County: Dublin Site name: Howth Castle, Howth Road, Howth
Sites and Monuments Record No.: DU015–02701 Licence number: 08E0144
Author: Antoine Giacometti, Arch-Tech Ltd, 32 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2.
Site type: No archaeological significance
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 727737m, N 739055m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.386198, -6.079745
Test-trenching was conducted in the grounds of Howth Castle (DU015–02701), a protected structure, in advance of a proposed redevelopment of the old castle kitchens and a proposed carpark.
The St Laurences of Howth, who came to Ireland in the 12th century with the Anglo-Normans and gained renown during the victory over the Danes at the Battle of Evora Bridge in Howth, are well documented in historical sources. They were made Lords of Howth and constructed their first castle c. the 1180s at the eastern end of the peninsula. This was described as the ‘old castle’ in a deed from 1225, suggesting that the present site of Howth Castle (on the western side of Howth) had been constructed at that time. The St Lawrences continued to reside at Howth Castle in its present location for the following eight centuries. The standing castle buildings date from the 15th century onwards.
One trench was excavated in the yard directly outside of the castle kitchens in order to connect new services, and this exposed demolition rubble dating to Lutyens’ renovation works in 1910; no earlier layers or material were encountered. Two test-trenches were excavated in the area of the proposed carpark and these exposed a 20th-century metal water pipe, a curved pathway marked on cartographic sources from 1870 and a large pit or localised area of scarping of 19th- or 20th-century date, perhaps resulting from tree planting.
