeological levels were present on the site.
25A Eaton Square, Terenure, Dublin 6W
