2006:1067 - KILKENNY: Former Bishop’s Palace, Troy’s Gate/Vicar Street, Kilkenny

Additional excavation was undertaken in October 2006 adjacent to the former Bishop’s Palace, Kilkenny. The former Bishop’s Palace is located within the medieval city (KK019–026), off Vicar Street and Troy’s Lane, and is to the north of St Canice’s Cathedral. It is understood that the building complex originated as early as the 14th century, with significant changes during the 17th and 18th centuries.

The former Bishop’s Palace is to become the national headquarters of the Heritage Council. To that end, the conservation of the palace building is underway. Primarily the development includes the construction of a new See House for the Bishop and a pavilion-style extension to the former palace building. Testing was carried out within the Bishop’s Palace enclosure by Teresa Bolger in 2002 (Excavations 2002, 1030, 02E0593) and by Ian Doyle in 2003 (020E593 ext.) and excavation was carried out at the site of the intended pavilion extension by Ian Doyle earlier in 2006 (06E0189).

The development requires the installation of a number of ancillary service features, including a construction access from the north via Troy’s Gate for the duration of the works, a service building and associated various groundworks and service runs, an external fire escape and an internal lift shaft. In order to inform the location and design of ancillary services, excavation was focused in six locations.

In Area A a cutting measuring 17.7m north–south and c. 4m wide was opened adjacent to Troy’s Gate. The earliest activity identified was a linear cut feature or ditch. Very little of the ditch was visible beneath subsequent phases of masonry wall building, but pottery from the fill suggested a 13th/14th-century date. Two phases of masonry wall were revealed over the medieval cut feature, on a roughly east–west alignment. Artefacts recovered from a soil horizon accumulated prior to the construction of the later phase suggested a date no earlier than the mid- to late 18th century for that later phase, and indicated a possibly late medieval date for the earlier phase of wall. This wall, which measured a maximum 1m thick, was exposed for a length of 4.2m and formed part of the boundary wall between the Bishop’s Palace and Drysdal’s Lane. No evidence of medieval defensive town wall was found at this location.

Area B was a cutting measuring 16m north–south and 3.8m wide opened against the Vicar Street boundary wall on the east side of the site. A roughly east–west-aligned substantial masonry wall footing measuring 1.1–1.4m wide was exposed. The location and alignment of this possibly late medieval wall suggested that it may be a continuation of a wall exposed during the excavation of the adjacent ‘pavilion site’ (Doyle, 06E0189) and may form part of a significant early property boundary on the site.

To the west of the palace building an area measuring 3.75m by 3.25m was opened to accommodate the foundation of the proposed fire escape (Area C). Soils were removed to a depth of 1.5m. No archaeological deposits were revealed.

Inside the palace building, ground reduction in advance of the insertion of a lift shaft was undertaken inside a room measuring 6m north–south and 2.8m wide (Area D). Work revealed the remains of a possible fireplace depicted on a mid-18th-century survey of the building. The remains measured 3m east–west and 0.55m wide. The wall against which the fireplace remains were exposed, and which originally must have served as the chimney, was broken through to provide access to the room from the south. The room was later used as a wine cellar.

Excavations were carried out both inside and outside a square tower that adjoins the north-east corner of the palace (Area E/F). The foundations of the tower at its junction with the main palace building were exposed and clearly showed that the tower was a later (though still medieval) construction. A mid-18th-century survey of the palace depicts a rectangular stair tower or turret adjoining the north side of the tower. The survey suggested that the stair tower contained a spiral staircase rising to the attic floor. A cutting opened in this area revealed the remains of the stair tower between 0.2m and 0.6m below the pre-excavation ground surface. The foundation remains consisted of a rectangular masonry structure measuring 3m east–west and 2.15m wide. Investigation confirmed that the structure was contemporary with the adjacent tower.

Archaeological features uncovered during excavation are to be preserved in situ.