County: Kildare Site name: KILDARE: Grey Abbey
Sites and Monuments Record No.: KD022-029006 and KD022-030 Licence number: 04E0233
Author: Emer Dennehy, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: Religious house - Franciscan friars and Well
Period/Dating: Medieval (AD 400-AD 1600)
ITM: E 672691m, N 712252m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.155807, -6.913143
The proposed development site is composed of three fields incorporating the remains of Grey Abbey Friary (Field 1) and Friars' Well (Field 2). Test excavations in the grounds of Grey Abbey Friary and Friars' Well took place on foot of a geophysical survey and a detailed archaeological desk study.
The friary complex was initially constructed by the Franciscan order on the outskirts of Kildare town in the mid-13th century by Lord William de Vesci and was completed by Gerald Fitzmaurice; it was once held in great esteem, being the burial ground for eight Earls of Kildare. The friary was considerably extended in 1350 under the patronage of Joan de Burgo. In 1539 it was suppressed and was completely abandoned by 1547. The abbey is known to have been composed of a complex of buildings including a church, a belfry, a dormitory, a hall, three chambers, a kitchen and a cemetery. Austin Cooper's sketch of 1748 illustrates the friary as being in a serious state of disrepair and surrounded by an extensive graveyard.
The trenches were positioned to assess the impact of proposed development works on potential subsurface archaeological stratigraphy as identified in the geophysical survey. A total of fifteen trenches were excavated across two fields, incorporating the friary grounds, the well and adjacent lands. Six of the trenches excavated in the friary grounds concentrated on the western limits of the land scheduled for development. The eastern limits of the friary site containing the remains of the cloister were not investigated. Two trenches were excavated across the well site to determine its nature and extent. The remaining six trenches were excavated in the main body of the development site.
The stratigraphy of the well was a 0.1m deposit of topsoil overlying a leached white clay subsoil. Large quantities of modern debris including, metal, glass and plastic were incorporated into the topsoil. The remains of a wall foundation were identified in the trenches; some low-level fragments of walling were also identified within the well outside the limits of the test-trenches. It is possible that this is medieval masonry, marking the original extent of the well.
The trenches excavated within the friary grounds confirmed the results of the geophysical survey, identifying the site to be composed of a series of rectilinear enclosures defined by a complex of ditches and earthen banks. For the main part these ditches had been ploughed out, though the northernmost enclosure is particularly well preserved, having an above-ground register of 0.9m. The ditch representing the townland boundary was also identified at this time. Several fragments of medieval pottery were retrieved from the test-trenches. A red-brick structure, possibly representing the remains of a post-medieval well, was also identified. The earthen enclosures appear to be directly associated with the workings of the Franciscan friary, with a similar complex of embankments noted within the surviving remains of the graveyard.
The trenches excavated within the main body of the development site were archaeologically sterile. The archaeological remains of the friary to be directly impacted upon by the development, including the Friars' Well, are currently being excavated under an extension to the existing licence.
27 Merrion Square, Dublin 2
