County: Dublin Site name: DUBLIN: St Mary’s Church, Mary Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 01E0533
Author: Linzi Simpson, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: Watercourse and Kiln - lime
Period/Dating: Post Medieval (AD 1600-AD 1750)
ITM: E 715126m, N 734626m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.349312, -6.270841
The final phase of monitoring was carried out at St Mary’s Church in May/June 2002, when the existing new basement was extended under Mary Street on the north and Wolfe Tone Street on the west. St Mary’s Church (a protected structure) is a late 17th-century galleried church, which is currently undergoing redevelopment and conversion into a licensed premises.
Wolfe Tone Park, on the southern side of the church, was originally the graveyard attached to it. The original assessment suggested that the church was constructed on infill deposits, which were at least 2.5m deep, and this is supported by the documentary sources. Although there were burials along the southern side of the church, none was found to the west (in the churchyard) or on the northern side.
The monitoring programme established the presence of post-medieval soil deposits, on average 2.2m deep, below present ground level. These deposits, which may date to the late 17th century, were a uniform mid-brown, silty, mottled clay, containing brick fragments, mortar and charcoal inclusions. A deposit of red burnt clay/crushed brick material was found at the eastern end of the northern side of the church, 2m below present ground level and 0.2–0.4m deep. This deposit was very distinctive and extended in a spread measuring at least 10m north–south by 0.7m. It sealed a layer of black charcoal, which was a consistent 0.15m deep and was clearly dumped as a single band. This was almost pure charcoal, contained no finds and overlay natural, orange/brown, sandy gravel. These deposits appeared to represent the waste products from some sort of kiln industry dating to the late 17th century, possibly brick making, although no wasters (incomplete brick) were found.
The remains of a brick-built culvert were exposed c. 26m from the eastern limit of excavation at the eastern side of the church, at 3.2m below present ground level. This was oriented north–south and was 0.8m wide and 0.5m high internally, with a soft white mortar. The remains of a large spread of organic refuse were noted, 1.3m below present ground level, measuring 3.9m east–west by 2.3m and 0.1–0.15m deep. This deposit contained butchered animal, bird and fish bone, along with various shellfish, including limpet and oyster. It also contained sherds of sgraffito and North Devon gravel-tempered ware, indicating a date in the late 17th century, before the church was built.
2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
