2006:1291 - LIMERICK: Sir Harry’s Mall, King’s Island, Limerick

The site at Sir Harry’s Mall/Long Lane is roughly triangular in shape and c. 0.21ha in area. It is bounded by Long Lane to the north, the Abbey River to the east and to the south and west by the Limerick northern relief road. The development site also contains part of the Sir Harry’s Mall road. The site lies within St Mary’s Ward, in the south-eastern portion of King’s Island, a natural islet formed by the Shannon and Abbey Rivers.

Between 1996 and 2005 four separate archaeological investigations were undertaken at the development site. The first of these was carried out in 1996–7 by Ken Hanly and was undertaken in connection with the construction of the Limerick Northern Relief Road (Excavations 1997, No. 351, 96E0334). The second was excavated by Celie O Rahilly in 1999 (Excavations 1999, No. 522, 99E0433). This test excavation was undertaken to assess the impact on the archaeological material present on the site by a possible development. The third investigation was carried out by Kate Taylor. This was again a test excavation and was undertaken to uncover possible archaeology that may be impacted on by a possible development. The final investigation carried out on the site was undertaken by the writer in 2005. In this investigation part of the central portion of the site was fully excavated.

There were four main phases of archaeological activity present on the site. The earliest dates from the medieval period. The majority of the evidence for this phase comes not from the most recent excavation but from previous excavations carried out on the site. These and their relation to the evidence uncovered in this excavation are discussed below. The other phases uncovered on the site were from the 17th, 18th and the 19th/20th centuries. Of these phases the material from the 18th century was by far the most abundant in both structures and artefacts. The 18th-century activity cut into and removed much of the earlier deposits.

The City Wall
Any remains of early medieval or Hiberno-Norse activity on the site were either left undisturbed below the level to which the site was excavated or have been removed by later activity. The principal feature present in the central portion of the site was the City Wall. The wall dates from the medieval period at base but has been substantially reworked during its lifespan as an active defensive feature. First constructed after the Anglo-Norman conquest of the town in the last years of the 12th century, it stayed in use until after the Williamite sieges in the late 17th century. The city was officially declared as unwalled in 1760. The walls were either already gone at this point or were shortly to be pulled down. The portion of the walls along the waterfronts were among the first to go, to increase port space as well as being desirable property. In Sir Harry’s Mall this is demonstrated by a terrace of Georgian housing being constructed over the line of the wall.

The foundations of the wall are deep at the point at which it was tested, with the bottom of the wall sitting at 1.53m OD giving it a surviving height (or depth) of 2.25m. The majority of the wall in this area was faced with well-cut squared uncoursed ashlar limestone. This seems to represent 17th-century maintenance and improvement of the wall. Other portions of the wall are of rougher uncoursed rubble, probably representing original medieval construction.

The Fish Gate
The position of the Fish Gate was also apparent during the excavation. The City Wall was interrupted for a distance of 2.58m. The ends of the City Wall were squared, showing this was an original gap, not a later insertion. On the northern side of the gap there was also a possible spud stone. No medieval defensive features were found associated with this gate. The fact that the gate would have led out either straight to the Abbey River or to its bank may explain this. The defences of the gate were provided by the river rather than by a man-made structure, a gate proving sufficient without the need for towers or other defensive features.

Medieval religious houses
The other medieval structures on the site, namely the two medieval religious foundations, the Fratres Cruciferi Priory and the Franciscan Abbey, were partially excavated in previous campaigns and were not touched upon in this excavation. However, the presence of these institutions seems to have kept both the layout and use of this area relatively consistent up until the dissolution c. ad 1540.

Post-medieval landholdings prior to 1700
With the granting of the holdings of both these houses to Edmund Sexton, the character of this area must have changed dramatically. By the time of the Civil Survey in 1654 the area was a commercial and residential district with a high percentage of military personnel lodged in and around Fish Lane. No trace of the small, largely wooden houses described in the Civil Survey were uncovered during the excavation. It is probable that the current excavation, centred as it was on the Fish Gate, was not quite in the correct position to find these houses and also that any traces that may have remained were either entirely removed or greatly disturbed by the 18th-century redevelopment of the site. No remains of the 17th-century residence were uncovered on any of the previous excavations of the site.

This change of ownership and use is not reflected in the archaeological remains uncovered in the recent excavation undertaken of the site. The late 16th- and 17th-century material exposed in this excavation, centred on the Fish Gate and the City Wall, consisted mainly of stony ground-raising deposits. There is one possible 17th-century structure directly outside the Fish Gate, but it seems late to be a defensive structure.

17th-century defence and development
The main evidence of 17th-century activity on the site is military and defensive in nature. It is historically recorded as well as evident on the ground that the City Wall of Limerick underwent a large degree of maintenance and upgrading during this period. Limerick was besieged during both conflicts which took place in Ireland at this time, necessitating this work. Directly outside the wall was a build-up of 17th-century deposits. These could be interpreted either as a form of defensive glacis to protect the base of the wall from cannon fire or as a routeway along the river to the Fish Gate. The bulk of the 17th-century artefacts were recovered from these deposits. These included copper coins, a musket ball and the quillion from an artilleryman’s knife.

The redevelopment of the site in the 18th century
The 18th-century redevelopment had a major impact on the archaeology of the site. This included the construction of a terrace of houses over the area formerly occupied by both the City Wall and part of the Fratres Cruciferi Priory and the insertion of a large-scale drainage and sewer system. The terrace of houses ran from Fish Lane south towards what is now the northern relief road and fronted on to Sir Harry’s Mall. The drainage system especially was vital to the development, due to the proximity of the Abbey River, which is still tidal at this point. Archaeologically this development removed a lot of the material which preceded it. Fish Lane was completely dug out and a large brick-arched drain was inserted. This was connected to smaller drains coming from the terrace of houses.

The terrace of houses was built over the line of the City Wall and in places had completely removed it. All traces of dwellings which may have abutted the wall or been situated near it have been removed. The terrace did not extend past Fish Lane and so occupied the southern portion of the site. The terrace did, however, extend beyond the limit of the site to the south out under what is now the northern relief road. This is evidenced by Ken Hanly’s excavations along the corridor of this road and the southern portion of this site. In these areas the Georgian terrace clearly overlies the City Wall, as in the central portion of the site, and the remains of the Fratres Crucifari Priory.

19th and 20th century
The final phase of activity on the site prior to the current phase of demolition and redevelopment occurred in the 19th and 20th centuries. The development of the site in this period was residential, with rows of council cottages making up the structures present in the area. Nearly all traces of these residences were destroyed during the recent demolition. In the excavation of the central portion of the site, the only archaeological remains of these houses were modern pipes leading into the old drainage and sewer system.

Editor’s note: Although this licence was issued during 2005, the report on the work was not received in time for inclusion in the bulletin of that year.

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