2006:635 - Sick and Indigent Roomkeepers’ Society, 2 Palace Street, Dublin, Dublin

No. 2 Palace Street is the only surviving 18th-century structure on the street (with the exception of the gate to Dublin Castle). It would appear to date from shortly after 1771. The most significant feature in the area is undoubtedly the River Poddle, which bifurcated just inside the gates of the castle, one channel running directly down Palace Street, the other now within a brick culvert under the backyard of No. 2.
Prior to the site’s development, Castle Lane (as the street was previously called) extended from the castle’s walls to Dame Street, backing on to the Horse Pond, a small pool along the Poddle. Charles Brooking depicts buildings on both sides of the lane in his map of 1728, but the area was earmarked for extensive redevelopment as early as 1751, as evidenced by a map held in the archives of the City Council (A Survey of the Present Streets Leading to His Majesty’s Castle etc. 9 November 1751).
The most accurate cartographical appraisal of the area prior to the construction of No. 2 was undertaken in the mid-1750s. Rocque’s map shows the Poddle emerging from what is possibly a mill structure to the rear of the castle extending northwards towards Dame Street. The structures along the western side of Castle Lane are individually depicted, with two houses with identical figure ground plans situated at the approximate location of No. 2. The presence of two seemingly identical structures at this location offers the possibility that Nos 2 and 3 were there prior to Rocque’s survey. However, the buildings on the map are significantly wider than those depicted on subsequent editions of the OS and they lack the backyards depicted by Rocque elsewhere in the immediate area.
Plot 16, on which No. 2 was eventually built, was purchased in trust for a John Nott (or Knott) by John Reid. A lease dated to 24 April 1771 referring to ‘that piece of ground situate on the west side of Palace Street, then known and called Castle Lane’ suggests that the previous structures had been demolished but that the present house had yet to be built.
The first documentary evidence for the house occurs in 1789, when John Williams leased the house from Knott’s heirs. A full history of the subsequent occupation of the house is presented in Appendix 1 of Deirdre Lindsay’s account of the Sick and Indigent Roomkeepers’ Society, Dublin’s Oldest Charity (1990, 157–62).
Although the exterior of the house was altered in 1855, the interior spaces are primary, with some alterations and interventions carried out in the early 19th century. The addition of a small extension to the rear incorporating curved timber sash windows probably dates to 1810, when a mortgage was taken out on the property by John Williams and William Norton Barry.
Rocque’s depiction of an open stream at this location is somewhat at odds with de Gomme’s depiction of 1673, where the course of the Poddle is dotted, seemingly indicating a culvert.
This channel was open in the mid-1750s (as evidenced on Rocque) and was probably enclosed soon afterwards as the plots were redeveloped. While it is not known exactly when the two channels were created (it is hinted at on Speed’s early 17th-century depiction of the city), the whole area was undoubtedly under the Poddle during the medieval period and excavation by Linzi Simpson (Excavations 2002, No. 570, 02E0244) immediately adjacent to the site recovered 17th-century riverine silts and gravels underneath the basement slab of No. 3. Associated with these were the remains of a significant masonry structure, tentatively identified as being a mill structure alongside the Poddle.
There had been some unauthorised ground reduction in the basement spaces prior to the appointment of an archaeologist; up to 0.48m of material was removed, consisting of post-medieval dump deposits containing pottery and clay pipes dating from c. 1670–1730, which was recovered from two skips on site.
It is quite likely that the riverside location constituted a dumping ground during the late medieval and early modern periods and the material recovered from the skips supports this theory. The excavation of the site began in early 2006 to examine the substrates prior to the development of a bathroom extension to No. 2 and the conversion of the basement spaces to a habitable standard. An initial inspection undertaken in November 2005 suggested that the flagstone floor in the front basement space had been removed, along with the timber partition separating the main space from the stair corridor, and that 0.27–0.32m of material had been removed to a skip located to the front of the building on Palace Street. It appeared that a similar ground-reduction exercise had taken place in the space to the rear, where there had previously been a concrete floor. In addition, the ground level at the base of the stair accessing the basement had also been truncated. This material had been removed to a skip located in the backyard.
The material left in situ was a dry, semi-organic silty clay with a dark-brown hue. Immediately evident on the surface was a fragment of a clay pipe bowl, identified as an Oswald type 17 and dating from 1640 to 1670. Other pottery sherds were collected at this level (at c. 3.1m OD), including fragments of two different Frechen stoneware bottles dating to approximately 1660–1680.
The level at which this material was located should be examined with the levels of a structure recorded by Simpson (ibid.) immediately to the north of the rear space under No. 3. She excavated a series of masonry walls at c. 1.5m below the floor of the basement that were interpreted as possibly belonging to a post-medieval mill structure. The upper surviving masonry was located here at between 2.12m and 2.98m OD. Where Simpson recorded masonry rubble and fill between the mill structure and the basement floor, there appears to have been a different material underneath the basement of No. 2. While there was little evidence for building fabric remaining in situ, there was some calp limestone rubble evident in the skip to the front of the building.
The works undertaken in the basement were re-examined in late November 2005, after the skips were hand excavated for archaeological material. Within the front space, it was evident that up to 0.36m of material had been removed after the flagstones had been lifted. The latter measured on average 70–110mm in depth and sat on a bedding of lime mortar. Several rested against the party wall with No. 3 and the remainder disintegrated on removal and had been placed in the skip to the front of the building. A modern sewage pipe was disturbed and partly exposed running east–west.
The material below had been reduced to c. 3.05–3.15m OD and, apart from two sherds of Frechen stoneware (mentioned in the previous section), two sherds of Bristol slipware dating to the second half of the 17th century were recovered from the ground surface, along with a handle sherd of a Westerwald chamber pot, which can be more securely dated to the first quarter of the 18th century.
Some timbers stacked in the corner of the space appear to have come from the internal partition, the scars of which were still evident on the walls. The timbers were probably uprights and displayed mortises and other features. The partition was presumably primary to the 18th-century space, but, according to the project architect, it appeared to be modern. There was no planning permission in place for its removal, although a replacement is proposed in the new scheme, which will reinstate the primary spaces.
A deeper level of truncation was recorded in the space to the rear, where up to 0.48m of material had been removed from below a concrete floor to c. 3m OD. The westerly continuation of the sewage pipe was exposed and ran along the southern wall. Recovered from the truncated surface were two sherds of locally produced lead-glazed red earthenware, again dating to the period either side of the turn of the 18th century.
The opportunity was taken to probe the area to investigate the possibility of picking up the southern continuation of the structures recorded by Simpson in the adjacent property. This was achieved by pushing a 2m steel peg through the ground until the point of refusal. The continuation of Simpson’s F123 wall was initially recorded at c. 2.56m OD, with a consistent width of 1.2m. It returned to the east through the centre of the basement space at 2.82m OD, decreasing to 2.32m OD close to the spine wall, where it continued east at the same level. It appeared to terminate just before the front wall of the basement, where it was probably disturbed by the latter’s insertion. A less substantial wall appeared to extend to the west from the corner at 2.52m OD.
Some ground reduction was evident within the area occupied by the stair accessing the basement, especially at the access point into the front space. To the rear of the staircase was an uneven surface of small cobbles. It is not clear if they are primary to the standing building or earlier.
On the issue of the writer’s initial report on the site, the client instructed the coordination of a schedule of monitoring with the contractors. This work took place at the end of December and over the first week or so of January 2006. Notwithstanding separate negotiations between the project architect and the Dublin City Council Main Drainage Section regarding the suitability of the culvert as a foundation for the new structure, the brief was to facilitate the former and locate the culvert by removing the material over the culvert as an archaeological exercise.
The presence of an area of subsidence towards the back wall suggested that the culvert would be 2.5m to the west of where it was located to the north under the development site at No. 3. It was decided to remove the flagstones over most of the western end of the yard to investigate the substrates over a wider area. The main area of ground reduction took place in a trench measuring 3.1m (east–west) by 1.7m, which occupied the northern third of the yard, with the back wall of the yard taking up the east-facing section and the party wall with No. 3 taking up the south-facing section. The trench was excavated to 1.45m below the flagstone surface to 2.95m OD over much of its extent, but came up to 3.5m OD at the eastern end, where the Poddle culvert was located.
The initial work involved the removal of the flagstones over the northern half of the yard and work commenced towards the centre of the yard along the back (western) wall. The flagstones were generally in the region of 0.6m by 0.45m in plan and appeared to have a variable depth, from 80mm to as much as 200mm. They were of local calp limestone, a poor choice of stone for flooring and one more suited to wall construction at a greater thickness.
The flagstones were on a bed of friable lime mortar that did not extend across the whole area; it was more patchy towards the western end of the yard but there was no immediate evidence that it had been removed and the flagstones replaced.
Where there was no mortar present, the flagstones sat on a general layer that covered the whole area, apart from that area directly over the Poddle culvert, which was obviously disturbed. This was a dark-brown/black silty clay garden soil, with frequent inclusions of brick and mortar fragments, containing pottery and bottle glass dating from the late 17th to the 19th centuries. Despite the mixture of inclusions, it was a homogenous deposition that was at least 1.45m in depth (at the deepest part of the trench).
A cavity appeared 0.3m from the flagstone surface at the back of the yard towards the centre. When the area was cleaned up, it was found that a red-brick drain with an interior width of 0.6m extended from the east to where it was cut by the back (western) wall of the yard.
The drain was 505mm in height and dry. It is possible that it originally had a brick arch which collapsed, presumably prior to the construction of the present house on the site. The bricks were handmade, brittle and badly fired, with frequent air cavities and charcoal flecking. They measured 33⁄4 by 21⁄2 inches. None of the collapsed bricks appeared to survive to their original length, but they were greater than 6 inches and possibly 61⁄2 to 7 inches in length. The mortar along the southern wall of the drain had been washed out, suggesting that the drain had seen considerable use. The drain presumably brought wastewater from a structure to the west into the Poddle culvert and the construction of the western wall of the yard rendered it redundant. No further work was undertaken in this area, as it was not directly impacted upon by the proposed structure.
On removing the flagstones directly affected by the new structure, the outline of a small space 1.8m (north–south) by 0.9m emerged immediately underneath. It was constructed in yellow stock brick and survived to three courses, with a floor composed of roofing slates. It abutted both the back wall of the extended section of the house and the northern wall of the yard and appears to be of relatively modern construction. The flagstones above the space had not obviously been disturbed and there was no indication as to its function, although the loose material filling the space had a higher frequency of coal and slag dust than the main deposit across the site.
The structure was half constructed over a brick access shaft, the northern side of which remained in the north-facing section of what became the excavated trench. The shaft was roughly square, its sides being 0.9m in length, and was built from the western masonry culvert wall and the sloping brick capping. The brickwork stepped out from the level of the apex of the culvert capping. The brick was regular and locally manufactured, probably in the mid- to late 19th century.
The structure was obviously rendered obsolete by the construction of the brick space above it and its upper surface had been blocked up with masonry and brick. It was not reopened over the course of the monitoring.
The brick arch capping of the Poddle culvert became evident on clearing the side of the shaft. A slight variation of the overlying material was evident, suggesting a cut for the cover, as opposed to the culvert itself. The brick sprang for 0.45m from the masonry wall of the culvert itself, the western (outer) side of the wall being 1.32m from the back wall of the house against the northern yard wall and 1.29m from the wall at the southern section of the trench. The culvert passed under the northern yard wall, leaving a cavity at the base of the latter’s masonry. Closer examination of the wall indicated that a section of it had been rebuilt to accommodate the culvert.
The cut for the wall was evident against it at the bottom of the trench, where the upper 0.1m of the masonry was exposed. There was no evidence at this level for earlier timbers of an earlier watercourse.
Although only the western half of the culvert was exposed, it is likely that the brick element is 0.85–1m in width and that the back wall of the return on No. 2 is constructed from the culvert’s eastern masonry wall.
The area between the culvert and the western wall of the yard was reduced to 2.95m OD and the same dark silty clay was found to abut the northern and western yard walls. The material became progressively damper towards the bottom of the trench, but the water table was not reached.
The upper surface of a limestone windowsill or step, 1.12m by 0.49m, was located at 3.1m OD. A neatly carved groove ran along this surface and the sill was left in situ.
The walls of the yard clearly pre-dated the deposition of the soil, where the western wall post-dated the east–west brick drain. Both walls were constructed of calp limestone rubble brought to a rough coursing with frequent brick infill. The western wall had a significantly higher number of bricks in its lower courses, which were exposed in the trench.
In conclusion, the material recorded under the backyard of No. 2 was post-medieval in date and would appear to consist of dumped material spanning the 17th and 18th centuries. Two structures were located and recorded: the Poddle culvert was accessed at this point by an access shaft which was subsequently blocked; a smaller drain extended towards the culvert from the west but was blocked off by the construction of the western wall of the yard. Its junction with the Poddle culvert was not exposed, but the intersection was just to the south of the access shaft.
Excavation was halted at a point where its continuation would possibly undermine the northern and western walls of the yard and where enough of the Poddle culvert was exposed to assess its suitability as a load-carrying structure.
Reference
Lindsay, D. 1990 Dublin’s oldest charity. Dublin, 1990.