2003:2362 - MONAGHAN: Westerna Arms Hotel, The Diamond, Monaghan

Pre-development excavation in advance of a hotel development took place to the rear of the Westenra Arms Hotel, The Diamond, Monaghan. The excavation has revealed continuous occupation levels stretching back from the 20th to the 16th century, in addition to uncovering an early activity level of as yet unknown date. In total, a sequence of seven phases have been identified on-site.

Phase 1: early activity
Evidence for activity across the site was uncovered well below all other archaeological layers. A series of post- and stake-holes were uncovered. They occur at a depth of up to 0.4m below what appears to be natural subsoil. This could be explained by an expansion of the lake and the deposition of sandy silt. If this is the case, then the remains could be of some antiquity. Only one short section could be identified as a fence, with possible traces of wattles in places. Most of the posts and stakes were removed in antiquity.

An oval-shaped area measuring 5m by 2.5m was discovered associated with numerous post-holes. The area was slightly dished, to a depth of 0.3m, and filled with a mixture of flattish stones (200mm by 100mm) mixed with a fine sandy silt and a white substance. A number of post-holes ring the oval area, giving the impression that the remains are possibly that of a small hut. No artefacts were recovered from the area, nor was there any evidence for occupation or fire activity.

Phase 2: clay walled structures, c. 1550–1590
A series of beaten clay floors were found across the southern half of the site. Unfortunately they were severely truncated by later activity. However, it can be determined that up to three and possibly a fourth structure were uncovered. These can be stratigraphically dated to the 16th century at the latest, but datable finds were scarce. A U-shaped gully, 0.75m wide and up to 0.35m deep in places, was discovered running through the site in a north–south direction. It appears to have been cut by the town ditch, which would give it a pre-1604 date. The gully would also appear to be a property boundary (rather than a drain), constructed in a redivision of land. This gully cuts through the remains of a clay-walled structure underneath.

Phase 3: town ditch, c. 1604
Excavations uncovered what is believed to be a portion of the northern defensive town ditch. The ditch ranged from 14 to 20m wide and reached at least 3m in depth in places. It was cut directly into subsoil and appeared to have been lined with a white marl, up to 100mm deep. This lining would have made the ditch impermeable and allowed it to have been flooded by the adjacent lake. The internal edge of the ditch ran in a north-east/south-west direction, while the external edge ran east–west. The ditch was undoubtedly flooded with water from the lake. It was filled with organic bog material and was extremely wet. This material would imply that the ditch could not have been functioning properly for more than a couple of decades, perhaps a century. No evidence of any banking internally or externally was found.

A possible earthen embankment with external ditch was uncovered in the western side of the site. The embankment was stone-lined with large boulders, up to 0.2m in size, and backfilled with a yellowish clay. Some of this clay was robbed out at a later stage with the digging of an ash pit. A ditch or pit was found directly in front of the embankment. This was then gradually filled up with refuse and cess material containing 16th/17th-century pottery. It is possible that this represented some form of earlier (i.e. pre-ditch) defence of the town.

Phases 4 and 5: pre-hotel, c. 1680–1800
The foundations of a substantial building were uncovered sitting within and immediately outside the footprint of the first hotel building. This building was rectangular in shape and ran in a northwest/ south-east direction, orientated slightly more to the west than the later building. It is probable that this is the building depicted on Neville’s estate map of 1791. Only the back end of the building was found, the modern basements of the present hotel removing the front of the building (fronting onto the Diamond). The building was 8m wide and showed evidence for substantial rebuilding at some point. The later structure would appear to have been built for the most part of stone (which may account for the much wider and more substantial foundations) and it is possible that this stone was reused in the construction of the first hotel c. 1800.

The earlier phase of this building is represented in the eastern wall foundation. This phase only survived to two courses, above which a demolition layer was detected containing loose lime mortar and rubble brick. No dating evidence was recovered from this phase of the wall.

A fair amount of brick (possibly dating to the late 17th or early 18th century) was recovered in the backfill of the external foundation cut for the western wall. This brick demolition material suggests that the walls of the earlier structure were of brick sitting on a stone foundation. The brick may be an early type. It measured 60mm high and 110mm wide and was of unknown length. It differs in size and texture to other brick recovered from later deposits on the site. This would leave the structure as one of the first (if not the first) brick buildings to have been built in Monaghan.

A substantial stone-lined drain ran through the southern half of the site. It appears to have been associated with the earlier brick building.

The remains of a cobbled laneway were uncovered adjacent to the building. A further patch of cobbling was recovered close to a gatepost foundation and could also be part of this surface. Over time, the laneway surface began to sag and become undulating, and various attempts were made to keep the surface level.

Phase 6: first hotel, c. 1800–1880
Cartographic evidence suggests that the Westenra Arms Hotel was founded with the purchase of a corner site on the Diamond of Monaghan sometime between 1791 and 1836. The existing building was demolished to make way for the first hotel building. This building was L-shaped with a rough stone façade, in keeping with other buildings on the Diamond. It stood three storeys high and had a columned portico entrance. A laneway leading to the rear yard ran down the side of the hotel. The rear yard housed the stables and ancillary buildings. It was during this time that the stables were refurbished and extended. The excavation revealed the foundation walls of the first hotel building still standing to ground-floor level. The structure was rectangular in shape, 15.8m long and 7.8m wide, and contained three surviving internal walls, as well as the partial remains of a fourth. The external structural walls were 0.75–0.8m in width, of rough limestone with a hard white mortar giving a fine smooth facing. The foundations consisted of deep trenches cut into natural subsoil up to 1.5m wide. The northern end of the structure contained deeper foundations, presumably reflecting the sloping topography. This allowed for the creation of a small basement room accessed through a brick-lined doorway set into the end wall.

It appears that sometime between the construction of the hotel and its reconstruction in c. 1880 certain modifications took place. The end wall of the structure appears to have been rebuilt, possibly due to foundation problems. An initial two courses of brick were set on the remortared foundation footing. The brick-lined doorway appears to have been inserted and the corner quoins reset. Indeed, the end wall is slightly thicker than all the other walls, being 0.85–0.9m wide.

Phase 7: second hotel, c. 1880–2000
Towards the end of the 19th century the Westenra Arms Hotel building had become inadequate for the needs of the hotel and a substantial reconstruction took place. This reconstruction involved the demolition of the hotel buildings, followed by the construction of the structures that survive today.

A drystone well was constructed during this period. The well was situated in the middle of the backfilled town ditch. Historical references suggest that the well was in use by the hotel up until the beginning of the 20th century.

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