2002:0550 - DUBLIN: St James’s Hospital, James’s Street, Dublin

The site lay on the northern side of the hospital complex fronting onto James’s Street, where a new, large unit has recently been constructed by Trinity College. This area was the site of the ‘Poor House’ built in 1702, to the designs of either William Robinson or Thomas Burgh. In 1727 the building was converted into a ‘Foundling Hospital’ for orphaned children, and two new, substantial wings were added. This building was subsequently rebuilt and enlarged throughout the centuries, culminating in a series of buildings that formed the South Union Workhouse. This huge complex, which covered c. 7ha, included an asylum, a church and various other infirmaries.

The writer discovered the Poor House during an assessment in 2000 (Excavations 2000, No. 267, 00E0647), and Claire Walsh subsequently excavated the building (Excavations 2001, No. 402), the remains of which were found to stand over 3m high. As a result of this discovery, the new building was redesigned to allow for full preservation in situ, and the Poor House building now forms the basement of the new development.

In July 2002, monitoring took place of the insertion of services at the western side of the Poor House. This revealed an arched passageway on this side, which can be dated to the 18th century and originally formed part of the Poor House/Foundling Hospital complex. The arched passageway or cellar is oriented east–west and was roofed with a segmented-arched barrel vault (with no brick), identical to the arches within the main building and presumably dating to the same period. A second passageway, farther south, can probably be inferred by the second opening in the west wall of the main building.

The insertion of the services did not impinge on the wall, as the pipes were rerouted to run along the base of the wall (on the eastern side) and to exit through an existing ope.

2 Killiney View, 2 Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin