2010:539 - Trim, Meath

Excavations at the Black Friary (or Dominican friary) at Trim were undertaken in what is intended to be the first season in a programme of work aimed at uncovering the below ground remains of the friary. The work was undertaken as a teaching excavation for the Irish Archaeological Field School (IAFS). Excavations were carried out over a four-week period in June and a second four-week period in August.
The site today is 2ha of neglected ground with heavily overgrown areas of masonry in the western half, now in rough grass, surrounded on all sides by housing. The western half is slightly higher than the eastern and is separated from it by a double bank and ditch which turns west to enclose the northern end of the friary.
The friary was founded by Geoffrey de Geneville, Lord of Trim, in 1263 (Potterton 2005, 319). He spent his final years at the friary and was buried there in 1314. The Dominican order had arrived relatively late into Ireland (1224) and founded religious houses in Irish medieval towns in the 13th century (Barry 1987, 159). Due to their relatively late arrival and the nature of their ministry, they were primarily granted sites outside towns and this one lies outside the Athboy gate on the north side of Trim. This house was probably dedicated to St Mary of the Assumption. The friary was of considerable importance and was the location for a meeting of Irish bishops which took place in 1291. Parliamentary meetings were held here in 1446 and 1491 (Hennessey 2004, 10), but it had fallen into disrepair by 1540 and the hall, dormitory and kitchen were considered beyond repair. The friary was suppressed in 1540, with the church, cloister, chancel and other properties being sold to the Bishop of Meath. Accounts of the sale note a four-acre orchard, garden and cemetery and a three-acre close of pastureland beside the wall of the house. Three houses and gardens were also located within its precincts. A belfry, chapter house, dormitory, hall, three chambers, a kitchen, a pantry and a stable are mentioned in 1541. There was also 72 acres of total estate land.
Much of the building stone was sold during the 18th century. Resistivity and topographic surveys were carried out prior to excavation which indicated that the remains of the principal buildings and the cloister can still be discerned below ground. Excavations carried out under the direction of Matt Seaver of CRDS in 2008 (Excavations 2008, No. 987, E2398) in the laneway which forms the western perimeter of the site uncovered the remains of burials, potentially up to eleven inhumations, though they were considerably disturbed (Seaver et al. 2009), and it is believed that this area constituted part of the cemetery of Black Friary, which would probably have extended westwards between the south wall of the church and the town wall, which formed the southern boundary to the site.
Two cuttings were opened, each in the area of what is believed to be the church. Both were focused on large pieces of collapsed masonry. Cutting 1 was initially 4m x 5m and was opened around a large piece of fallen masonry which had a dished surface on one side, possibly indicating that it was part of a spiral stair structure. Excavations on the south side of this uncovered the remains of an in situ wall, so the cutting was extended by a further 6m x 5m in August to examine this area. Two short sections of walling set perpendicular to the line of the north wall of the church were uncovered. The eastern wall (F3) stood to a height of 1.5m and had a short section of wall projecting eastwards from it. This may have been part of the original north wall of the church but this needs further work. The western wall (F20) stood to a height of 0.75m and both had had their facing stones robbed out to within one or two courses of the base. A section of walling or paving was uncovered running between the two at their northern side, and both walls were built over this.
Within the cutting there was no sign of an internal floor surface. Mixed and poorly sorted deposits of brown silty sand containing mortar, occasional animal bone and rubble were exposed. While there appeared to be various lenses (in particular the area between F3 and F20 was very mixed, with frequent charcoal), there were no clear and consistent differences to suggest clear phases of backfilling of the interior of the church or the deposition of different deposits within different areas.
Further sections of collapsed masonry were uncovered in this cutting; one large piece had a relieving arch built into it. It is likely that the structure uncovered was the base of a bell-tower which may have been a later insertion into the church. The section of wall with the arch may have been part of this structure.
Cutting 2 was also 4m x 5m and a piece of collapsed masonry occurred within it. This extends beyond the cutting, but excavation here was limited to uncovering the piece of walling so that it could be planned and photographed.
There was up to 1.2m of overburden containing post-medieval to modern finds in Cutting 1. Disturbance relating to the abandonment phase of the friary was evident in the lowest levels uncovered and finds from these levels included a piece of an iron scissors, fragments of painted plaster, fragments of stained glass and pottery. A human femur was uncovered in the lower deposits, presumably disturbed from burials which may have been inserted into the chancel of the church. Some skull fragments and teeth were also recovered from higher up in the fill of mixed and disturbed deposits overlying the walls.
It is intended to excavate a third cutting to examine the relationship between the church and the possible cloister, and to further extend Cutting 1 to the south in the coming season.
References
Barry, T.B. 1987 The archaeology of medieval Ireland. London.
Hennessy, M. 2004 Trim. Irish historic towns atlas, No. 14. Dublin.
Potterton, M. 2005. Medieval Trim: history and archaeology. Dublin.
Seaver, M., Kelly, M. and Travers, C. 2009 Beyond the Black Gate: burials at the Black Friary. In M. Potterton and M. Seaver (eds), Uncovering medieval Trim. Dublin.