County: Kilkenny Site name: JERPOINT ABBEY
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 02E1246
Author: Grace Fegan, for Valerie J. Keeley Ltd.
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 657136m, N 640289m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.510993, -7.158283
Investigation took place of structural remains affected by development, and pre-construction topsoil-stripping was monitored. The development work involved the elimination of the current level crossings and the construction of a new underpass and roadway leading from the public road to the underpass. The development ran along the eastern edge of the railway line, east of Jerpoint Abbey.
The investigations were carried out on the site of extant structural remains that had later been incorporated in the railway embankment. These remains were found to be of 18th-century date. The structures remain in situ, below the new access road.
The area south of this site was particularly sensitive owing to the discovery of human skeletal remains in the vicinity during the 1850s, when the railway line was being constructed. It was reported in the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (1849–51) by Mr John G.A. Prim that skeletal remains were found 250 yards south-east of the abbey. Local tradition tells of a derailment in this area in the 1950s that resulted in the cut for the railway line being extended, uncovering further human remains. The development did not extend into this area.
No material of archaeological significance came to light during these groundworks.
41 The Orchard, Kilkenny
