2002:1013 - KILKENNY: 63 High Street (rear of), Kilkenny

Testing of the rear of No. 63 High Street (‘The OK House’), Kilkenny, was requested by Kilkenny Borough Council as part of an archaeological assessment of a commercial and residential development. Ms T. Jane Fenlon completed an architectural assessment of the standing buildings in June 2002 in accordance with a request for further information.

The earliest documentary reference to St Kieran’s Street occurs in 1312, when it is referred to as ‘Benethstrete’. In 1508 it was referred to as ‘Low Lane’; in c. 1655 it was named ‘Back Lane’; and by the early 19th century it was called ‘King Street’. The first reference to ‘St Kieran’s Street’ occurs on the 1946 OS map. The long, narrow strips of land shown on the first-edition map (1841) of Kieran’s Street (King Street) are the property boundaries (burgage plots) that were first granted in the 13th century during the formation of this part of the town. These are clearly seen on the east side of the street, although the west side is occupied almost exclusively by buildings, suggesting that it had specialist functions rather than being a primarily domestic utility. Bradley (2000) postulates that the early defences of Kilkenny ran in a line from James’s Street east toward the River Nore, c. 25m north of the proposed development site. Extant medieval fabric is to be found at Kytler’s Inn (Nos 25–26) and No. 27 Kieran’s Street on the opposite side to the development area. It has been claimed that a well at the back of Kytler’s Inn dedicated to St Ciarán was part of a pre-Norman ecclesiastical foundation. However, the earliest documentary reference to the well is in 1202, and there is no unequivocal evidence that it represents part of a pre-Norman church. The rear of the ‘Langton House’, No. 80 High Street, excavated by Orla Scully in 1992 (Excavations 1992, No. 113), and the rear of Nos 70–71 High Street also contain medieval fabric. At Nos 53–57 High Street, 25m north of the development area, was the site of a market known as The Shambles, which opened in 1811 and closed c. 1868.

Previous excavations on the street in 1997 by Ruairí Ó Baoill and in 1998 by Hilary Opie uncovered medieval walls, midden material, a well and pits at Nos 10–13 Kieran’s Street (Excavations 1997, No. 309, 97E0334; Excavations 1998, No. 352, 98E0167). At Kytler’s Inn Margaret Gowen found extensive medieval midden dumps overlain by clays that contained 14th–15th-century pottery (Excavations 1995, No. 170, 95E0062). It has also been noted locally that extensive archaeological remains were destroyed during the construction (without archaeological intervention) of the Dunnes Stores shopping centre and carpark on the east side of the street.

It is probable that there was a medieval house/structure on the proposed development site from an early date, although the first evidence of this occurs in the Civil Survey (1654), in which a premises on High Street, a yard and an outbuilding fronting onto Kieran’s Street are noted in the development area. Rocque’s (1763) map shows a solid block of buildings on both High Street and Kieran’s Street, although this is probably somewhat schematic. The first-edition OS map (1841) shows buildings fronting onto High Street and Kieran’s Street, with a small open yard between the two buildings. This open area is also marked on a map of Kilkenny dated c. 1842 (Bradley 2000). The 1900 OS map shows a similar arrangement of buildings on the site. According to local information, in c. 1950 the building shown fronting onto Kieran’s Street was demolished to make way for a small petrol station, and a petrol tank was inserted in a large pit dug in the centre of the site. At the time of test excavation the area was a disused yard with a concrete floor.

Two test-trenches were excavated by mini-digger within the development area. The stratigraphic sequence in the trenches was broadly similar. Under a concrete yard surface, deposits of red-brick rubble make-up overlay two disturbed, possibly redeposited, midden deposits that were dumped on a glacial till, probably as make-up. The finds from the lower midden deposits ranged in date from the 13th century to modern, indicating that a certain amount of disturbance to the material had occurred. This is likely to have been a result of the insertion of the petrol tank in the site in the 1950s. As a consequence of this, an area of 4.5m by 2.5m in the south of the site and an area of 5m by 3m in the north were of archaeological significance. Monitoring of the groundworks was recommended.

Reference
Bradley, J. 2000 Kilkenny. Irish Historic Towns Atlas No. 10. Dublin.

258 The Sycamores, Kilkenny