County: Dublin Site name: 51 The Mews, Power’s Court, Dublin
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: Unlicensed
Author: Antoine Giacometti, Arch-Tech Ltd, 32 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2.
Site type: 19th-century stone-lined well
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 717030m, N 733320m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.337165, -6.242731
A well was exposed by the construction team working on a mews extension at No. 51 Power’s Court, Dublin 2. Archaeologists were called out to inspect the feature, and following consultation with the Dublin city archaeologist, the feature was recorded and preserved in situ.
The feature comprised a well of early 19th-century date, with in situ timber piping. It was constructed during the initial building of the Warrington Place/Power’s Court buildings in the first half of the 19th century, probably by a contractor hired by the developer of the Warrington Place terrace on the Fitzwilliam Estate, who sought to economise by creating a shared well to serve both mews buildings at Nos 51 and 52 Power’s Court. The water from the well is unlikely to have been used by the primary residents at Warrington Place, and instead would have been intended for use in the mews area for general cleaning and watering horses, etc. The water was pumped out from the well by a system of timber conduits leading to pumps which were probably made of cast iron and situated nearby.
