2008:394 - Kevin Street Garda Station, 35–47 Bride Street, Dublin, Dublin

An excavation (98m north–south by 30m wide) took place at the corner of Kevin Street and Bride Street, Dublin, including the eastern yard of Kevin Street Garda Station. The site is very important both archaeologically and architecturally, as most of the main Garda building has been identified as the medieval palace of St Sepulchre, the residence of the Archbishop of Dublin throughout the medieval period into the 19th century. The medieval palace, within a walled precinct, took the form of a quadrangle and a recent examination by Danielle O’Donovan reveals that a large section of this medieval quadrangle still survives, incorporated within the existing buildings (the western wing is particularly intact: see for example the officer’s mess, which was part of a large tower) (O’Donovan 2003).
The excavation revealed that this area was settled in the late 12th century and was laid out in property plots but in a general rural landscape. This habitation was marked by medieval clays and three square pits, along Kevin Street (2) and Bride Street (1), the latter of which were presumably cesspits associated with habitation. These were probably originally timber-lined and would have been cleaned out on a regular basis, much like the modern septic tanks of today. One of the pits contained the remains of a stone setting, with a wattle mat, and on this was a male skull (17–25 years old), with the full skeleton of a dog. The dog was fully fleshed on deposition and was dumped at the same time as the human head. The latter produced evidence of trauma, including possible sword wounds, suggesting he died a violent death (Jonny Geber, pers. comm.). One of the other pits also produced several fragments of cut stone.
The archbishop’s palace was then enclosed by a substantial ditch, which extended along Bride Street to the east and Kevin Street to the south with an entrance on to Bride Street. This ditch, dated to the 13th and 14th century, was recut several times but remained a strong and defensive feature for some considerable time. There is some evidence, however, to suggest that there was another ditch, possibly earlier in date, lying further east under Bride Street (Bride Street has been widened and the medieval frontage was further east originally). Evidence of habitation occurred in the central area of the site (the northern and southern ends were truncated at this level), defined by posts and a substantial kiln feature, which had a stone build at the base. It was not clear what the kiln was used for but it may have had several phases, as fragments of crucibles and copper (suggestive of metalworking) and burnt grain was found in the backfill material. This phase of activity was superseded by the construction of an inner ditch, which corresponds roughly with the position of the quadrangle and this may have formed part of the inner courtyard as the main defensive ditch was strengthened at this time also. There was evidence of habitation in the form of two stone-lined cellars within a property boundary, which was presumably associated with a house or houses in this location. Eventually, the main ditch had infilled and the area appears rural in character laid out in large plots bounded by ditches but with evidence of intensive habitation at the southern end, where two medieval wells survived, both of which produced numerous sherds of medieval pottery including a complete 13th-century jug. The remains of a curving mettled roadway, at the southern end of the site, was probably the original medieval Kevin Street and Bride Street.
The post-medieval horizon was marked by pits and gullies, probably dating to the 17th century and, by the late 17th century, there were at least two large wooden buildings (which burnt down), built of imported spruce trees, the oak forests of Ireland being practically depleted by the English Crown by this date. These were probably outbuildings associated with the palace complex. By this date, there were also brick ‘Dutch Billy’ houses along the Bride Street and Kevin Street frontage, built by Dutch immigrants who arrived in Ireland in their thousands in the late 17th century escaping persecution. Although these were domestic buildings, they still appear to have been associated with the palace or occupied by tenants/servants of the palace. This is suggested by the fact that they produced a fine collection of ceramics indicating the use of sophisticated imported ware most likely to be associated with the archbishop than Dutch immigrants. This collection includes almost complete plates, bowls and chamberpots and two ‘bleeding bowls’, which can be dated to c. 1660. The latter were used to collect blood after ‘blood-letting’, a prevalent medical practice of the time that was used for almost every physical ailment.
The post-excavation analysis is still ongoing and this includes a report on a large collection of cut-stone fragments (including Dundry) and a complete dating strategy. Completion is expected in 2009.
Reference
O’Donovan, Danielle, 2003, ‘English patron, English building? The importance of St Sepulchre archiepiscopal palace, Dublin’, in Seán Duffy (ed.) Medieval Dublin IV, 253–78. Dublin.