2008:793 - NEWCASTLE WEST: Maiden Street Lower, Limerick

An impact assessment (including test-trenching) was undertaken at this site in April 2008 in advance of the development of the site as a surgery. The site is adjacent to the historic town of Newcastle West. There are two extant cottages on the site, fronting onto Lower Maiden Street. The cottages have been amalgamated into a single dwelling. The testing was confined to the rear garden. A series of five trenches was opened, varying between 9m and 12.6m in length. Two walls and a cobblestone path were uncovered during the testing, and these appear to be modern in date. On the western side of the site a large hollow filled with modern rubbish was uncovered. It measured 2m in depth. This is likely to relate to an 18th-century quarry that was located to the west of the site. The hollow was filled with rubble possibly prior to the construction of the houses in the early 19th century.