2002:1418 - ATHBOY: Mercy Convent, Meath

The site was that of a proposed development of nineteen townhouses in the former convent grounds on O’Growney Street, just south of the constraint zone of the medieval town of Athboy (SMR 29:23). Viewed on a north–south axis, it consisted of a roughly diamond-shaped area, c. 100m by 80m, south-west of a standing Georgian building. This was depicted on the first-edition OS map of 1836 as ‘Frankeville’ and became a convent in the early 20th century.

A large stone wall that divided the site east–west defined the western boundary of the Frankeville estate on the first-edition OS map. The surviving remains were up to 3.5m high and 0.5m thick, showing evidence of two phases of construction. Phase 1, representing the northernmost stretch of the wall, c. 30m long and 2.5m high, was irregularly coursed and constructed of angular limestone blocks and red brick, later repointed with cement. This part of the wall was retained by the development and was not impinged on. Phase 2, representing most of the wall, was constructed of regularly coursed limestone blocks bonded by dark grey mortar and also repointed in places by cement. Phase 2 masonry was also used to build a section of the northernmost stretch of the wall (c. 16m long) to a height of c. 3.5m. The Phase 2 section of the wall was dismantled under supervision, and no material of archaeological significance was found in its fabric or underlying its foundations.

There were five gate openings along the length of the wall, but only one, in the northernmost section, was retained. This was 1.6m high and 0.6m wide, with a concrete lintel, and was fitted with a modern iron gate. The second gate opening, 2.5m to the south, was c. 1.5m by 0.5m, with red-brick reveals and a wooden lintel. It had been filled with Phase 2 masonry. The third gate opening was 10m farther south and had also been filled by Phase 2 masonry. It was 2.5m by 1.1m with a yellow-brick lintel. The fourth gate opening had been filled with red brick and was 45m from the southern boundary of the site. Only visible from the eastern side, it was a poorly preserved pointed arch of rectangular limestone blocks, 1.25m high and 1.06m wide. The fifth gate opening was 30m from the southern boundary of the site and was constructed of Phase 2 masonry. It was 2.2m by 1.2m, with a limestone lintel, and was fitted with a modern iron gate. A similar wall bounded the site to the south-west and was retained by the development.

Monitoring was conducted from 22 July to 8 August 2002, and soil-stripping was carried out in four areas of the site. In Area 1 (to the south and west of the dividing wall) a flowerbed defined by a loosely constructed, red-brick border and gravel path (c. 1m wide) was observed adjacent to the south-east walls. The area was excavated to a depth of c. 0.65m, and foundation trenches were dug to a further 0.3m. The stratigraphy consisted of soft, dark brown/black, clayey silt, 0.12m deep, with moderate quantities of modern pottery, glass and red-brick fragments. Underlying this was a layer of soft, mid-brown, silty clay. This layer contained stone and pebble inclusions, with fragments of modern and late post-medieval pottery, mortar and red brick. Beneath this was a layer of light brown, sandy, stony clay with occasional sherds of post-medieval pottery and animal bones. Natural subsoil was not reached.

Area 2 (a tarmac surface in the north-western part of the site) was excavated to a depth of 1m. The stratigraphy consisted of a layer of tarmac, hardcore and gravel, c. 0.5m deep, overlying a layer of light brown, gritty sand with stone inclusions, animal bones and fragments of red brick. Natural subsoil was not reached.

Area 3, in the south-eastern part of the site, was a wooded copse of mature deciduous trees. Most of the trees were felled during groundworks, and the area was levelled for replanting. Removal of the wall to the west of the area showed in section that the ground level was c. 1m higher than that of Area 1. The stratigraphy consisted of soft, brown/black, clayey silt, 0.2m deep, with large quantities of modern pottery and refuse. Beneath this was a layer of mid-brown sandy silt, 0.5m deep, with moderate, large stone and pebble inclusions and modern pottery, glass and metal among the tree roots. Underlying this was a lime-mortar surface, 0.03m deep, which overlay a mid-brown sandy clay layer with large quantities of late post-medieval pottery, glass and brick fragments. This overlay a light brown, stony, sandy clay, 0.2m deep, overlying grey, iron-rich gravel.

In Area 4 (in the east of the site and sloping down from Area 3 to a boundary hedge) the stratigraphy varied slightly. To the north, a dark brown, silty clay was revealed, 0.35m deep and containing moderate quantities of red brick, mortar and modern pottery. Underlying this was a mid-brown clayey silt, up to 0.5m deep, with stone inclusions, occasional animal bone, modern and late post-medieval pottery, mortar and red-brick fragments. The layers became shallower toward Area 3, and natural subsoil was reached at a depth of c. 0.9m over a surface area of c. 8m by 10m. This was a bright yellow clay with occasional stone and decayed stone inclusions. No archaeological finds or features were uncovered on the site.

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