2010:256 - The ‘cloister’, Christ Church Cathedral, Christ Church Place, Dublin, Dublin

A research test-assessment was carried out at Christ Church Cathedral, within the green space known formerly as the ‘cloister garth’. This area was subsequently developed after the Dissolution of the monastery in the 16th century and converted into the Four Courts in 1608. The testing was concentrated in the eastern side of the green and revealed almost immediately that significant masonry remains of the 17th-century Four Courts do survive in this area and are surprisingly close to the surface, lying between 50mm and 0.5m below the present ground level. The main section exposed was the east wall of the Court of the Common Pleas, founded on distinctive limestone piers. A section of the Chancery Court, at the southern end of the Common Pleas, was also located at the southern end of the site and this was found to have similar limestone piers to the Court of the Common Pleas.
The assessment also located the remains of what might be an earlier wall or pier, which is likely to have been medieval in date, related to the original monastic quadrangle in this location. This wall was orientated east–west but only a very limited area was investigated. Despite this, it was established that one of the piers of the Common Pleas actually truncated this wall, confirming the wall was earlier in date. It should also be noted that the alignment of this wall was very similar to the projecting foundation of the pier of the Common Pleas, which may suggest that the layout of the later Four Court building was influenced by an earlier build.
The assessment also established the level of intact medieval deposits and this differed across the site. At the eastern side of the cloister, in the area that was originally part of the Small Yard, the medieval deposits lay just 1.3m below present ground level at 11.65m OD. The cloister garth, therefore, must have been either at this level or above it. Further west, within the footprint of the Four Courts, which had cellars, the medieval deposits lay at approximately 10m OD, suggesting the cellars of the courts were probably semi-basements rather than full cellars.
One of the most important findings was the location of what was possibly a defensive earthwork extending through the western side of the green, orientated north–south and possibly revetted in stone on the western side. This may be part of the enclosing defensive ramparts, known to have encircled Dublin from the 10th to the 12th century. An impressive section was exposed at Wood Quay, along the river shoreline, but the western extent has remained elusive, although the site director, Dr Patrick Wallace, did suggest that it curved southwards, through the precinct at Christ Church.
The piers were sealed in terram, a permeable membrane, and backfilled with stone.