County: Galway Site name: Bishop’s Street, Tuam
Sites and Monuments Record No.: GA029–199 Licence number: 07E1156
Author: Gerry Mullins, Eachtra Archaeological Projects – Galway, Unit 10 Kilkerrin Park, Liosbain Industrial Estate, Galway.
Site type: Urban
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 543648m, N 752159m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.516386, -8.849686
Testing of a proposed development at Bishop’s Street, Tuam, Co. Galway, was undertaken in order to comply with a request for further information with regard to the proposed development. The site is located in the north-eastern quarter of Tuam town centre and the development boundary encloses 3.6ha. It is proposed to redevelop the entire site to accommodate basement parking and a mixed-use development consisting of retail and residential elements. It is proposed to demolish all existing buildings and internal boundary walls, apart from the Bishop’s Palace, a protected structure (RPS No. 26). The proposed development will have a potential impact on four monuments within the monastic town: GA029–068A (an ecclesiastical enclosure), GA029–173 (the site of a castle), GA029–203 (the site of an unclassified earthwork) and GA029–172 (the site of a monument known as ‘the chair of Tuam’). It will also have a potential impact on an area of the bank of the River Nanny and sites of various buildings marked on the first-edition OS map of Tuam.
Testing took place between 2 and 22 January 2008. The location of all 31 test-trenches was designed to identify structures recorded on the first and second OS maps and to investigate the potential location of monuments GA029–203, GA029–172, GA029–173 and GA029–068A.
Trenches 31 and 9 were abandoned due to the location of essential services. Trench 29 was abandoned following damage to a water main and the detection of other services. The mill buildings and mill-race identified on the first- and second-edition OS maps were located in Trenches 25–28. Internal subsurface features associated with the surviving walled garden were located in Trenches 10–15. Possible features relating to the enclosing element of an early ecclesiastical site were located in Trenches 1–6 and 18. The remains of a cluster of buildings associated with the Bishop’s Palace and associated features were located in Trenches 7–9. Features possibly associated with a riverbank revetment along the original line of the River Nanny were located in Trenches 21–24. A well-preserved and well-built cobbled surface located close to the site of a possible castle and earthwork was located in Trench 31.
